One More Border: The True Story of One Family's Escape from War-Torn Europe

by William Kaplan, Shelley Tanaka, Stephen Taylor (Illustrations)

It's 1939, and Memel, Lithuania, is no longer safe for Jewish families like the Kaplans. Nazi troops have overtaken much of Europe, and hundreds of thousands of Jews have tried to flee Hitler's advance. Most do not succeed. The Kaplans — Igor, his little sister, Nomi, and their parents, Bernard and Nadja — are determined to survive. Staying one small step ahead of the German troops, they encounter the legendary Japanese consul Chiune Sugihara, who manages to finagle exit visas for the entire family — everyone, that is, except for the Russian-born Mrs. Kaplan, who must somehow secure her own papers. Can she succeed where so many have failed, and find refuge with her family, or will she meet the grim fate of millions of other Jews? The Kaplans' desperate attempts to obtain safe passage, and their harrowing journey three-quarters of the way around the world, on ship and on the Trans-Siberian Express, form a riveting narrative that puts a personal face on the often-overwhelming human tragedy that is the Holocaust.

Genres: Picture Books, World War II, Childrens, Nonfiction

61 pages, Paperback

Published October 16, 2004

Reviews

[CH_Emily Scholnik · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a picture book for older readers, 5th through 9th grade, depending on reading level and it's use in the classroom.

A moving and suspenseful true story of a Jewish family, the Kaplan's, and their brave and harrowing journey to safely at a time where borders where shut down and the Jews in war-torn Europe were being shipped off to concentration camps left and right. The routes to safety were limited; the Kaplans traveled three-quarters of the way around the world by ship and by train. They traveled through Russia, into Japan, and finally made it into North America. This books is also filled with archival photographs, sidenotes, and maps to assist readers in understanding the story's historical and geographical context. This book would be an excellent companion to a unit on the Holocaust. The real pictures added into the story really make the story come to life and lets readers fully comprehend that this REALLY happened.

[Mckensi · Rating 4 out of 5]

WWII Picture Book: Although this is a picture book I would say the audience would be at a higher grade-level most likely middle-school level. This book is unforgettable just because of how moving it is in depicting the events of WWII. I think this story would be a great way to introduce students to events that happened in WWII. The illustrations emphasize the story's messages and real world events. Highly recommend for historical lessons or projects!

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Children's non-fiction describing the escape of a Jewish family from Lithuania to Canada in 1939.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

a moving story of a daring escape from the Soviet occupied Kaunas (in Lithuania). A true hero of the books is the Japanese vice consul Chiune Sugihara, who in July and August of 1940 issued more than 2000 Japanese transit visas to Jewish people who tried to leave the country. He disobeyed orders of his superiors by issuing documents to people who didn't meet all criteria - but he did that realizing how uncertain was their fate if they remained in that part of Europe.
The books is based on the author's family experience.
My only (although quite a major) complain is that the book is dumbed down/inaccurate in terms of history: it implies that the Kaplan family was being persecuted/fleeing from Nazis, while in that point (when the daring escape takes place: summer/fall of 1940), Lithuania was not occupied by Germany, but its (then) ally - the Soviet Union. The illustration on the cover depicts the family surrounded by Nazi soldiers, while in fact those would be nowhere near Kaunas during that time. It would be more accurate to have the family surrounded by NKVD officers (a predecessor to KGB). In 1940 Lithuania "volunteered" to join the Soviet Union (not a choice really) and the situation there was becoming very precarious. People were pressured to take on Soviet citizenship, but the vision of life under Stalin was not overly appealing to anybody, considering that Gulag was in full swing already, and thousands of people were deported into the depths Soviet Union already, after the Red Army crossed the Polish border on September 17th of 1939. While Mr. Kaplan secured the transit visa for himself and the children (as the document's copy indicates: it was August 1940. The book reports Igor seeing newspaper headlines about "Germany advancing" two weeks after that (sometime in September 1940) making the family's departure of Kaunas more urgent- while in fact the Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union (which by then incorporated Lithuania) in June of 1941 (it was a surprise attack, as until then Hitler and Stalin were allies). while the family story might have gained some inaccuracies over the decades and while being passed to next generations, I found it surprising that this detail was not fact checked/corrected by the publisher/editor. I am also under impression that the hardship and danger of living under the Soviet rule is downplayed it the book. After the Red Army took control of their neighbours (Poland, Lithuania), massive arrests and deportations had started, targeting ethnic groups, which included Jewish people. This threat is never clearly mentioned, beside some vague mentions of Russians not liking Jews.
Despite the inaccuracy and simplification, the book is still a beautiful story, with wonderful pictures by Stephen Taylor. I am very grateful for the author, William Kaplan, for sharing this very personal story of his family.

[Dena Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was kept on the edge of my seat wondering if the Russian-born mother was going to get her papers to be able to leave Russia. The illustrations by Stephen Taylor were marvelous. I also enjoyed the sidebars and photos of things the family might have seen in their journey from Lithuania to Canada. This is a very wonderful story of one man's heritage. The boy in the story is the author's father. The book is written at book level 4.4, and I would recommend it for 4th grade and up. There is one very sad incident where the main character's friend Felix and his family, also Jewish, were taken off the train after two men in dark suits examined their papers, so the book may be too sensitive for some students. "Outside, the Fogelmans were being led down the platform. As the train began to move, Felix turned back to look at his friends, his eyes dark pools of confusion and fear."