The Grey Striped Shirt

Jacqueline Jules handles one of the heaviest subjects in children's literature with real craft — the gradual disclosure structure across a year of family conversations mirrors how these conversations actually happen, and the book fills a precise niche identified by School Library Journal between simpler Holocaust picture books and full novels like Number the Stars. Educators and librarians have recognized it in Holocaust curriculum resources. Parents and teachers should preview and plan to discuss it with children, but this is exactly the kind of thoughtful book that earns its difficult subject matter.