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The Cats in Krasinski Square- Honors & Full Reviews
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PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY, Starred Review
In her spare yet lyrical narrative, Newbery medalist Hesse (Out of the Dust) relays a haunting story based on an actual incident involving Poland's Warsaw Ghetto. Watson, best known for Father Fox's Pennyrhymes, makes a stunning stylistic departure here, with artwork in muted tones of brown, gold and brick red. An aerial view of Krasinski Square on the title spread depicts buildings with gaping holes that define a plaza overrun with tanks and soldiers. Into this atmosphere, author and illustrator introduce the young narrator, who approaches a line of stray cats emerging from a pile of rubble. "I look like any child/ playing with cats/ in the daylight/ in Warsaw,/ my Jewish armband/ burned with the rags I wore/ when I escaped the Ghetto." The girl comforts the many homeless cats who "belonged once to someone /[and] slept on sofa cushions/ and ate from crystal dishes," whispering to them that she has "no food to spare." Yet she has more to eat than her friend Michal, who lives on the other side of the Wall. The child's older sister, Mira ("all that is left of our family"), describes the "newest plan" to smuggle food into the Ghetto: friends will come by train, hiding food in their satchels, which the sisters and others will sneak through the cracks in the Wall. When word comes that the Gestapo has caught wind of the plan and will meet the train with dogs to sniff out the smugglers, the narrator comes up with a plan of her own to foil the Nazis. Watson achieves an impressive versatility with her pencil, ink and watercolor artwork; her fine ink line emphasizes the starkness of the Ghetto's confines while her warmly toned watercolor wash conveys the coziness of Mira's home, spare though it may be. Other touches-the almost comical chaos that erupts at the train station in a flurry of cats and dogs, and the town carousel, a universal mark of childhood-allow readers to experience the terrifying events from somewhat of a cushioned distance. Author and artist take a complex situation and make its most important aspectscomprehensible to a child. Older readers will most appreciate the bravery and intelligence of this impressive heroine. Ages 7-10.
KIRKUS REVIEWS, Starred Review
A young Jewish girl and her sister, "passing" as Polish in WWII Warsaw, plot to sneak food, brought by collaborating train passengers, into the ghetto. Their scheme is jeopardized when the Gestapo meets the train with dogs that sniff out both smugglers and contraband food. To foil the Nazis, the sisters gather up the feral cats of Krasinski Square in baskets. They release the cats as a distraction to the dogs, thus allowing the food to be smuggled into the ghetto. Skilled pacing renders the cat solution a satisfyingly subversive surprise while Watson's illustration of the flummoxed Nazis underscores the ensuing chaos. The illustrations, with their soft but firm line and monochromatic sepia-toned palette, have an appropriate retro look. Among the great historical avalanche of Holocaust stories, Hesse has found a little-known vignette that she treats with her customary modest but elevating free-verse style, making a grave subject enormously accessible, gently humorous, and affectingly triumphant.
BOOKLIST, Starred Review
In luminous free verse, Hesse's latest picture book tells a powerful story of a young Jewish girl who, together with her older sister, ingeniously fights the Nazi occupation of Warsaw. After escaping from the Jewish ghetto, the girl avoids detection: "I wear my Polish look / I walk my Polish walk / Polish words float from my lips / and I am almost safe / almost invisible / moving through Krasinski Square." She finds joy in playing with the city's abandoned cats, who show her holes in the ghetto wall, which the girl's older sister and their resistance friends will use to pass supplies shipped by train to Warsaw. The Gestapo learns of the scheme, and soldiers wait at the train station with dogs. Luckily, the cats inspire a solution once again; they distract the dogs and protect the supplies. It's an empowering story about the bravery and impact of young people, and Hesse's clear, spare poetry, from the girl's viewpoint, refers to the hardships suffered without didacticism. Watson's arresting images echo the pared-down language as well as the hope that shines like the glints of sunlight on Krasinski Square. An author's note references the true events and heartbreaking history that inspired this stirring, expertly crafted story.
HORN BOOK
A little girl (perhaps ten years old or so) narrates this story of wartime Poland, describing her visits with the abandoned cats in Krasinski Square and how they came to be helpers in a scheme to smuggle food into the Warsaw Ghetto. The girl has escaped from the Ghetto and now protects herself by looking like "any child": "I wear my Polish look,/ I walk my Polish walk./ Polish words float from my lips / and I am almost safe, / almost invisible." The girl and her older sister work with the Jewish resistance to get food into the Ghetto, but when word comes that their plan is known by the Gestapo, the cats provide a useful distraction. Both author and artist achieve a fine balance of beauty and sadness. Simple, graceful words and pictures make this adventure story a taut and moving one. Watson's illustrations – watercolor, ink, and pencil – reveal the girl's sensitivity and delicacy, while the artist's depiction of the cats seems to pay homage to Wanda Gag's Millions of Cats. Watson shows the wartime city – with the soldiers and their dogs patrolling streets lined with elegant buildings – using warm shades of browns and golds to convey a soft glow of hope alongside tragedy. Some may object to the imaginary story of quiet triumph set against real-life tragic events, but Hesse's author's note explains where her idea came from, and how, just as in this tale, Jews passing as non-Jewish Poles played a critical role in saving others.
AMERICAN JEWISH LIBRARY ASSOCIATION NEWSLETTER
If there is a nearly perfect picture book that translates a story from another place and time into our own, it may be The Cats of Krasinski Square, written by Karen Hesse, and illustrated by Wendy Watson. Like a precious object from the past, this book carries the authentic look, feel, and rhythm of its place and time: Warsaw's ghetto, Poland, spring of 1943.
A book transmits a story, but it is first a physical object. Everything about this book points to that time and place: its rich yet faded cover illustration of the ghetto buildings, its large, landscape dimensions, its restrained color palette of sepia, rose, rust, and cream, and its old fashioned style. The illustrator had drawn images of people, cats and buildings with a liquid line that suggests an old ink pen's nib. Her line is beautifully varied and sensitive. The watercolor washes describe stones, fur or fabric with economy. The Polish typeface, the elegantly framed typeface, and the slow pace of text and images evoke a time when life was slower. All of this is brought together in a beautiful object that can be held as close as one's lap.
The story itself is a real story with a beginning, middle and end. A young Jewish girl has escaped to live outside the ghetto with her older sister where they masquerade as non-Jews. She befriends the homeless cats of Krasinski square. When she learns of the local Gestapo's latest evil plan, she hatches a scheme to thwart it. She, her sister and other resistance fighters carry it out successfully, and achieve a small victory. Although an adult reading this knows that it is a tiny part of a larger tragic story, children may not know that. For them, this book tells of a small triumph against evil.
There are many Holocaust books addressed to children. This is one of the best, and can step right to the head of the queue for its artistry and its restraint. It tells children something they can handle. It would be useful in a school setting for children from second grade and up, and is readable for all ages. Parents, grandparents, teachers and librarians will appreciate it. Hesse's graceful and wise story, Watson's sensitive drawing and painting, and Elizabeth Parisi's elegant book design create a precious legacy in picture book form. Highly recommended for all children's library collections, and for home libraries as well.