Hold On to Your Music

December 1, 2020
The Children of Willesden Lane (2003), Golabek and Cohen's story of Golabek's mother's life as a young Austrian refugee in London during World War II, is adapted (for the third time) for a picture-book audience. In this picture-book biography, Lisa Jura, a young Viennese Jew, learns she cannot continue piano lessons due to the Anschluss. Her parents decide to send her on a Kindertransport to England, her mother urging her to "hold on to your music. It will be your best friend." Upon her arrival in England, the book sends her immediately to the hostel on Willesden Lane, omitting the real-life Jura's initial relocation in the country. The arc of the rest of the story, with Lisa auditioning for a place at the Royal Academy of Music with support from her hostel friends and a successful debut after the war ends, is largely similar to that told in the books for older readers, but the abundant, unsourced dialogue and detail changes make this telling suspect. Her two sisters are both alive and heartwarmingly present at her London debut in Lisa of Willesden Lane (2021), the chapter-book version of the story, but they don't exist in this book outside of a family photo accompanying an aftermatter note from Golabek. The soft-edged illustrations ably complement this text, although Lisa--depicted with pale skin amid an apparently all-White cast--does not seem to age until her piano debut takes place after the war's end. (This book was reviewed digitally with 11-by-17-inch double-page spreads viewed at 42.1% of actual size.) The story is both poignant and meaningful, but the simplification does the audience a disservice. (historical note) (Picture book. 7-9)

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Starred review from December 1, 2020

PreS-Gr 3-This intimate picture book shares the true story of Golabek's mother, Lisa Jura, an Austrian Jewish refugee who survived the Holocaust and pursued her dream to become a concert pianist. The narrative begins in Vienna in 1938. Jura's piano teacher informed her that she could no longer take piano lessons because she was Jewish. Upon returning home, her parents explained the hatred of the Nazis for Jewish people. Her mother encouraged her to "hold on to your music. It will always be your best friend," which served as the touchstone for Jura's life. Possentini's pastel and gouache illustrations depict warm, realistic scenes of Jura traveling from Vienna to Britain on a Kindertransport train and finding refuge at Willesden Lane, which was a home for children who had left their families behind. Mrs. Cohen and the 32 other children supported Jura's musical ambitions and helped her land an audition at the Royal Academy of Music. Rich, engrossing art and precise storytelling accentuate scenes of Jura playing piano in the basement while bombs fall, and performing at her first concert. The history of Nazism, the Holocaust, and the lifesaving mission of the Kindertransport are deftly explained in the author's historical note. Pictures and artifacts, combined with the author's note about the inspiration she has always found in her mother's love of music, stand out. VERDICT A must-share snapshot of history that invites young readers to consider what they will hold on to when they face difficult times.-Jamie Winchell, Percy Julian M.S., IL

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