Hana's Suitcase

Plot Summary

In March 2000, a suitcase arrived at a children's Holocaust education center in Tokyo, Japan. On the outside, in white paint, were these words: Hana Brady, May 16, 1931, and Waisenkind—the German word for orphan. Children who saw the suitcase on display were full of questions. Who was Hana Brady? What happened to her? They wanted Fumiko Ishioka, the center's curator, to find the answers.

In a suspenseful journey, Fumiko searches for clues across Europe and North America. The mystery of the suitcase takes her back through seventy years, to a young Hana and her family, whose happy life in a small Czech town was turned upside down by the invasion of the Nazis.

This book is based on Karen Levine's Canadian radio documentary, also called Hana's Suitcase.

Foreign rights not available

Awards

2002 Sydney Taylor Book Award; 2003 Children's Book of the Year, Canadian Library Association; 2004 IRA Children's Book Award Notable - Intermediate Nonfiction; 2004 Notable Children's Book; 2005 Skipping Stones Honor Award; 2005-2006 Young Readers Program Master List; 2006 Great Lakes Great Books Award Winner; 2007 Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Book Award Master List; Flora Stieglitz Straus Award for Nonfiction, Bank Street College; Notable Book for a Global Society, International Reading Association; Silver Birch Award—Nonfiction, Ontario Library Association; Special Recognition Award, National Jewish Book Awards, Jewish Book Council; Teachers' Choices for 2004 - IRA; Winner of a Parent's Guide Children's Media Award

Reviews

"The account, based on a radio documentary Levine did in Canada, is part history, part suspenseful mystery, and always, anguished family drama, with an incredible climactic revelation. The informal style brings home what it was like for an ordinary kid at the time, and what it means for children to find out about her today. The facts are inescapable, illustrated with glowing family photos, Nazi official documents that show Hana's fate, and pictures she drew in the secret art classes in Terezin." Booklist

"The text is well written, moving, and accessible; the photos are involving and the format is well designed." The Bulletin

"Levine cross-cuts to the tragedies that befall Hana and her brother, but does not let readers anguish; she interposes exciting accounts of Fumiko's detective work and the sense of accomplishment it brings to the club." Publishers Weekly

"Based on a radio documentary by the author aired by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Hana's story will captivate young readers as it unfolds. Levine successfully incorporates the two stories: a bleak story of a young girl's pointless suffering and death at the hands of fellow humans, the other a hopeful one of children, a world away in space and time from the events that deprived Hana of her future, who vow 'never again.'" Kirkus Reviews

"A unique and appealing book."
Children's Literature

Associated Keywords
holocaust, Judaic, jewish, judaism, canada, canadian, japan, chapter book