Dear colleagues, I was searching for something age-appropriate to use with the after-school Hebrew School students and found a beautiful 18-minute HBO documentary inspired by David Adler's book but with a slightly different title -- *The Number on Great-Grandpa's Arm --* for an audience of about 10 and up. Maybe you already know about this film, but if not, you need to. Elliott, a 10-year-old, interviews Jack, his 90-year-old great-grandfather, about his life before, during, and after the Holocaust. The love between them is palpable. The historical material consists of watercolor animation based on photos that then merge into the actual photos. The effect is to soften the images, but you see the real thing -- for example, Jews behind the barbed wire at Auschwitz. It's direct without being graphic. Marjorie Ingall's fine review in *Tablet *led me to the film: https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/community/articles/holocaust-movie-for-young-viewers__;!!KGKeukY!kY7J-ZKJ8WZ4UqdJq6XtSDFmKBb9Qqi5cC757MY4PnRwY9Up5OK8dW_TMC56m6SV72ROJFdi2RLP_GY$ . Marjorie, if you're on Hasafran, thank you!!
You can find the film through HBO but it's also available on Youtube as part of a 38-minute recording made by the Museum of Jewish Heritage in June 2021. Here's the link: https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzneegXqx-s__;!!KGKeukY!kY7J-ZKJ8WZ4UqdJq6XtSDFmKBb9Qqi5cC757MY4PnRwY9Up5OK8dW_TMC56m6SV72ROJFdiXbgmRME$ . It starts with the museum staffer's brief chat with Elliott, now 15, and his mother. Then we see the film, which starts at 1:27. Afterwards there is a Q&A (about 20 minutes), also well worth watching, starting at 18:20. We screened the film separately for two groups, grades 4/5 and grades 6/7, in the library. We played the intro and the film (about 18 minutes all together). Both groups watched with intense attention. Then we paused the recording to talk about the film and answer questions. After the students had a chance to ask their own questions, we watched about five minutes of the Q&A on the video. We will meet again to watch the remaining 15 minutes and continue our own discussion. We only had a 45-minute time slot, which is why we just saw a bit of the Q&A. If you wanted to build in discussion time but also watch the whole recording, I would recommend an hour, with the possibility of going perhaps 15 minutes longer. Students will doubtless ask if Jack is still alive. Sadly he passed away in December 2021 at the age of 95. But the fact that his story has been shared in this exceptionally fine way only makes the point about the importance of documenting survivors' stories while it is still possible. And finally, in a form that engages and informs children, but does not outright terrify them. Best, Annette Annette Y Goldsmith, PhD (she/her) Part-time Faculty, Kent State iSchool; Librarian, Sephardic Temple Tifereth Israel, Los Angeles Member, 2022 Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award Committee "A book is like a world you can carry around with you." Liniers
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