Rose Blanche

Rose Blanche, written and illustrated by Roberto Innocenti, is a story about a little girl living in World War II Germany, who discovers one of the secrete concentration camps and the people trapped in it. This book was very interesting both in text and image. For one thing the text changes from first person narrative to a an anonymous 3rd person narrative. Some possible theories that I have talked about with others who have read the book is the possible emotional withdrawal of Rose Blanche, after she witnesses the brutality of the Nazi army towards a little boy. There does not seem to be a real good reason as far as I could find to explain this sudden change in narration, but it is interesting. The most captivating part of this story is the images. The images are done from real photographs that were taken during Hitlers' reign over Germany; finding the photographs of these images could really bring this story to life for kids, to just know that these people actually lived. The other part of the images to which I am personally drawn to is how the colors change from a rather gray and dreary antiqued tone to splotches of bight and vibrant color in very specific places. Most notably, Rose Blanche leaves a deep purple flower on a ruined barbed wire fence, as a mark of remembrance after the trapped people in the camp had all mysteriously vanished. The last page of the book is were the concentration camp had once stood, but is now a bright and vibrant field of red poppies. While there is nothing graphic in the images or text which alludes to the goings on of the Holocaust in this story, I think that it's lack of explicitness creates an ominous tone which kids will really understand. I would read this story in a small group to kids, because I think there will be a lot of questions, and they should all be heard while kids try and make sense of one of history's greatest atrocities, this story is a tough one, but the subject is tough at any age, but the message in which it pleads is one that should never be chickened out on teaching to kids.