THE HEDGEHOG * DANIEL'S STORY

The Hedgehog - A couple of years ago, I read a wonderful book called The Elegance of the Hedgehog about a Parisian girl named Paloma and Renee, the unassuming concierge of her building.  The movie somehow incorporates more of the story of Paloma's life with her parents than I remember from the book, but brings to life the memorable Kakuro Ozu in a simple and beautiful way.  I enjoyed seeing these characters and this story come to life.  

Daniel's Story by Carol Matas - Daniel was 14 years old in 1941 when the Germans forced he and his family to leave Frankfort and resettle in Lotz, Poland.  Lotz was a ghetto with many hardships, but each time the Germans relocated Daniel, his circumstances worsened.  I will go to my grave haunted by the fact of the Holocaust and the fact that it could happen in modern society in a populous place surrounded by civilization.  I will never understand it.  This story is fiction written for young people who are studying the Holocaust in school.  It's written in the first person, but for me the most powerful stories are those that are completely true.   I wish Carol Matas would write a book about what happens to Daniel in the next years of his life, so that the young readers can look at their elders and understand that they were once young.