Poland is born anew in the late 1980s. Like most births, it’s messy. Post-Soviet Poland has transitioned to a capitalist economy, leaving deep trenches of flux and discord in its wake. Inflation is sky high, entire neighborhoods are left jobless, and there isn’t enough food to go around.
Breadcrumbs is the memoir of Kasia Babis, who was born in and grew up during this time of massive change. Her dedication goes out to her closest friends, as they “survived being girls together.” It’s a hard-hitting statement. To an American reader (like myself), this is already a difficult thing. To someone who had to survive being a girl and in a country in political and cultural disarray, well, that just builds better character, right?
Babis fights her way through adolescence, forges her personal beliefs against the backdrop of a fiercely Catholic country, and wades through the misinformation, nationalism, economic upheaval, and hard truths about her life and friends in a post-Soviet world. This story is about growing up in a rapidly-changing world and how some people choose to cope. Some get swept along, others self-medicate, and Babis chooses to become active in protests. It is a compelling story, and has a somewhat harrowing ending.
I’m a big fan of minimalist color palettes and Babis keeps it very simple with washed out grays and splotches of red here and there – sometimes to denote importance, sometimes not. It’s a color combination I have seen generate fear and stark contrast, but the book is still full of friendly faces. There is a nice hand-drawn quality to the uneven, thick lines that border each panel and figure. The drawings depicting Babis and her story are a little evocative of the work of Kate Beaton (largely realistic with some cartoonish elements), which I only mention because of the sections that detail history. These panels are done with careful attention to the physical details of the historical figures they describe and result in a colder, more detached style.
Breadcrumbs’ narrative touches on a lot of subjects and topics that younger readers might not understand or be ready for; complex ideas like communism vs. capitalism vs. democratic socialism, separation of government powers, generational trauma, domestic violence, abortion, women’s rights, and men’s issues. The publisher, 23rd St. (an imprint of Roaring Book Press) states specifically its works are “for grown-ups.” I think this narrative casts a slightly wider net than that – I bet high school readers would find a lot to chew on. Otherwise, keep this one on the tall shelves for other adult readers. It’s a gripping memoir in the vein of Persepolis and The Best We Could Do.
Breadcrumbs By Kasia Babis 23rd Street, 2025 ISBN: 9781250877871 Publisher Age Recommendation: Adult NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult, High school Character Representation: Polish
Breadcrumbs Coming of Age in Post-Soviet Poland By Kasia Babis 23rd St., 2025 ISBN: 9781250877871
Company Age Rating: 18+
NFNT Age Recommendation: Adult (18+), Older Teen (16-18) Creator Representation: Polish, Character Representation: Polish,
The Girl Who Sang is a Holocaust survival memoir by Estelle Nadel and illustrator Sammy Savos that tells the former’s story of hiding from the Nazis and eventually fleeing her native Poland.
Born Enia Feld, the author’s story begins in April 1939 in Borek, in southern Poland. Enia is the youngest child in her family. Her older brothers are Shia and Minashe and her older sister is Sonjia. Her family are practicing Jews who farm and are friends with their Gentile (non-Jewish) neighbors. When the tale begins, the family are celebrating Passover and discussing the news about Hitler and the Nazi’s military advances. Readers see the family gathering together, preparing matzah, and praying in Hebrew, showing Jewish life to readers unfamiliar with their customs.
The book is told in five chronological parts introduced with the range of years during which each part occurs. Estelle remembers how the Nazis invaded Poland, forced Jews to wear the Star of David, displaced them from their homes, and rounded them up for transport to ghettos and death camps. Some of the non-Jews covertly sheltered their Jewish neighbors, which is how Enia and her brothers escaped the horrendous fate of other family members and friends. However, just because they did not end up in a death camp does not mean they had an easy time surviving.
One aspect of the book I appreciated was seeing the shades of morality that some characters portrayed. For example, one neighbor agrees to conceal Enia, her mother, and two brothers, but only for one night as he fears for his own life should the Gestapo discover his betrayal. Is such a character kind, malevolent, neither, or something in between? In another instance, Shia escapes the jail he and Enia have been imprisoned in, and dashes away before Enia can catch up. The terrified Enia freezes on the spot and breaks down crying. Shia later admits he heard her crying, but stayed away, afraid that she would get them both caught. What does the reader think of Shia’s actions? He instructed Enia on how to escape before getting free himself, but then he left her alone after he promised he would wait for her.
