Can anyone remember the name of a book from my childhood?

October 31, 2007 11:20 AM

Can anyone remember the name of a book from my childhood? Kid lit from the late 60’s/early 70’s. Book is about the Holocaust, I think. Bought the book from the Scholastic Book Club (they don’t have lists from back then). The book has a red cover with a picture of a girl with dark brown hair. Part of the story takes place on a train going to Siberia(?). Hope you can help me find this book!
posted by D Dear to media & arts (12 comments total)

Number the Stars?
posted by greekphilosophy at 11:28 AM on October 31, 2007

Number the Stars has nothing to do with Siberia. Besides, it was written in 1989.

Check our annotated bibliography of children's books about the Holocaust to see if any of those titles/summaries rings a bell. If not, let me know and I'll look into it. I should be able to figure this out if nobody else here has any ideas.
posted by arco at 11:33 AM on October 31, 2007

I think it's probably The Endless Steppe, but I haven't read it since 1983 so my memory's fuzzy.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 11:36 AM on October 31, 2007

Was this fiction or nonfiction?
posted by arco at 11:37 AM on October 31, 2007

Was it The Endless Steppe by Esther Hautzig?
posted by mogget at 11:38 AM on October 31, 2007

2nding The Endless Steppe.
posted by poissonrouge at 11:38 AM on October 31, 2007

Pater Aletheias might be right, although that link is off. Here's the summary of The Endless Steppe from OCLC: "During World War II, when she was eleven years old, the author and her family were arrested in Poland by the Russians as political enemies and exiled to Siberia. She recounts here the trials of the following five years spent on the harsh Asian steppe."

It was first published in 1968.
posted by arco at 11:40 AM on October 31, 2007

Oops. Sorry about that bad link. It was left from the post I did this morning. Mogget's is good.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 11:49 AM on October 31, 2007

On the off chance that it isn't The Endless Steppe (here's an older cover to help jog your memory), a couple of other guesses:

The Wild Children of the Urals
I Am 15 and I Don't Want to Die

Also, there's a huge vintage Scholastic book list here, with links at the bottom to the rest of the huge lists. Take a look - it seems every Scholastic book from the 50s, 60s, and 70s might be listed there - maybe a title or author will pop out at you.
posted by iconomy at 11:50 AM on October 31, 2007

mogget - Fiction

Ding, ding, ding! That's IT! The Endless Steppe! You guys are SOOO awesome. I'm gonna order it right now. Thanks a bunch... I'm very grateful!
posted by D Dear at 12:12 PM on October 31, 2007

Iconomy, the eBay site is AWESOME! It brings back so many memories. Thanks SO much!
posted by D Dear at 12:37 PM on October 31, 2007

Glad to help, and glad you got your answer so quickly too ;)
posted by iconomy at 12:49 PM on October 31, 2007