The Harmonica

Excellent picture book for upper primary school - dark colour palette reflects the horror of the time. Children may be reassured to know the boy did survive (and you can even find him as an older man on YouTube talking of his experience and playing his harmonica).

Excellent for all ages although younger children would need some explanations along the way. Proved very good for WWll project work for school.

This is a simple story read in minutes, but a poignant reminder of human endurance and spirit in the face of overwhelming suffering and cruelty.

Picture books can often be read on multiple levels. The Harmonica falls into this category. Primary audiences will be able to see the horrors of the Holocaust through the eyes of the main character, an orphan who is forced to play his harmonica to appease the commandant of a concentration camp. This audience will also appreciate the way the boy is able to derive something positive from an abhorrent situation. This could easily lead to discussions relating to good vs. evil and how people can make a difference by making positive choices.Sometimes small gestures can have profound effects. An older audience will be better able to grasp some of the complexities of the Holocaust. The illustration of the commandant holding the whip while he enjoys the music demonstrates one of these dichotomies. Older readers will likewise be better able to grasp the underling reasons for the Holocaust and the behavior exhibited by the Nazis.

As a World War 2 infantry soldier and a harmonica player I find this book both heart wrenching and wonderful. My friends who died perhaps helped save the little boy by ending the war sooner. I was captured by the words "somewhere in the heart of the harmonica my mouth had found Schubert". I have felt that about the harmonica, that the music is in there waiting to be found. Sometimes I speak to high school and middle school students on Veterans Day. If that happens again I will read the story to them, including the short biography of Henryk at the end.