The panels of the book are well organized and easy to follow. The characters’ facial expressions and actions move the story along. Simple backgrounds keep most of the focus in the foreground where the characters are positioned. The color palette of dim earth tones preserves the solemn tone of the book and again keeps attention on the characters. Scenes of violence depict beating, shooting, and blood spatter. One instance of this is a firing squad. Blood paints the wall behind the people who have crumpled into corpses on the ground. In another scene, Nazi soldiers beat and then murder Chaya, who refuses to tell them where her children are hidden. This history and imagery are painful, but important to learn about for children who are old enough to do so.
Recommend The Girl Who Sang to older kids and tweens who like the I Survived series and other historical or biographical books.
The Girl Who Sang: A Holocaust Memoir of Hope and Survival By Estelle Nadel Art by Sammy Savos Macmillan Roaring Brook, 2024 ISBN: 9781250247766
Publisher Age Rating: ages 10-14 NFNT Age Recommendation: Middle Grade (7-11), Tween (10-13)
Creator Representation: Polish, Jewish Character Representation: Polish, Jewish
This collection of gentle, thoughtful stories paired with skillful watercolors will be visually appealing to certain audiences.
The first story is titled simply “Here.” With a burgundy leaf and a swipe of rich brown the reader is introduced to Tiny Fox who lives happily alone under an apple tree. Then Great Boar appears and Tiny Fox has to learn to share, but it is only when they are separated at the end of the chapter that Tiny Fox comes to appreciate his new companion. In the following brief stories, “Together,” “Apart,” and “There,” the two experience the beauties of autumn and the cold and hunger of winter, Together they find the courage to travel to find new adventures.
Tiny Fox’s coloring changes from pale browns to rich orange, but Great Boar retains his reddish brown hue throughout the story. Their comparative sizes vary; on the cover, Tiny Fox sits daintily on Great Boar’s snout, but throughout the story he appears at only a fraction of Great Boar’s size, curled in a disconsolate ball, or trotted cautiously behind his new friend. Great Boar, shown with a scattering of bristles and a fang-like tusk, trots about on short, stubby legs, but nevertheless is able to scale a tree, roll down a hill, and curl up comfortingly beside Tiny Fox.
There is no translator listed, although the text appears to have been translated from the Polish; an edition was also published in Spanish in 2021. Besides the illustration for a picture book, That Night, A Monster, this appears to be the first appearance of award-winning artist Kolomycka in a mainstream US press. The beginning of each story has text boxes with simple explanatory sentences, explaining that Tiny Fox is happy alone, that winter is coming and it is cold. The large panels and full-page spreads transition to smaller panels, sometimes wordless, showing the two friends navigating the seasonal challenges and quietly discussing whether they should leave their apple tree, where to find food, and which direction they want to travel in. Only one other creature, an owl, appears near the end of the story to offer advice after they quarrel. Both Tiny Fox and Great Boar use male pronouns.
There’s a gentle humor in the illustrations of Great Boar and Tiny Fox rolling down a hill, their wary, sidewise glances, and their scrambling attempts to climb a tree, but this is more of a gentle story of friendship and the changing seasons. Readers who are more familiar and comfortable with the raucous humor of Dog Man or the clear-cut art and brief text of beginning graphic novels like Cranky Chicken and Narwhal and Jelly are unlikely to be drawn towards this more European conception of comic art, but those who enjoy quieter, more reflective stories and the slow passage of seasons will find this a restful and satisfying story.
Hand this to young readers who enjoy the variety of art styles seen in Toon Books or the quirkier stories of Graphic Universe. This would also pair well with units on art styles and watercolors and the timeless, philosophical story will appeal to some older readers as well.
Tiny Fox and Great Boar, vol 1: There By Berenika Kolomycka Oni Press, 2022 ISBN: 9781637150207
deep trenches of flux and discord in its wake. Inflation is sky high, entire neighborhoods are left jobless, and there isn’t enough food to go around.
The Girl Who Sang is a Holocaust survival memoir by Estelle Nadel and illustrator Sammy Savos that tells the former’s story of hiding from the Nazis and eventually fleeing her native Poland.
This collection of gentle, thoughtful stories paired with skillful watercolors will be visually appealing to certain audiences.
