What Rosa Brought
Rosa lives in Vienna. Whilst her parents work in their shop each day, she is looked after by her grandmother. With the arrival of the Nazis, things change for Jews like Rosa and her family until new rules mean they can’t own shops or run businesses. Resourceful and intelligent, Dad starts to make trunks which he sells one at a time to their departing Jewish neighbours, even creating one with a false bottom to hide a precious Torah. Desperately waiting for a visa which will allow them to flee the country, Rosa imagines what each of her family might take with them, but when the visa finally comes, there isn’t one for Grandma so what she actually takes with her is her Grandmother’s love.
Drawing on the experiences of his own family, Jacob Sager Weinstein has used his mother’s memories and historical sources to create this deeply moving and tender story. According to the author’s note, Rosa- his mother- is now an eighty-seven year old woman and the inclusion of family photographs makes the story all the more poignant.
Text and illustrations combine perfectly to tell Rosa’s story. Relatively short, simple sentences effectively capture her rapidly changing life whilst the pictures add unspoken details of the dark events unfolding around her. The bright, happy spreads which depict life before the Nazi invasion form a stark contrast to the ominous, darker ones which follow. There is much to discuss here, much to contemplate and much to empathise with. The love of this family shines clearly through, offering a sense of hope. The final image of Rosa, darkness behind her, clutching her Grandmother’s love to her heart, surrounding by the shadow of her grandmother whilst looking over the side of a ship towards the Statue of Liberty in the light is quite stunning. Even the endpapers are carefully composed.
Heart-rending and unforgettable, ‘What Rosa Brought’ is a wonderful read.
What Rosa Brought
Jacob Sager Weinstein, illustrated by Eliza Wheeler
Harper Collins ISBN: 978-0063056480
Published 14th March