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Hitler’s
Daughter is a children’s book intended for children ages 8 and up. The author
of this book, Australian Jackie French, has also written a numerous amount of
children’s literature such as ‘Diary of a Wombat’, which had won the Young
Australian Reader’s award along with the USA Benjamin Franklin award. Besides
children’s books, Jackie is also a historical writer. She has written books
such as ‘Daughter of the Regiment’, ‘the White Ship’, and ‘The Road to
Gundagai’.
The story of Hitler’s Daughter starts
with four children waiting for the school in the morning. Mark, Ben, Anna and
little Tracie. They often played what they called ‘The Game’ while waiting for
the bus, to stop little Tracie from being upset. ‘The Game’ involved one person
making up stories off the top of their heads and the others would continue. One
rainy morning, Anna started telling her story. The story of Hitler’s daughter,
Heidi. Every morning, Anna would continue with her story until the bus arrives,
but the children slowly lose interest in Anna’s story, until only Mark is left
interested. The book also shows scenes with Mark and his parents, with Mark
asking questions about Hitler, and this helps us understand Anna’s story even
more. As Anna tells her tale about Heidi with her huge birthmark on her face
and her limp, Mark starts to wonder if Anna’s story is real, but Anna insists
that the story is entirely made up. After all, who would believe a story like
this? A story about Hitler’s daughter living in the countryside, hearing about
her father’s actions from her maid, Frau Leib, and she starts to think that her
father is not a very good person. Heidi has only seen her father once or twice,
but not once did she feel love from her father. She had also overheard her
father talking about her, saying how disappointing it is that his daughter
cannot be part of his ‘New Germany’.
This book, while short, manages to pack two complete stories within it, without making the reader feel confused or overwhelmed. It teaches children about Hitler and what he has done, and also having a different view on Hitler as a person, as Heidi clearly loves and admires her father while we generally are taught to view Hitler as a villain. I found this book to be in a brilliant perspective, something that I've never thought about Hitler is if he knew what he was doing was a bad thing, and this book made me think that perhaps villains are just people doing what they think is the right thing. Of course, this is still just a children’s book, so the author attempts to explain Hitler’s actions in modern day terms and examples, including one scene in which the children discuss what is right and what is wrong, and also asking the bus driver for her opinion. The bus driver states that what Hitler was and what he did was clearly racist, and likens it to Ben’s father’s racism towards Asians and how Ben is brought up with that racism and thinks of it as the ‘right thing to do’. Interesting story aside, the book also brings up details of Hitler’s regime and his whereabouts and specific dates, and the author has clearly done her research about Hitler and the Second World War.
The only drawback in this book is the way the children are sometimes portrayed as mere props that have the same opinions and the same reactions, except for Mark. It always felt, to me, like it was a lazy way to write. I would've preferred if the author left out a few characters and focused on the ones she obviously wanted to write more about, instead of shoehorning characters in for the sake of diversity.
Overall, this book is a must read for everyone. Children, teenagers, and adults alike. I have read this book about 4 or 5 times, most recently about 2 years ago, and have enjoyed it every time. It feels as though every time I read it, I notice something I've never noticed before. After recommending it to a lot of my friends and family, I've gathered that this is a book that transcends age, almost the same way as Harry Potter, as the Harry Potter series is also a children’s series. All in all, a fascinating book, and I endorse it greatly.
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I feel like I got into the groove about halfway through, and the front part just seems stiff and characterless. Ah well, I'm not sure if this is supposed to be like a formal essay or a blog post, so I'll just leave that there, just in case.
For the second time today, goodbye!
