I probably wouldn’t read this to my students because it is pretty dark. I don’t think children at a young age should be learning about something as destructive as the holocaust but that’s my opinion.

What do you do when some people are taken away? Do you think yourself lucky that it wasn't you and go about your business? What happens when they come for you? There won't be anyone left to help you.

I've seen this little story in an email, something like: First they came for the Jews, then they came for the Poles, then they came for the ......, and when they came for you, there was no one there to do anything to save you.

This story is exactly the same way, but told with talking animals and haunting illustrations. I read it aloud as the "story for all ages" at church, and it opened up some discussion on our UU principles.


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"In this allegory, the author's reaction to the Holocaust, the animals of the forest are carried away, one type after another, by the Terrible Things, not realizing that if perhaps they would all stick together and not look the other way, such terrible things might not happen." Taken from p. 4 of the book.

This story is an allegory to the Holocaust. Creatures known as the Terrible Things take groups of animals just based off what they look like. The main character is a small rabbit who does not like what is going on. He is forced to watch all of his friends be taken, group by group. Although he doesn’t like what’s going on the larger rabbit encourages him to be quiet and be thankful that it wasn’t them who were being taken. Until one day, after all the other animals were taken, the terrible things returned and captured all of the rabbits except that small rabbit who was able to hide and escape from the terrible things.

I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was very interesting. Even though I am older and I understand the true meaning of the Holocaust and what happened during that time it put it in a different perspective for me. The illustrations were interesting as well. There wasn’t any color except for a few hints of red; the rest of it was just black and white. It was well written and easy to understand.

I believe you could use this book for any age group above a fourth or fifth grade level. Even though the book is meant to reflect the events of the Holocaust, I believe you could use in a lesson over bullying or standing up for what you believe in. I believe it is very important to instill those ideas in our students and children.

Stunning book of the Holocaust. The illustrations are one of my favorite things about the book. ( )