The Shadow Children
By: Steven Schnur
Illustrated by: Herbert Tauss
Published by Scholastic Inc. 1994
Recipient of the 1994 Sydney Taylor Book Award
Historical Fiction
Every summer Etienne travels to his grandfather's farm in Mont Brulant for a summer of relaxation away from the city. However, this summer, Etienne discovers something in the small town's past that seems to have been a sadly kept secret. During World War II, Jewish children from all over traveled to this small town for safe hiding, but when the Nazis threatened the citizens lives over the children, the townspeople gave the children up. The 'shadow children' now hide in the woods near the train tracks that took them away, but what Etienne can't understand is that these children are just ghosts. Why is he the only one who can see them?
Reading Level:
Grade Level Equivalent: 5.1
Lexile Level: 850L
Suggested Delivery:
Small Group Read
Electronic Resources:
This website allows students to read about the histories of real life children from the Holocaust. By clicking on a child's name, you are lead to a small biography about that child. Although the children in the story are fictional, being able to see that this did happen to real children will help students understand the historical aspect of the story.
This is a very simplified version of why and what the Holocaust was. Although the story centers around World War II, it takes place after without giving much detail on what and why the war exactly happened. As part of a class project, this website was written by a student making it even more easily understood for students.
Key Vocabulary:
refugee, bookbinder, guilt, cattle car, Monsieur, embankment
Comprehension Strategies:
Before Reading:
Before reading, students need to familiarize themselves with the history behind the story. Have students read and research online the Holocaust and write down two reasons why it happened, two important things about the war and two reasons why it ended. Discuss as a group everyone's answers and decide which are truly the most important.
During Reading:
Have students try to make connections with the text as they read. At the end of each chapter have students write a paragraph about something they connected with in that chapter. Obviously the connections may be very simple at times, but being able to feel a part of the text will make students more apt to read the story.
After Reading:
We only know what happened with the children during the war from stories Etienne was told. Use these stories and write a newspaper article about what Mont Brulant was like during the war. Some students could write about when the refugee children first came and other could write about what happened when the Nazis came and the children were given up.
Writing Activity:
Imagine you are Issac, the schoolteacher who Grand Pere had a great bond with. Issac went with the children to the Nazi camp and died. Write a letter to Grand Pere from the future. What would Issac say?
Schnur, Steven, and Herbert Tauss. The shadow children. New York: Morrow Junior Books, 1994. Print.
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