Using uncomplicated language and full-page black and white photographs, Smith (My Secret Camera
) recounts the courageous actions of German citizen Elsie Kühn-Leitz during WWII. Elsie's family, who owned the Leitz camera factory near Frankfurt, used its position to help many Jews flee Nazi Germany. Elsie herself provided comfort and extra food to Eastern European women forced to work in her father's factory, and she later assisted a Jewish woman in a failed escape attempt. Smith's use of simple terms makes a horribly dark era comprehensible to a young audience. "The Nazis took control of Germany and they wanted to get rid of everyone they disagreed with or simply didn't like." Photos of Elsie and some of those she helped, along with stark images of the camera factory and a Gestapo prison, provide a harrowing complement to the forthright story. A heartrending juxtaposition shows a photo of Elsie reading to her two children alongside text describing her arrest by the Gestapo: "Elsie was escorted home to say farewell to her family. Her children were getting ready for bed when she came to say goodbye." The narrative offers an inspirational story of a true humanitarian (an author's note gives more details about Elsie, who died in 1985). Though it likely will invite more questions, the book provides a provocative starting point for introducing the issues of WWII. Ages 6-up. (Feb.)
