One Day: A True Story of Survival in the Holocaust

Gr 3-6–Inspired by a writing prompt for the 2022 commemoration of Holocaust Memorial Day, this book tells the story of a father and son who survived the Holocaust. Hungarian Jews hiding in Paris, the two were arrested and sent to a Nazi concentration camp. In an attempt to escape, they began digging an underground passage to freedom. However, before it was complete, they were caught and placed on a train to Auschwitz. As the train slowed in a tunnel, 19 prisoners, including the father and son, pulled the bars from a window and escaped. While the survivors’ harrowing account ends with hope, the book does not shy away from the atrocities of WWII. The cruelty and horrors of the Nazis are briefly addressed, as are the numbers of those who were killed on that final train ride. Illustrations evoke the style of Quentin Blake, but without the whimsy; instead, they employ somber colors to reflect the sadness and destruction of the story. The writing is concise yet powerfully descriptive, and the repeated refrain of “one day” emphasizes life’s unpredictability and the need for resilience.