Reviewed by Brad Manker
Review Source: Teaching for Change
Book Author: Chana Stiefel
Chana Stiefel and Susan Gal’s picture book, The Tower of Life, tenderly provides background to WWII and the Holocaust in an age-appropriate way. It honors the extraordinary work of Dr. Yaffa Eliach, a Holocaust survivor who single-handedly collected photographs and stories from the people of her childhood home. Her efforts resulted in the Tower of Faces exhibit at the National Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., where anyone can connect with Eliach’s family, friends, and neighbors in perpetuity.
Stiefel describes Eliach’s idyllic childhood in her village of Eishyshok (in what is now Lithuania). Throughout the seasons, the people of the town go about their everyday lives. Life was entertaining, happy, robust, and full of friendship and love. Her grandmother Alte was the town photographer, capturing images of townspeople that were displayed in homes and sent to relatives around the world. Finding and collecting these photographs would become Eliach’s mission as she rebuilt the world of Eishyshok “not brick by brick, but photograph by photograph, story by story.”
Similar to the Tower of Faces Exhibit, this touching biography is a tale of survival — a story of permanence and continuity — that focuses on the lives of the people of Eishyshok, rather than the pain and suffering of war. This book echoes Eliach’s refusal to “focus on death and darkness, [but] instead . . . create something that would shine a light onto the beautiful lives of people lost and forgotten.” This portrayal of Jewish people is distinctly different from how they are portrayed in many Holocaust books — as victims and not as resistance fighters. Nazi soldiers are depicted as identical, faceless silhouettes with their backs to the reader, whereas the citizens of Eishyshok live on in vibrant color.
The Tower of Life was chosen as a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard book and won the 2023 Sydney Taylor Book Award, which honors books that portray authentic Jewish experiences. The author also provides a link to a free curriculum guide.
Brad Manker serves as a fellow with Teaching for Change. He is an educator, curriculum designer, and independent researcher with a background in elementary education.
Find more recommended books on our Jewish Identity and History and War / Anti-War booklists.
The Tower of Life: How Yaffa Eliach Rebuilt Her Town in Stories and Photographs by Chana Stiefel
Published by Scholastic Inc. on October 4, 2022
Genres: Jewish, Photography, War
Pages: 40
Reading Level: Grades 1-2, Grades 3-5
ISBN: 9781338831917
Review Source: Teaching for Change
Publisher's Synopsis: A moving biography of the woman who created The Tower of Faces, a powerful exhibit at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC.
Sydney Taylor Book Award (Gold Medal)
A Robert F. Sibert Honor Book
"...There are many picture books about the Holocaust, but this one stands out with Gal's beautiful watercolor pictures and the true account of one woman's goal that her community never be forgotten. A beautiful tribute....Highly recommended." - School Library Journal, starred review
"A stunning tale . . . . bursting with detail and life. . . . A magnificent and moving tribute to a loving community and an extraordinary woman." - Booklist, starred review
"A powerful tribute....Moving." - Publisher's Weekly, starred review
"An affirming tribute to a Jewish past that was lost in the Holocaust as well as to one survivor's work." - The Horn Book, starred review
" ...A loving testament to light and hope and the vision of a remarkable woman." - Kirkus Reviews
"...the book's message is consistently optimistic... Stiefel paints a truthful portrait appropriate for those just beginning to learn about the Holocaust....Gal's artwork...is dramatic and accessible...a book that ensures [Eliach and her town] will not be forgotten." - Jewish Book Council
There once was a girl named Yaffa. She loved her family, her home, and her beautiful Polish town that brimmed with light and laughter. She also loved helping her Grandma Alte in her photography studio. There, shopkeepers, brides, babies, and bar mitzvah boys posed while Grandma Alte captured their most joyous moments on film. And before the Jewish New Year, they sent their precious photographs to relatives overseas with wishes for good health and happiness.
But one dark day, Nazi soldiers invaded the town. Nearly 3,500 Jewish souls - including family, friends, and neighbors of Yaffa - were erased.
This is the stunning true story of how Yaffa made it her life's mission to recover thousands of her town's photographs from around the world. Using these photos, she built her amazing TOWER OF FACES, a permanent exhibit in the US Holocaust Memorial Museum, to restore the soaring spirit of Eishyshok.
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