Sasha
12/20/00

Good Night Maman
by Norma Fox Mazer

Have you ever had an adventure? Well you will have an adventure full of hope when you read Good Night Maman. It exposes you to a lot of things that you probably never heard of, for example, have you heard of refugees? Refugees are people who need to leave their homeland because others are not accepting them and are threatening them. In this book, a young girl, Karin, and her brother, Mark, are trying to get away from the Nazis.

Karin runs with her family to hide in someone’s house where they live until they get kicked out. The woman there was scared the Nazis would come. If they figured out she was holding them, she would be killed.

Karin runs with her brother but they have to leave their Mother because she is feeling sick. Later in their adventure, Karin and Mark have to make a tough decision to go though with it and meet back with Maman after the war. This decision will change their lives.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was the one who sent the ships over from America to save the Jews. Later, they lived in a fort. They were sort of caged in and guards were at every entrance. They slept on cots. They only had a table, two chairs and two cots. Sometimes, Karin would go over to the entrance, where Americans were giving away things to the refugees. Every time, Karin wished someone would give her shoes. Finally, she gets shoes.

What eventually happens is the children get to go out for a few hours. The adults can stay out for longer. That is how Karin made friends with Peggy.
Soon the school year begins and Karin goes to school, a little nervous, but not for long. She sees Peggy there. That goes on for a while but later, the war ends.

A lot of people loved America and stayed. Others go back home to Europe. The choice Karin and Mark make is to stay!They were planning to go back home until they figured out their Mother had passed away. At the end, Karin and Mark stayed with their Aunt in America. It is incredible to think that children the age of my brother and I had to be so strong emotionally. I hope no child ever has to live like this again, but I admire Karin and Mark for their courage.

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This page last updated: 08/28/04.