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A review by chitownjr
His Name Was Raoul Wallenberg by Louise Borden
4.0
Concise poetic language combined with historic and contemporary photographs, documents, and maps brings Raoul Wallenberg’s story to life. I knew him as a man who’d done great things during World War II and whose fate was a mystery but sadly I really didn’t know anything about his life. I felt ashamed to recognize this gap in my knowledge of WWII history and glad to learn more about him.
Borden’s book felt like a striking departure from your ordinary biography. It didn’t have the same seat-of-your-pants appeal of Sheinkin’s Bomb but was still a compelling story about Wallenberg’s life. I thought the book was very well laid out with lots of images and lots of white space. What was especially interesting though was her use of language. She pared down her words to express what was important to further the story and still create a vivid picture of Wallenberg’s life. For example, she said “There wasn’t an open seat left on the 5:21 p.m. train to Vienna.” She could have just said Wallenberg left on the 5:21 pm train to Vienna. Her poetic use of words brought the story to life.
This economy of language also makes the book well suited to a younger audience of readers who could have been put off by the subject matter. Her ability to use primary sources and interesting facts means kids have a chance to explore the story without being put off by lengthy passages and boring facts. The design underscores this with its use of numerous images and lots of white space.
Borden follows the chronology of Wallenberg’s life and bolsters her authority with a table of contents, extensive bibliography, photo credits, index, acknowledgement and author’s note. I liked the photos of the author with some of the principals in the story. This brings history to life and connects it to the present day. Borden’s inclusion of a list of video recordings about Wallenberg was a smart move. For this younger generation, watching is often preferable to reading and her list provides a way to get more information.
The book was divided into sections which broke up the text into manageable chunks of information. This is especially helpful for younger readers.
One thing I wondered about, however, was exactly how Wallenberg came to feel so acutely protective of Jews. Was it because he saw how Nazi Germany was scapegoating them and saw it as a basic human rights issue or did he have Jewish friends who sensitized him to their plight? Was and is Sweden one of those rare countries in which anti-Semitism is missing? I couldn’t help but wonder.
This book shows how images of primary sources such as photos of the Schutz-Pass can be used to personalize the story and remind us that it was the lives of real people at stake during the war. At first I wondered why so many Schutz-Passes were included but when I really started looking at the people’s faces in the photos, I realized how it humanized the story.
I also thought it was pretty amazing that Wallenberg’s niece grew up to marry Kofi Annan, former secretary general of the United Nations. The Wallenberg family must be a pretty incredible bunch!
This book is an excellent addition to a school or public library, and most likely suited for kids in fourth or fifth grade and up. My only concern is, how exactly do you get kids to read non-fiction? Whenever I visit my local library, I see lots of kids going through the shelves of non-fiction but very few in the non-fiction area. I think lots of kids see the non-fiction part of the public library as a place where you get books for school reports and projects, not for pleasurable reading. As the books in this week’s selection show, contemporary non-fiction can provide just as much joy as works of fiction.
Borden’s book felt like a striking departure from your ordinary biography. It didn’t have the same seat-of-your-pants appeal of Sheinkin’s Bomb but was still a compelling story about Wallenberg’s life. I thought the book was very well laid out with lots of images and lots of white space. What was especially interesting though was her use of language. She pared down her words to express what was important to further the story and still create a vivid picture of Wallenberg’s life. For example, she said “There wasn’t an open seat left on the 5:21 p.m. train to Vienna.” She could have just said Wallenberg left on the 5:21 pm train to Vienna. Her poetic use of words brought the story to life.
This economy of language also makes the book well suited to a younger audience of readers who could have been put off by the subject matter. Her ability to use primary sources and interesting facts means kids have a chance to explore the story without being put off by lengthy passages and boring facts. The design underscores this with its use of numerous images and lots of white space.
Borden follows the chronology of Wallenberg’s life and bolsters her authority with a table of contents, extensive bibliography, photo credits, index, acknowledgement and author’s note. I liked the photos of the author with some of the principals in the story. This brings history to life and connects it to the present day. Borden’s inclusion of a list of video recordings about Wallenberg was a smart move. For this younger generation, watching is often preferable to reading and her list provides a way to get more information.
The book was divided into sections which broke up the text into manageable chunks of information. This is especially helpful for younger readers.
One thing I wondered about, however, was exactly how Wallenberg came to feel so acutely protective of Jews. Was it because he saw how Nazi Germany was scapegoating them and saw it as a basic human rights issue or did he have Jewish friends who sensitized him to their plight? Was and is Sweden one of those rare countries in which anti-Semitism is missing? I couldn’t help but wonder.
This book shows how images of primary sources such as photos of the Schutz-Pass can be used to personalize the story and remind us that it was the lives of real people at stake during the war. At first I wondered why so many Schutz-Passes were included but when I really started looking at the people’s faces in the photos, I realized how it humanized the story.
I also thought it was pretty amazing that Wallenberg’s niece grew up to marry Kofi Annan, former secretary general of the United Nations. The Wallenberg family must be a pretty incredible bunch!
This book is an excellent addition to a school or public library, and most likely suited for kids in fourth or fifth grade and up. My only concern is, how exactly do you get kids to read non-fiction? Whenever I visit my local library, I see lots of kids going through the shelves of non-fiction but very few in the non-fiction area. I think lots of kids see the non-fiction part of the public library as a place where you get books for school reports and projects, not for pleasurable reading. As the books in this week’s selection show, contemporary non-fiction can provide just as much joy as works of fiction.