Description
“Harrowing, engaging and utterly honest.” —Elizabeth Wein, The New York Times Book Review
“A captivating chronicle of eight turbulent years.” —The Wall Street Journal
A “Best Book of the Year” from: The New York Times ● Publishers Weekly ● Kirkus Reviews ● Booklist ● Jewish Journal ● Horn Book ● Chicago Public Library
A National Jewish Book Award Finalist
From celebrated Caldecott Award–winning illustrator Uri Shulevitz comes a landmark World War II memoir of hope amid harrowing times and an engaging and unusual Holocaust story.
In September 1939 , as German bombs started falling on Warsaw, four-year-old Uri Shulevitz sat still while his mother tied new boots on his feet and told him, “We’ll need to walk a lot.” So begins Uri’s arduous eight-year journey with his family, fleeing Poland and the Nazi onslaught for a precarious existence in the Soviet Union. From the freezing wilderness confines of a labor camp all the way north near the White Sea to hunger-filled years of displacement all the way south in the city of Turkestan, Uri recounts the lucky breaks and setbacks that happened to him and his parents along the way.
Powerfully illustrated by the author and with a few surviving personal photographs and mementos, Chance: Escape from the Holocaust also depicts young Uri’s awakening as an artist, whose love of making pictures helped sustain him. Altogether, this is a unique, enthralling memoir of a displaced childhood from the beloved Caldecott medalist, the capstone to a remarkable career.
Don’t miss Uri Shulevitz’s stunning final published work, The Sky Was My Blanket: A Young Man’s Journey Across Wartime Europe, a gripping true story of a young Polish exile fighting to survive in war-torn Europe.
Product Details
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) |
| Publish Date | October 13, 2020 |
| Pages | 336 |
| Language | English |
| Type |  Hardback |
| EAN/UPC | 9780374313715 |
| Dimensions | 9.4 X 7.5 X 27.9 mm | 1.9 pounds |
About the Author
Reviews
Winner of the SCBWI Golden Kite Award for Illustrated Books for Older Readers
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2020
A New York Times Best Children's Book of 2020
Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2020
Booklist Best Books of 2020
Horn Book Fanfare 2020 Booklist
Chicago Public Library Best of the Best 2020
Jewish Journal Twenty of the Best 2020 (Non-Holiday) Jewish Books for Kids
A National Jewish Book Award 2020 Finalist for Middle Grade Fiction
A 2021 Golden Dome Book Award Selection
“Harrowing, engaging and utterly honest.” —Elizabeth Wein, The New York Times Book Review
“A captivating chronicle of eight turbulent years.” —The Wall Street Journal
“Shulevitz’s relationship with art, as a means of genuine expression and as a constant companion, is apparent not only in the memories he shares but also in his drawings. His illustrations showcase a great deal of emotional resonance . . . It is a privilege to hear this renowned artist reflect on his past, where hunger, loneliness, and fear battled with resilience, family strength, and the power of imagination . . . Middle school readers will find Shulevitz’s darkly captivating memoir hauntingly impressive and extraordinary.” —School Library Journal, starred review
“The first-person narrative, which continues through his teen years in Paris, is inviting and filled with absorbing details of everyday life, from playing games to facing bullies and fearsome dogs. The many illustrations—scary, imaginative, and humorous—are a brilliant accompaniment to the text, bringing into sharp focus stark images of civilians caught up in war. Despite the horrors, however, there is a strong sense of intimacy between the author and his readers . . . A memorable journey of survival and artistry.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“The spare, keenly observed narrative offers a harrowing look at a Jewish family’s plight during WWII while documenting the birth of an artist with a great capacity for creativity . . . Stark and powerful black-and-white drawings by the author underscore gritty realities: people forced to carry water after Nazi planes bomb Warsaw, tension and fear in a truck bound for Bialystok, confrontations with Soviet officials, and a crowded bed the family inhabits in a settlement work camp. This affecting memoir of Shulevitz’s childhood as a war refugee provides a deeply personal testament to the power of art.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
“Distinguished Caldecott Medal–winning author-illustrator Shulevitz creates an arresting and affecting memoir of terrible privation . . . The book’s spare, straightforward text is liberally illustrated with Shulevitz’s black-and-white Expressionist-style drawings plus the occasional photograph that has survived the war. Together, the images brilliantly capture the often-somber story of Shulevitz’s early life, which he ultimately survived, as he says, by chance.” —Booklist, starred review
“Though touching on many dark and serious topics, this story is totally focused on the fears, triumphs, and sensibilities of a child. It is truly a portrait of an artist as a young man thrust into a maelstrom of a world gone mad and relying on chance to decide his fate.” —The Horn Book, starred review
“Shulevitz’s artwork provides a wealth of varied visual commentary on autobiographical episodes . . . The author pauses at several points to contemplate events that seem to have made the difference between his family’s survival and the grim fate of other Jews unable to flee Nazi genocide, tacitly encouraging readers to ponder the great mysteries of providence and chance.” —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
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