By: Mila Vincent and Johanna Luza | Photo by Shayna Vincent ~
What better way to celebrate Henrietta Szold’s birthday on Dec. 21, 1860, than with the first picture book about this great woman who founded the charity Hadassah and saved thousands of children from the Holocaust?
Mila Vincent, our six-year-old theater and book critic, says A Queen to the Rescue is a perfect choice for Hanukkah or Christmas. She is wearing her Hanukkah shirt for her review because that is the holiday she celebrates. Thank you to Mila’s great friend, Doug Sturdivant, for buying her the book!
A Queen to the Rescue: The Story of Henrietta Szold, Founder of Hadassah
Written by: Nancy Churnin
Illustrated by: Yevgenia Nayberg
Published by Creston Books | Distributed by Lerner Books
Mila: When Henrietta Szold was a little girl like me, she liked the story of Queen Esther. Queen Esther saved the Jews from Haman, the bad guy. Henrietta always wondered if she could ever help people as Queen Esther did. She didn’t dress or look like a queen, but my gramma said that’s not important. Anybody can dress up like a queen. Henrietta was like Queen Esther because she saved lots of little children in the Holocaust.
Her dad was a rabbi, and her mom and dad were always helping people. Henrietta learned to help people, too, just like her mom and dad did. It’s kind of like when my mom teaches me to help people. I’m not a queen either, but I did dress up as Queen Esther once!
Henrietta Szold started a charity called Hadassah. That was Queen Esther’s Hebrew name. She saw children in Palestine who were hungry, so she made sure they got food. She also gave them books to read. She raised so much money that she sent some nurses to Jerusalem to take care of many sick children. I liked this book because Henrietta Szold taught children that every kid could make a difference if they stood up and were brave. Your child or grandchild will enjoy this book for Hanukkah or Christmas. I’m wearing my Hanukkah shirt because my friend Doug bought this book for me, and I celebrate Hanukkah!
Johannah: Nancy Churnin was able to take this remarkable woman’s accomplishments and focus on the things she did that children would understand, good deeds that children would find meaningful. The story of a simple everyday woman who did so many heroic things is what children today need to hear. Henrietta Szold did so much for education and healthcare. And not everyone knows that she saved so many children during the Holocaust. She became Queen Esther, a woman she so admired! The author’s note at the end of the book is very informative. It’s an entire story itself, and adults will learn so much about Henrietta Szold!
