Hidden by Loic Dauvillier

Title: Hidden
Author: Loic Dauvillier (Translation by Alexis Siegel)
Illustrator: Marc Lizano & Greg Salsedo (colorist)
Publisher: First Second (:01)
Copyright: 2014
Price: $16.99
ISBN: 978-1596438736
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Summary and Quick Thoughts: Little Elsa wakes up in the middle of the night. Just before she returns back to bed, she realizes someone is up. In the room, she finds her grandmother, Dounia Cohen looking through old photos and thinking of a different time. Innocent Elsa asks her grandmother to tell her what's wrong because maybe talking about it will help. Dounia is hesitant, but decides to tell Elsa the truth of her childhood, starting with the yellow star sewn onto her jacket.
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Recommended Audience: Upper elementary and up.
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Things to be aware of: N/A

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Further Thoughts: When this first came out to my shelves (through the Junior Library Guild selection program), I thought "no way this was a children's title. Anything about that time is definitely for older kids."

I was wrong. Dauvillier gets it. The pacing of the story is appropriate for that of a younger child who might not understand everything being told to her. Elsa, is a realistic child from her giggling at grandmother's childhood crush to gently prompting Dounia to continue. Dounia tells the story to her grandchild appropriately for Elsa's age using age-appropriate terms (i.e. "wee-wee") and explaining her feelings gently (with Elsa not understanding but knowing it was bad). The text alone is lovely.

The people with big heads and tiny bodies are perfect for this story. It makes the story real, but distant. It provides great opportunities to zoom in for full face panels. The best time this style for the characters work is the full page of Dounia's mother when she returns from the camp. It's haunting, scary, but not in a "I can't continue this it's too gross" way. More like a "wow...I can't believe that happened." Here is a story that the art just enhances the text and paints a bittersweet story of a girl having to grow up and recognize the world of the time.

What we have here is a wonderfully done tale of the 1940s about a child in France who had to wear the Yellow Star, whose parents were arrested, and who escaped to grow up and have children of her own. It is easily appropriate for children and even a classroom. It probably would even be useful in middle or high school classrooms.There is a very brief afterword that helps put context to the story and reminds readers that this happened and that we should continue to fight injustices.

Overall feeling: I definitely have this on my library shelf. It is a story that needs told and a different perspective.

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Source: Library