The World Entire tells the remarkable true story of Aristides de Sousa Mendes who, against the orders of his government, issued thousands of visas to refugees fleeing the Nazis during World War II. In a narrative which skillfully balances Sousa Mendes' internal struggle as he decides to defy the instructions of his leaders with the larger picture of Nazi occupation and its movement through Europe.

This is a fairly serious and dense text which includes a high level of historical detail about the movement of refugees through Europe during the war and the roles of politicians and diplomats to help or hinder that movement. It is saved from being to bogged down in this factual information by a truly masterful art style, the colorful, sketchbook-like quality of which lends brightness and life to the story. The colorful images depicting Portugal and the refugee families contrasts clearly with the greys and blues used to illustrate the Nazi forces on the move.

While I definitely feel that this book skews towards an older audience (it would be a great companion to WWII studies in middle or even high school), I would not be concerned about it being too graphic, gloomy, or gruesome. The threat of Nazi occupation and concentration camps are real and mentioned explicitly, but in the end the core of the story is the focus on the value of all human life and the heroic effort of Sousa Mendes to save as much of it as he can, which in the end, leads to thousands of lives saved.

Included in the back matter of the text is an author's note providing more historical context, a timeline, and a robust list of primary and secondary sources.

While the message is wonderful, the artwork in this book is beautiful and appealing to readers and listeners both. The writing is accessible and suitable even for very young children, with a more in depth summary of the acts of Aristides de Sousa Mendes, and the effects on his life.

I had not previously know anything about Aristedes de Sousa Mendes; in fact, I can’t even recall reading his name anywhere. So I was glad to read an early copy of *The World Entire* to learn about him.

The message in *The World Entire* is a vitally important one, and models to children the significance of caring for our fellow citizens and helping those in dire need of it. Always (unfortunately) timely, the urgency of this message is (unfortunately) just as relevant today as it was.

The art in the book is beautiful; I’m not even sure how to put into words my love of the art; I wound up following the illustrator, Melissa Castrillon on instagram because her artwork in this wonderful story about a remarkable man in wretched times.

Recommended for ages 3 - 100+.



Thank you to Chronicle Books and NetGalley for the DRC

I had no idea who this person was or how many people he saved until I read this book. I will definitely get this book for my Holocaust collection. It was the perfect picture book for the topic.

This is an important story with beautiful illustrations, perfectly written for young audiences. Without going into the horrors of the Holocaust, this book tells the importance of allowing refugees safe passage and the duty we have to look after one another.

It would work well as a read-aloud in a history or social studies class to introduce an important figure in history. It also serves as an engaging discussion about the moral dilemma that Aristedes had. How would any one of us reacted at that time? How would we react to current immigration requests? What information do we need to make the right decisions?

I highly recommend this book for schools and libraries.