It is 1936 in Krakow, Poland and Hitler is making his move on the Jewish families. Anna has always led an idyllic and mostly happy childhood going to school and listening to her father play his clarinet in the Krakow Philharmonic Orchestra. As Hitler starts enforcing his reign outside of Germany her family understands it is time to move. Bronislaw Huberman is taking auditions for his new orchestra in Palestine, a city that is safer for Jewish families. Will Anna's father get a spot and the family get their travel visas before it is too late?

I am a big reader of World War 2 fiction at it doesn't matter if it is an adult book or a children book I want to read it. The Sound of Freedom was extremely interesting as it was a story from a different country than Germany. I was also interested as it based loosely on a true story as Bronsilaw Huberman really did start an orchestra in Palestine and go to Poland auditioning people for spots and provided thousands of travel visas for families. I would like to read more about him.

The view point from Anna is very relatable for children in grades 4-7 as she talks about the things that are important to her at that age and those things are important to every child no matter the year or surroundings. She thinks about leaving her friends and how she will feel. She thinks about what to leave and what to take. She thinks about making new friends in a country that she does not know the language. Anna also shows how to gather courage and lets the reader know that each one of us is stronger than we think.

I hope to see this book in school libraries very soon.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Annick Press Ltd. through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

The Sound of Freedom
by Kathy Kacer

Release Date: 3/16/2018

My rating: 4.5 stars

SUMMARY: The Sound of Freedom is a middle-grade novel about a Jewish family in Krakow, Poland in 1936. Life has become increasingly more dangerous, as the violence and persecution of Jews ramp up. Anna is afraid if they don’t escape soon, something really bad will happen. Her father is a talented clarinetist in the Krakow Philharmonic Orchestra. Then they hear that Bronislaw Huberman is auditioning Jewish musicians from all over Europe for a new orchestra in Palestine. If her father auditions and is accepted, she and her grandmother can leave with him. Can father make the cut?

MY THOUGHTS: Stories of Jews in the Holocaust have fascinated me since I was a kid and first read A Diary of Anne Frank and The Hiding Place. As an adult, I worked at a Jewish Center and met Holocaust survivors and got to hear their stories. My interest in the Holocaust is why I requested a copy of this book from NetGalley.

The Sound of Freedom is a gentle introduction to the beginning of the Holocaust for middle-grade students. The story is told through the eyes of young Anna, focusing on the growing anti-Semitism she sees going on around her and that eventually happens to her. It is set in 1936, before Germany’s invasion of Poland and as Hitler is rising in power, so the real horrors of the Holocaust have not yet started.

While the story of Anna’s family is fiction, Bronislaw Huberman really was a world-renown violinist and really did create the Palestine Philharmonic Orchestra and save over a thousand Jews by recruiting them for the newly formed orchestra. Anna’s story is representative of the lives saved by Bronislaw Huberman.

While the story is gentle, it does not make things all nice and tidy and happy. Some of the families leave the orchestra to go back to their homeland, and Anna is concerned for their safety and the reader is left to wonder what happened to them. The story also mentions the tensions between the Arabs and the Jewish peoples in Palestine, so Anna's family may have escaped Poland, but you wonder what will happen to them in Palestine.

I give the story 4.5 stars. I recommend it to anyone with an interest in the time-period. I knocked off a half star because there were several times that Anna felt like the adult in the story. She is more concerned about the things she sees and hears about than her father and grandmother are. There are also times when Anna is disobedient to her father.

For home educators and teachers, The Sound of Freedom would make an excellent addition to a Holocaust study.
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At my request, I received a free electronic copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I was not required to give a positive review. This review reflects my honest thoughts and opinions on the book, and I received no compensation for this review.

"The Sound of Freedom" is not a Holocaust literature but more about the German persecution of the Jews. Loosely based on a true story about a renowned Jewish musician, Bronislaw Huberman, who organized an orchestra by auditioning talented Jewish musicians all over Europe to join him in Palestine. Amidst political upheaval and difficulties to obtain travelling documents, Huberman successfully saved over thousand lives of many Jewish musicians and that of their families.

Holocaust and the persecution of the Jews are always some heavy topics to read. "The Sound of Freedom" offers a fresh, innocent and positive voice in the genre and it manages to break the heavy topic to young adults gently. I enjoyed reading "The Sound of Freedom" for the most part and I am now interested to research more on Bronislaw Huberman.

And as a fan of classical music myself, reading anything about music adds additional satisfaction. Thanks Annick Press for providing e-gallery for my enjoyment. I will certainly consider adding "The Sound of Freedom" to my personal collection.

I appreciated the title of the book and the picture of a clarinet and a case with each chapter heading as they related to the story of earning ones freedom from Hitler during WWII.
You will enjoy reading about Anna and her friend, Renata, as they enjoy their friendship in Krakow, Poland before the Nazis ruin their homeland. Anna’s Father, Avrum Hiroshima, was a gifted clarinetist, who played with the Krakow Philharmonic Orchestra and lectured at the music academy.
Anna and her grandmother hear about an audition that is being given by a famous violinist,
Mr. Huberman, to recruit musicians to form an orchestra in Israel. Anna’s Father does not believe that the Jews in Poland will be mistreated or harmed, so he does not enter his name in the audition, but Anna begs her grandmother to enter her father’s name for the audition.
You will have to read the book for yourself to find out what happens to Anna, her friend, and her father and grandmother.

