Judy Tal Kopelman - Grandpas Third Drawer: Unlocking Holocaust Memories

It was with great eagerness that I read this beautiful book. Its warmth will move many students and readers. Eli Wiesel Grandpas Third Drawer is an organized and clear story which enables young readers to confront the hardest of stories to tell. Yael Dar, Haaretz, Israels oldest newspaper Grandpas Third Drawer Grandpas Third Drawer Unlocking Holocaust Memories Written and illustrated by Judy Tal Kopelman The Jewish Publication Society Philadelphia University of Nebraska Press Lincoln English-language edition 2014 by Judy Tal Kopelman Hebrew-language edition, Hamegera Hashleesheet Shel Saba, 2003 by Miscal-Yediot Achronot Books and Chemed Books Cover image courtesy of Judy Tal Kopelman Author photo courtesy of Yael Ilan All rights reserved. Published by the University of Nebraska Press as a Jewish Publication Society book. The objects and documents shown in the illustrations are courtesy of Beit Theresienstadt Archives, Givat-Haim Ichud, Israel.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Tal, Judy. [Megerah ha-shelishit shel saba. English] Grandpas third drawer: unlocking Holocaust memories / written and illustrated by Judy Tal Kopelman. pages cm Summary: Young Uri finds the key to his grandpas locked drawer and discovers poignant mementos from the HolocaustProvided by publisher. ISBN 978-0-8276-1204-4 (cloth: alk. paper) ISBN 978-0-8276-1170-2 (epub) ISBN 978-0-8276-1171-9 (mobi) ISBN 978-0-8276-1169-6 (pdf) 1. paper) ISBN 978-0-8276-1170-2 (epub) ISBN 978-0-8276-1171-9 (mobi) ISBN 978-0-8276-1169-6 (pdf) 1.

Holocaust, Jewish (19391945)Juvenile fiction. I. Title. PZ 7. T 14139 GR 2014 [E]dc23 2013031274 The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content. To Arik Thanks to Yoel for the drawing that follows.

Grandpas Third Drawer Of all the places in the world, I love to stay at Grandma Genia and Grandpa Yudas house. I spend all my vacations thereaway from my nagging sister, away from my parentswithout ever having to wake up early, without having to go to school. Grandpa Yudahes my best friend. He always has time to play with me. Grandma Geniashe makes me yummy hot chocolate and bakes my favorite cookies. Sometimes she sits with us and knits quietly.

Theres a kind of quiet in Grandma and Grandpas house. Its the silence of people who come from a faraway worlda vanished world that still lives in memories. Of all the rooms in my grandparents house, I prefer to play in Grandpas study, where he keeps his desk, his piano, and lots of other stuff. Grandpas desk has three drawers. In the first drawer, Grandpa keeps his pens and paper. My pencil case and favorite crayons are also there.

The second drawer has all sorts of special old toys that are made of wood or metal. Grandpa used to play with them when he was a boy before the war. When Grandpa had to leave his house in Germany, his neighbors kept his toy box for him until the war was over. The third drawer of his desk is always locked. No one ever opens it... Breakfast at Grandpa and Grandmas lasts for as long as you like. Breakfast at Grandpa and Grandmas lasts for as long as you like.

The wonderful smell of freshly baked bread fills the house. Grandma sets the table with beautifully decorated china and crocheted napkins. There are all sorts of special ornaments in the house: Grandmas handmade tablecloths, pretty glass vases, and paintings of spectacular landscapes. The morning sun shines through the curtains, creating spots of light on the tablecloth. Sometimes a ray of light slips in, and you can see thousands of dust particles floating in midair. After breakfast, we usually spend time in Grandpas study.

I like to take my crayons from the first drawer of his desk and draw. I can draw for as long as I want, and no one tries to snatch the crayons away from me. I also love playing with Grandpas old toysthe ones in the second drawer. But I always look at the third drawer and wonder whats inside it. Why am I not allowed to open it? When we are together, Grandpa likes to listen to music. He doesnt listen to the news or read the paper.

He has an old record player on which he plays his favorite music by Mozart and Beethoven. Sometimes hell sit and play the piano. Grandpa says that playing Mozart makes him feel like he lives in a perfect world. When he plays, his eyes sparkle. He looks into the distance as if he were somewhere else. On Grandpas table in the corner, theres a special box for chocolates that Grandma and Grandpa brought from Germany. On Grandpas table in the corner, theres a special box for chocolates that Grandma and Grandpa brought from Germany.

When I feel like having a sweet, I take a peek to find out whats inside. Sometimes I find caramel candies and sometimes Belgian chocolate. Yum! Grandma says that chocolate needs to be freshly made out of pure ingredients, using a recipe passed on from generation to generation. Grandma loves to spoil me. When I take a sweet, she always says, Have another! When I play with Grandpas toys from the second drawer in the desk, I try to imagine him as a boy. There are a few photos in the drawerof Grandpa when he was a child, of the magnificent house he grew up in, and of family trips to the countryside.

There is also one of his sister, Anna, whom I never knew. Once, I asked Grandpa to take me to Germany. He didnt want to, I think. Perhaps one day, he said. During my last visit to my grandparents house in the winter, there was one cold and rainy day when Grandma and Grandpa went out for a bit, and I stayed at the house on my own. In Grandpas study, I opened the first desk drawer to get my crayons and pencil case, and I suddenly noticed a key hiding in the corner of the drawer! I was sure that this key opened the third drawer, the one thats always locked.

The forbidden one. I couldnt help myself. I turned the key in the keyhole and barely managed to open it. It smelled awful... like the locked-away place that it was.