One Candle, by Eve Bunting, is the story of a young girl who, with her sister, sneaks a potato out of the concentration camp kitchen to make a single Hanukkah candle. Every year since the war, she and her sister make a single candle from a potato to put in the window next to their menorah and tell the story to their grandchildren. It is a marvelous way to gently introduce your children to the ideas of the Holocaust.

You can purchase One Candle from Amazon.

My Doll is the memoir of Yael Rosner, adapted especially for younger children (grades 1-2). The book focuses on the subjects of struggle, survival, and revival. This story particularly emphasizes the significance of imagination and creativity inherent in the process of hiding and coping as a child during the Holocaust.

The story shows children the everyday experiences of a girl who is confined to a cellar hiding from the German soldiers. She copes with the situation with the help of improvised toys, her imagination, and the warmth and love of her mother.

You can get these materials from the Yad Vashem website:

• An online version of My Doll
• An in-depth teacher’s guide

I am a Holocaust Torah tells the story of 1,564 Torahs stolen by Nazis from synagogues in Czechoslovakia. The Torah scrolls were rescued twenty years later and placed in the hands of people who love them. This Holocaust account is uniquely told from the point of view of a personified Torah. Using a Torah to narrate the story enables Rabbi Goodman to present the emotive content of the Holocaust in a profound way to children of all ages.

You can find more information about the project at the Memorial Scrolls Trust or the Czech Torah Network, and purchase I am a Holocaust Torah from Amazon.

I Wanted to Fly Like a Butterfly is a tender account of the Holocaust through the eyes of a young survivor, and is aimed at grades 3-4. Hanna Gofrit recalls her childhood in Poland and tells how her life dramatically changed when the Nazi soldiers occupied her country. Hanna lived to tell the story thanks to a brave Polish family who sheltered Hanna and her mother for two years until the end of the war.

If you read this book with your child, you will find the book itself is designed with color-coded pages to help you break it up. You can decide if you want to skip some sections.

Important note: Although the book presents Hanna’s life starting at a young age, we recommend you start with the final pages, which discuss Hanna as an adult in Israel. This allows the children to follow the story without worrying about whether Hanna will survive.

In-depth teacher’s guide (from Yad Vashem).

Purchase I Wanted to Fly Like a Butterfly from Yad Vashem.

The third grade teacher at one congregation had her students make a megillah out of this book. Read her description here.