Just a Girl: A True Story of World War II
Acceptable with guidance. Age: 9+. A Catholic review of this book for parents.
Our review
A gentle, true memoir of a Jewish child who survived the war because Catholic sisters hid her. It shows real evil plainly but never graphically, and the grown-up Lia steps in to reassure young readers. The family's Jewish faith is shown with respect, and the nuns' courage is charity in action. The one note for parents: the girls pretend to be Catholic and attend church to stay hidden.
For parents
Read aloud from 7, independent reading from 9. Ask why the nuns risked their lives for Jewish children, and what Jesus said about the least of these (Matthew 25:40). Ask why the girls had to pretend at Mass, and why the Church teaches that Jews are our elder brothers in faith (Nostra Aetate 4).