The Cats in Krasinski Square

The Cats in Krasinski Square. Karen Hesse. Illus. by Wendy Watson. New York: Scholastic Press, 2004. 30 pages. $16.95 (Hardcover). ISBN 0-439-43540-4. Grades 1-3.

“The cats come from the cracks in the Wall, the dark corners, the openings in the rubble.” These cats turn out to be the saviors of the young narrator in this World War II tale of bravery, generosity, and quick wit. The nameless narrator of this tale does her best to blend in on her side of the Wall, while her friend Michal starves behind the wall in the Warsaw Ghetto. This young girl and her brave family plan to aide those on the other side by filling the cracks in the Wall with food that they smuggled on the train. On the day of action they learn that the Gestapo is prepared with dogs at the station to stop them. Fortunately the cats of Krasinski Square are waiting to be put to use, and once they are let out of the bag the Gestapo loses any scent they had.  Newberry Award winning author Karen Hesse delivers an uplifting, fictional account of a very real event based on the experiences of Adina Blady Szwajger. The verse form of the text helps the action flow while showing the division and segmentation taking place in Poland during the war. Watson’s large illustrations depict the scariness of the situation as well as the desperation for such action. A nail biting, yet uplifting tale.  Highly Recommended   

My Thoughts…

Woohoo! and Badass! and Awwwww…Were just a few of the thoughts running through my mind as I read this story. I found that this blend of history and fiction works really well in picture books. The illustrations especially help set the scene when the words required would not be appropriate. I loved how the text was free verse poetry. I think it help me get in the narrator’s head; really feel like I was reading her thoughts. I also felt that the poetry feel made the story and suspense build. I had no idea where the story was going with the cats until they were let out of the bag, and oh boy was that just the kind of positive victory that this family needed! The story itself is very sad, having to hide in plain sight and worry about your friend starving only a few feet away. I think however, that the story still does a great job of sparing just how bad the situation was as to not traumatize or overwhelm the young target audience. The final illustration and page of the book really put the bow on its greatness. The light coming from the merry go round is a beacon of hope and victory, but it is still overshadowed by the dark and the large wall. The last verse, however, does shed light on how now the situation is just a little better, a little brighter than before.

Potential Reaction…

I think young readers will love how the narrator and her family trick the Gestapo, and I do think that they will understand and feel sad as they hear the rest of the story. I am not sure that first graders will really understand the situation on both sides of the Wall, but it would be a good teaching opportunity. I do think that some readers may fear for the cats that got let out of the bags near the dogs, however, which could lead to a big distraction and the missing of the rest of the story. I think a lot of questions will be raised about the use of Ghetto, the capitalization of Wall, and why the narrator makes a big deal about dressing Polish and using her Polish words. I think that this would be a great tool for teaching about some aspects of World War II for those reasons. I do think the illustrations will help younger readers understand that they are reading.

Reminds Me Of…

Although historical fiction, this title is very different than some of the other books I have read this semester. It is a good teaching tool in the same was as Peter Sís’s The Wall would be for the Cold War, but the message is completely different.