The Sound of Freedom
by Kathy Kacer
Annick Press Ltd.

Annick Press
Children's Fiction , History
Pub Date 13 Mar 2018


I am reviewing a copy of The Sound of Freedom through Annick Press and Netgalley:


Anna and her family have one hope left in order to escape certain doom. In 1936 things are getting exceedingly dangerous for the Jews of Krakow. As violence increase daily Anna begs her Father to leave Poland but time and time again he tells her that is not possible. He cannot give up his place as acclaimed clarinetist in the Krakow Philharmonic Orchestra. Anna and her Father barely escape a group of violent thugs, making it clear that the family must leave.


How will they leave? Their seems to be only one option Bronislaw Huberman a world renowned violinist is auditioning Jewish Magicians for a new orchestra in Palestine. If they are accepted they and their families will be given exit visas.


Anna and her Grandmother decide to write Hubetman giving her Father an audition, but will it be enough?


The Sound of Freedom is a fictionalized account of prewar Poland and Palestine its a story of sacrifice, loss and survival.


I give The Sound of Freedom five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

Anna's father is a gifted clarinet player employed with the Krakow Philharmonic Orchestra. As their community falls under the spell of Hitler, life becomes harder and harder for them. When he has a chance to audition for an orchestra in Palestine, he reluctantly takes a chance, leaving all he and his family knows behind.

This was a quick and fast read. With well rounded characters and a fast paced story line, it is well suited for middle schoolers. It does not ignore the horrors of war, but addresses them in a way that a young teenager would understand. Overall, well worth picking up.

This was a part of the Holocaust that I was not aware of. I have read many books about that time in history and this was a first! It is a touching and heartbreaking story with a bittersweet ending.

I requested this one thinking it was going to be about the Holocaust, but it is more centered around the orchestra created after the protagonist and her family were forced to flee Poland. A very interesting read.

From a child's perspective, it chronicles the worsening persecution Anna suffered in Poland before WW2, and the sacrifices she made to find a new home. It really captures the feeling of foreboding so many felt at that time.
Specifically, it is based around the formation of the Palestinian Symphony Orchestra, now the Israeli Philharmonic. That was really interesting.
Even though it covers some terrifying times and terrible events, it is still appropriate for younger teens. They would understand the fear and anxiety the heroine felt, but it’s not overly graphic.
It was interesting having a child tell the story. I think that will help keep children’s attention, but, to me, it seemed a bit odd in spots. She comes across as more of an ‘actor’ or ‘mover’ in their story than her father or grandmother. All the ideas seem to be hers, not the adults. For such a young child it seemed a bit odd that she would know or care more about certain events than her father does. It also meant that there were several instances where she must choose to disobey her father so she can be part of the action.
I wish there were more footnotes. There were a few things that I wish I could research more. I had read some of these things before and would like to verify them.
I received this as a free ARC from NetGalley and Annick Press. No favorable review was required. These are my honest opinions.

Kathy Kacer has found a gentle way for the YA reader to be introduced to the horrors of WWII as experienced by Polish Jews. Her YA novel, The Sound of Freedom, is set in Krakow, prior to the German invasion of Poland at a time when Hitler was rising in power and anti-Semitic feelings and actions were beginning to take hold among the general population.
Anna, the main character in this book, is a motherless Jewish schoolgirl who lives with her father (a professional musician) and her grandmother. Initially Anna is a happy child who pals around with her BFF and is unaware of the approaching life changing events. Gradually she starts to experience bullying and spitefulness because of her Jewishness. Kacer does an excellent job of making the child's horror real without making it overbearing for a young person to read about. Kacer uses news broadcasts, family conversations, discussions with friends, witnessing good people standing by and doing nothing, the isolation of Jews and decisions of other Jewish families to leave the country as ominous warnings of what the future holds for Anna and her family.
A central figure in this historical fiction is the real Bronislaw Huberman, who actually was a world famous Polish violinist. Huberman did indeed create the Palestinian Symphony Orchestra to which he recruited many European Jews, thereby saving the lives of them and their families. He provided travel documents to move them to Palestine at a time when Jews were unable to leave their countries.
In the novel Anna's father successfully auditions for Huberman's orchestra. There are many tense moments during the decision to audition, while waiting for the results of the auditions, trying to arrange travel documents for grandmother, travelling by train through Germany, etc. Again Kacer has inserted just enough drama into the plot line to keep the young reader interested but has bypassed the grotesqueness encountered by many Jews in that time and place.
As a former educator I have seen many youths overwhelmed when learning about the the Jewish experience during WWII. Many of today's youth are old enough to understand the descriptions but too young to process the reality. This novel, however, is an excellent teaching tool. Kacer allows her characters to ask, “But what about the ones left behind”, “What happened to the families that returned” but she does not answer these questions. This allows the reader to research these questions for themselves, when they are ready to learn the answers. I recommend this book be added to middle school curricula.

Not a Holocaust story, as I originally assumed, but a just-barely-got-out-before-the-Holocaust story. Simple and short.

I'm going to use this book in our classroom as we study World War II. It provides a perspective that I've not seen before in children's books, including the immigration to Palestine, and also opens the door for a lesson on classical music and musical instruments. This is a nice book to add to any classroom collection!