{"id":1817,"date":"2023-04-09T20:03:11","date_gmt":"2023-04-09T10:03:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.readingopensdoors.com.au\/?p=1817"},"modified":"2023-04-09T20:03:12","modified_gmt":"2023-04-09T10:03:12","slug":"waiting-for-the-storks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.readingopensdoors.com.au\/?p=1817","title":{"rendered":"Waiting for the Storks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.readingopensdoors.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Waiting-for-the-Storks-cover-xxx.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1818\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.readingopensdoors.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Waiting-for-the-Storks-cover-xxx.jpg 900w, https:\/\/blog.readingopensdoors.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Waiting-for-the-Storks-cover-xxx-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.readingopensdoors.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Waiting-for-the-Storks-cover-xxx-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/blog.readingopensdoors.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Waiting-for-the-Storks-cover-xxx-768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Waiting for the Storks<\/em> by master storyteller Katrina Nannestad with Illustrations by Martina Heiduczekis and published by HarperCollins is Katrina\u2019s third historical fiction title which is inspired by an event during World War 2 and sensitively, yet powerfully, explores this from a child\u2019s perspective. This book, recommended for readers 12+ is inspired by real people and real events. Meticulous research has been undertaken to make the story historically accurate by retelling what life was like under Himmler\u2019s Lebensborn Program which was established to satisfy Hitler\u2019s desire to build a strong and pure German population. One method employed to achieve this was to steal children to bolster the German population. This book follows the story of blond hair and blue eyed Zofia Ulinski, a polish girl, stolen from her home and family, stripped of her name, culture, language and identity to be raised by a German family. Interwoven into this story is the significance of choices and the consequences they carry \u2013 some dire and others seeming inconsequential, but have the potential to be life altering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>This story begins by painting a clear picture of what life was like for eight year old Zofia, who lives with her Tata, Mama and Aunty Barbara, all sharing a happy and close relationship. They live in their home in Krakow, in German occupied Poland. While out with her mama, Zofia captures the attention of the German soldiers who later pay a visit to her home and drag her away from her family. They \u00a0throw her in the back of a truck where she joins other children who have also been ripped away from their families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>This story then follows these children and touches on the different fates that befall them. All children are forced to stop speaking Polish and given harsh punishments if they do not speak in German. They are taught German by a cruel teacher, Herr Lehrer, who is merciless in his approach and punishments. The children are examined by a Doctor who checks their measurements as well as their physical attributes. They are also assessed to gather information about their intelligence and personality type. This medical team is working to determine who are considered \u201cracially valuable\u201d or \u201cundesirable\u201d (these appalling and vile terms are not used in the book). Katrina points out in her Author\u2019s Note that, \u201cNone of the assessments were founded on real science or medicine. The entire process was ridiculous, immoral and disastrous for all the children involved\u201d.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Zofia who is renamed Sofia (and taught a story about how she came to be adopted by a wealthy German couple) is adopted by Dr Engels and his wife, who live luxuriously in the countryside. It is fascinating and heartbreaking to follow Zofia\u2019s journey, how her attitude changes towards Germans, Hitler and her transformation as she is indoctrinated with German propaganda and severely punished when she does not comply. Survival means taking on the role of a German character in this new fairy tale life with this new family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Zofia\u2019s new life and idyllic experiences fill her mind and heart. Her former life and Polish past is buried deep within her and comes bubbling to the surface (much to her surprise) when she meets a Polish boy, Tomasz, a slave on her friend\u2019s farm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Throughout the story Zofia is conflicted as she grapples with living a constructed lie and betraying her true identity to simply survive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>This story, like Katrina\u2019s former two historical fiction titles, shows seemingly small acts of kindness can have a ripple effect with far reaching positive consequences. Even though this story explores the unimaginable horrors of war and the human face of war, it does this in an accessible and sensitive way for children. It is also a story that contains hope and highlights the power of courage, love and friendship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>A teaching guide for <em>Waiting for the Storks<\/em> is available on the publishers website <a href=\"https:\/\/www.harpercollins.com.au\/9781460714584\/waiting-for-the-storks\/\">here<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:30px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>A review for <em>We Are Wolves<\/em> is on the Reading Opens Doors blog <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.readingopensdoors.com.au\/?p=666\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A review for <em>Rabbit, Angel, Soldier, Thief<\/em> is on the Reading Opens Doors blog <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.readingopensdoors.com.au\/?p=1096\">here<\/a>. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Waiting for the Storks by master storyteller Katrina Nannestad with Illustrations by Martina Heiduczekis and published by HarperCollins is Katrina\u2019s third historical fiction title which is inspired by an event during World War 2 and sensitively, yet powerfully, explores this from a child\u2019s perspective. This book, recommended for readers 12+ is inspired by real people [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1818,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[60,198,71,61,65],"book-category":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Waiting for the Storks - Blog - Reading Opens Doors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.readingopensdoors.com.au\/?p=1817\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Waiting for the Storks - Blog - Reading Opens Doors\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Waiting for the Storks by master storyteller Katrina Nannestad with Illustrations by Martina Heiduczekis and published by HarperCollins is Katrina\u2019s third historical fiction title which is inspired by an event during World War 2 and sensitively, yet powerfully, explores this from a child\u2019s perspective. 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