Nicky & Vera: A Quiet Hero of the Holocaust and the Children He Rescued

by Peter Sís

Overview

Caldecott Honoree and Sibert Medalist Peter Sís honors a man who saved hundreds of children from the Nazis.

 

In 1938, twenty-nine-year-old Nicholas Winton saved the lives of almost 700 children trapped in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia—a story he never told and that remained unknown until an unforgettable TV appearance in the 1980s reunited him with some of the children he saved.

Czech-American artist, MacArthur Fellow, and Andersen Award winner Peter Sís dramatizes Winton’s story in this distinctive and deeply personal picture book. He intertwines Nicky’s efforts with the story of one of the children he saved—a young girl named Vera, whose family enlisted Nicky’s aid when the Germans occupied their country. As the war passes and Vera grows up, she must find balance in her dual identities—one her birthright, the other her choice.

Nicky & Vera is a masterful tribute to a humble man’s courageous efforts to protect Europe’s most vulnerable, and a timely portrayal of the hopes and fears of those forced to leave their homes and create new lives.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781324015758
Publisher:	Norton Young Readers
Publication date:	01/26/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	64
File size:	93 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	6 - 8 Years

About the Author

Peter Sís has received the Robert F. Sibert Medal, three Caldecott Honors, and a Sydney Taylor Honor. He was the first children’s book creator to receive a MacArthur Fellowship, and won the 2012 Hans Christian Andersen Award. He lives in Hudson Valley, New York.
Peter Sís is the Czech-born author/illustrator of three Caldecott Honor books, including The Wall, which also won the Sibert Medal. He is the first children’s book illustrator to win the MacArthur Fellowship, and also won the Hans Christian Andersen Award. He lives in Irvington, New York.

Editorial Reviews

★ 11/23/2020

Though Nicholas Winton saved hundreds of children during the Holocaust, his heroism didn’t come to light until 1988, when his wife found records of the train journeys he had arranged to carry Czech children from Prague to London. In this quiet, deeply considered picture book biography, Caldecott Honoree Sís weaves Winton’s story together with that of Vera Gissing, one of the children he saved, conveying the hard truths of the Holocaust in language that younger readers can take in. In spreads of pale blue, Sís portrays Winton’s arrival in Prague and his realization that he could help children escape: “England would allow refugees under seventeen to come—if families could be found to take care of them.” The young stockbroker works feverishly to arrange placements and train tickets. Meanwhile, Gissing’s country childhood is recreated with folk-style maps, small cutaways, and dreamlike images; in one spread, her parents hover in mid-air, like figures in a Chagall painting. Winton’s humility is the thread that runs through the story—“I did not face any danger... I only saw what needed to be done,” he said—and the account of Gissing’s life illuminates what was at stake. An author’s note includes further details. Ages 6–8. (Jan.)

Publishers Weekly

"This is a story about an unlikely hero, who quietly and modestly saved hundreds of children from the Nazis, and earned the eternal gratitude of those he managed to bring to Britain during the Second World War. It’s a story that deserves to be told, and in Peter Sís he’s found the perfect storyteller and illustrator. I read it with fascination and admiration for a man of great goodness and modesty."

Philip Pullman

"An exceptional story told with a powerful combination of words and pictures."

Horn Book Magazine (starred review)

"Sís' latest reminds readers that real heroes are often quiet and unassuming."

Booklist (starred review)

"Tenderly crafted, visually layered and deeply reverent"

BookPage (starred review)

"Peter Sís uses his unique genius to share with us the true story of a quiet hero whose message is especially important for today's world. The book works a kind of alchemy, with images that read like poetry and text that reads like a manifesto on goodness and decency. Together, the words and pictures are a love letter to humanity. Read it as soon as you can."

Brian Selznick

"Spectacularly imaginative and will make readers weep."

Sunday Times

"Captivating.... Sís takes great care, in this Holocaust tale about the horrific consequences of demonizing people who are different, to highlight the things we have in common."

New York Times Book Review

02/01/2021

Gr 2–5—Sís tells the story of Nicholas Winton (1909–2015), a British citizen who helped send Czech children to England just before World War II officially broke out. In December 1938, Winton canceled a planned ski trip and joined a friend in Prague who was aiding refugees in the Sudetenland. Working from his hotel room, Winton created lists of children, took photographs, and created train schedules. He soon returned to London to work on securing visas and travel arrangements, find families to welcome the children, and handle the paperwork and bureaucracy. Vera, a young Jewish girl who was a citizen of Czechoslovakia, was one of the 669 children who were successfully brought to Great Britain through Winton's efforts. She lost all but one aunt in the war and its aftermath. Many years after World War II, Vera and some of the other children Winton helped save paid tribute to him on a television show called That's Life. Sís's illustrations combine the literal with the symbolic. Using everything from expansive spreads to miniature panels, he captures different elements from the lives of those involved. The text and the artwork demonstrate the power of one courageous individual who was determined to make a difference. VERDICT A great purchase for libraries where Sís's work is enjoyed.—Heidi Grange, Summit Elem. Sch., Smithfield, UT

School Library Journal

★ 2020-12-15
One man made a difference as the full horror of the Holocaust began.

In late 1938, a young Englishman of German Jewish descent named Nicholas Winton, known as Nicky, visited Prague, where he saw the many Jewish refugees from Germany’s Sudetenland annexation and Kristallnacht. Using means both legal and illegal, he organized paperwork and arranged for eight trains to transport 669 children to safety in Great Britain. Veruška “Vera” Diamantova was a 10-year-old Jewish girl whose parents made the wrenching decision to send her away on one of those trains. After the war, Nicky never spoke of it and put the papers in his attic. Fifty years would pass before his wife found them. A TV show with a reunion of Nicky and the surviving children followed. Sís, Czech-born, tells the story in straightforward declarative sentences that drive the narrative. His brilliantly conceived paintings are an emotional anchor. With varying palettes—blue for Nicky, gold for Vera, and gray for the war scenes—the art flows easily from full-page vistas to miniature scenes that swirl and circle around the pages and even within the outlines of figures and buildings. Readers can pore over the details as Vera stands alone in a London train station awaiting her new family and then count the trains that were able to depart.

An extraordinary life memorably and evocatively presented. (author's note) (Picture book. 7-12)

Kirkus Reviews