New Releases by Michael Gruenbaum

Young David has a school assignment to learn about Beethoven and his music. Fortunately, his grandfather can not only play Beethoven’s music for him, but he can also tell David the story of Beethoven’s life. David learns that Beethoven learned to play piano at age four and kept composing music his whole life, even after losing his hearing. David can’t help but appreciate the man and his music, which people have been listening to and enjoying for more than 200 years.

Prague, 1939. Misha a 10 ans et adore les après-midis au magasin de jouets avec son père. Mais quand les troupes allemandes envahissent la ville, les lois antisémites se multiplient, et l’insouciance de Misha vacille. Avec sa famille, ils sont envoyés dans un ghetto puis déportés dans le camp de Terezin. C’est là que Misha se lie d’une amitié fraternelle avec quarante garçons. Erich, Jan, Koko, Felix, Pavel... et surtout Franta, leur éducateur et mentor. Dans les coups durs comme lors de leurs parties de football, ils sont les Nesharim, unis à la vie, à la mort ! Mais avec le danger constant des convois « vers l’Est », Misha peut-il garder espoir ? En collaboration avec l’auteur Todd Hasak-Lowy, Michael Gruenbaum partage son histoire bouleversante d’humanité et de fraternité. Son témoignage, ainsi que les nombreux documents et photographies originaux qui l’accompagnent, apportent une contribution essentielle à la littérature de l’Holocauste.

Resilience shines throughout Michael Gruenbaum’s “riveting memoir” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) about his time in the Terezin concentration camp during the Holocaust, in this National Jewish Book award finalist and Parents Choice Gold Medal Award–winning title, an ideal companion to the bestselling Boy on the Wooden Box. Michael “Misha” Gruenbaum enjoyed a carefree childhood playing games and taking walks through Prague with his beloved father. All of that changed forever when the Nazis invaded Prague. The Gruenbaum family was forced to move into the Jewish Ghetto in Prague. Then, after a devastating loss, Michael, his mother and sister were deported to the Terezin concentration camp. At Terezin, Misha roomed with forty other boys who became like brothers to him. Life in Terezin was a bizarre, surreal balance—some days were filled with friendship and soccer matches, while others brought mortal terror as the boys waited to hear the names on each new list of who was being sent “to the East.” Those trains were going to Auschwitz. When the day came that his family’s name appeared on a transport list, their survival called for a miracle—one that tied Michael’s fate to a carefully sewn teddy bear, and to his mother’s unshakeable determination to keep her children safe. Collaborating with acclaimed author Todd Hasak-Lowy, Michael Gruenbaum shares his inspiring story of hope in an unforgettable memoir that recreates his experiences with stunning immediacy. Michael’s story, and the many original documents and photos included alongside it, offer an essential contribution to Holocaust literature.