I was sorting through the pile of books on our coffee table this morning trying to figure out which ones could go back to the library. Before I take them back I try to read the ones that I didn’t get my fill of during the last few weeks. Jane Yolen’s Stone Angel almost leapt into my hands. I opened the cover and started reading. Ahh, it’s Remembrance Day today, that’s why this book jumped out of the pile.

I cannot get through this book without crying–the flight of this Jewish family of four from Paris, into the French woods, over the mountains to Spain and finally to England is unimaginable for me, particularly as a mother. The story is told through the eyes of a young girl who believes in angels. After tearing the Star of David off of her coat, she even keeps it in her pocket so the angels will know her. Her beliefs in angels are bolstered when she returns home to find the massive statue of a stone angel still guarding her Parisian neighbourhood. Stone Angel is a poignant and hopeful story that would complement any Remembrance Day or World War II history discussion.