The Sound of Freedom

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Pub Date 13 Mar 2018 | Archive Date 13 Nov 2018

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Description

Anna and her family have only one hope left to escape certain doom. It’s 1936 and life is becoming dangerous for the Jews of Krakow. As incidents of violence and persecution increase day by day, Anna begs her father to leave Poland, but he insists it’s impossible. How could he give up his position as an acclaimed clarinetist in the Krakow Philharmonic Orchestra? When Anna and her father barely escape from a group of violent thugs, it becomes clear that the family must leave. But how? There seems to be only one possibility. Bronislaw Huberman, a world-renowned violinist, is auditioning Jewish musicians for a new orchestra in Palestine. If accepted, they and their families will receive exit visas. Anna and her grandmother boldly write to Huberman asking him to give Anna’s father an audition, but will that be enough to save them? This poignant story is based on real events in pre-war Poland and Palestine. After saving 700 Jews and their families, Huberman went on to establish what later became the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra. Against an ominous background of the impending Holocaust in Europe and the first Arab-Israeli war, The Sound of Freedom still manages to remind the reader of the goodness in the world.

Anna and her family have only one hope left to escape certain doom. It’s 1936 and life is becoming dangerous for the Jews of Krakow. As incidents of violence and persecution increase day by day, Anna...


A Note From the Publisher

Features Bronislaw Huberman, world-class violinist and founder of the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra;

Set in pre-Holocaust Poland and Israel prior to the first Arab-Israeli conflict;

Features Bronislaw Huberman, world-class violinist and founder of the Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra;

Set in pre-Holocaust Poland and Israel prior to the first Arab-Israeli conflict;


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Social media: Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Annick Blog
Edelwiess, Catalist...


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9781554519705
PRICE $18.95 (USD)
PAGES 256

Average rating from 37 members


Featured Reviews

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.

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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!

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