On Writing

The memories keep you awake Berce Kahraman (foreground) and classmates carry copies of 'Mutterland' -- a gift from the German Society to Preserve Jewish Culture to Russelsheim schools 03.03.2011 - RÜSSELSHEIM Von Tobias Riedl The German Foundation to Preserve Jewish Culture brings the story of Holocaust survivors to schools "It is important to us to introduce the Holocaust in Rüsselsheims' schools to get people talking," says Dr. Bärbel Maul, a ...

Edith's German school picture From the German publisher of Mutterland: Dear Fern and Edith, Can write us some sentences for the students and children who are able to read your book, maybe some experiences or impressions after your readings with children and young people in America and in Germany? As child, my mother, Edith Westerfeld, was labeled as "other" in two countries. In Germany, she was identified as inferior and ...

Hardin students present gift (Texas flag) to FSC Letter from Hardin ISD Librarian Coordinator Anna Mae Veach: We, the adults and students, were 'deeply touched' by Edith's story. Parents have 'taken' your books from their children and now they are reading Edith's story. A warm reception from Hardin students And the story goes on and on... we must stop hate ! In friendship, Anna Mae Veach Anna Mae Veach (left) ...

Visit with Tarkington (TX) freshman Sarah Brosemer on Jan.28, 2011

Writers Workshop, Northwood Junior High School, Highland Park, Illinois on February 18, 2011

Tarkington Middle School, Tarkington, Texas After a two-day visit to schools in Texas, I received this question from a student: Dear Mrs. Chapman, You wouldn't believe I figured out I have German in me, but also some Jewish, like you!! I attend Tarkington Middle School and I'm 12 years old. I asked my mother if we could order Is It Night or Day?, but she said "no," but today, February ...

Theater in renovated barn on Mina's property on a wintry day Readers of Motherland might be curious to see this photo. Mina's son, Juergen, now lives in Mina's house and he has made dramatic changes to the property. He renovated the dilapidated house and converted the vacant barn into a theater. During the 1950s and 1960s, Mina ran a sanitarium in the barn, offering patients the fresh air and pastoral ...

The Southern Poverty Law Center's magazine, Teaching Tolerance, named Is It Night or Day? as a "Teaching Tool" in its Spring, 2011 issue: Is It Night or Day? ($17.99), by Fern Schumer Chapman, tells the story of Edith Westerfeld, a 12-year-old Jewish girl whose parents send her, alone, to the United States in 1938 to escape the Nazis. Told in Edith’s voice, the novel captures both the specific fears of ...

2011 SYDNEY TAYLOR BOOK AWARDS ANNOUNCED BY THE ASSOCIATION OF JEWISH LIBRARIES (Los Angeles — January 9, 2011) www.SydneyTaylorBookAward.org The Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner for Younger Readers: Gathering Sparks by Howard Schwartz with illustrations by Kristina Swarner (Roaring Brook Press, an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group) The Sydney Taylor Book Award Winner for Older Readers: Hereville: How Mirka Got Her Sword by Barry Deutsch (Amulet Books, an imprint ...

Mauritius, an island nation off the southeast coast of Africa in the southwest Indian Ocean Hi Fern, While reading the story of your mother I kept on seeing my husband's mom who passed away just a few years ago! So many similarities that is is almost shocking!! She too left Europe on the kindertransport when she was 12 yrs old. She went to the UK and was taken in by ...