The Edelweiss Pirates - Softcover

"Elvgren makes the events personal and immediate for modern readers, who may have limited knowledge of the Holocaust and the war. A powerful homage to young activists."
-Kirkus Reviews

"Like Elvgren's THE WHISPERING TOWN, this Jewish story is told from the perspective of non-Jews. The author uses music to demonstrate the increasing loss of freedom suffered during the Holocaust. Her book also weaves a tightly crafted narrative, using first-person point of view and present tense, based on the powerful picture-book formula of threes."
-Jewish Book Council

"At a time when most people were afraid to speak out against the injustices and cruelties they were witnessing on a daily basis, Kurt is an inspiring character, finding his voice and means to protest. This is indeed a picture book for older readers that should resonate strongly with them even today."
-The Children's War

"Kurt and his older brother Albert, who are not Jewish, live in Nazi Germany. Albert resists the Nazis through a group known at the Edelweiss Pirates (an actual resistance group), which Kurt, to his dismay, is too young to join. Both boys are musicians, and both enjoy forbidden music, namely, jazz, which they play and listen to any time they can. Kurt's best friend is Fritz, who is Jewish. When the boys can get together, they, too, like to play jazz, Kurt on his trumpet, Fritz on his saxophone. In school, Kurt is ashamed of himself for not standing up in class for Fritz. Then, at a school band concert, Kurt finds a way to resist and to stand up to the Nazis. It's an in spring story, enhanced by illustrations that suit it well."
-Chicago Jewish Star