Hana's Suitcase cover art

Hana's Suitcase

A True Story

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Hana's Suitcase

Written by: Karen Levine
Narrated by: Stephanie Wolfe
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About this listen

 In March 2000, a suitcase arrived at a children's Holocaust education center in Tokyo, Japan. On the outside, in white paint, were these words: Hana Brady, May 16, 1931, and Waisenkind - the German word for orphan.

Children who saw the suitcase on display were full of questions. Who was Hana Brady? What happened to her? They wanted Fumiko Ishioka, the center's curator, to find the answers.

In a suspenseful journey, Fumiko searches for clues across Europe and North America. The mystery of the suitcase takes her back through 70 years, to a young Hana and her family, whose happy life in a small Czech town was turned upside down by the invasion of the Nazis

©2007 Karen Levine (P)2009 Brilliance Audio, Inc. Biographies Historical Young Readers

What the critics say

"Skillfully, and with great sensitivity, Levine weaves together the two stories, alternating that of a young life shattered in increments and that of Fumiko Ishioka's relentless search for answers." ( The Globe and Mail)
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A heartbreaking and wonderful story. I especially found the last chapter replaying the exert from the CBC with Famiko and Hana’s brother talking very poignant. It would be a book for children around the ages of 10 to read, to learn about the Holocaust.

An Important Book.

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the ending actually made me tear up hearing the stories told personally. this was beautiful way to share her story

beautifully told

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nice short account but nice to see the empasis on the learning across nations, especially considering Hapan was allied with Nazi Germany. Beautiful ending.

happy end

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