Return to the Holocaust -- The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen / The Root Cellar by Janet Lunn / Fog Magic by Julia Sauer

Teaching Pre K-8, Jan 1995 by Hurst, Carol Otis

Return to the Holocaust. Just as strong and about another terrifying period in history is Jane Yolen's The Devil's Arithmetic (Puffin, 1990, ISBN 0-14-034535-3) in which a 12-year-old girl, Hannah, annoyed by her family's endless talking about the Holocaust, is suddenly transported back to a Polish village in 1940.

A different war is the focus of Janet Lunn's The Root Cellar (Puffin, 1985, ISBN 0-14-031835-6). This time fantasy involves a modern day girl who becomes involved in the past, where a Canadian girl must search for her brother, missing in the Civil War. It's an outstanding book with a tender and surprising twist at the end.

Equally sensitive is Julia Sauer's Fog Magic (Puffin, 1986, ISBN 0-14-032163-2) in which a Nova Scotia girl reaches the fishing village of Blue Cove only through the fog. Unlike some time fantasies, this character can return home at will. It also becomes clear that her father had visited Blue Cove in his youth. The story is haunting and beautifully told. Well, I guess that's all we have time for.