Book Review – When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit

Judith Kerr is a British author best known for her children’s picture books. She is the author/illustrator of the Mog books and ‘The Tiger who Came to Tea’. I like these books a lot.

Kerr was not born in Britain. She is German and her Jewish father was an outspoken critic of Hitler. In 1933 her father was longsighted enough to flee Germany and her family became refugees. Kerr was 9.

‘When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit’ is a semi-fictionalised account of Kerr’s experience as her family travels from Switzerland, to France, and then to Britain. It is told through the eyes of a child,called Anna, who sees all of the moving as exciting. Underlying this are the problems her parents have adjusting and her father struggles to find work. The once prosperous family is now poor.

This is a delightful book. It covers an interesting time in history from the perspective of a child. G1, aged 9 loved it and it sparked some great conversations about Hitler and what happened in Germany in the 1930s. From a Christian perspective it is fairly neutral. It could be used to remind children that some Christians suffer for their beliefs in the same way Anna’s family did.

The copy I read came from our public library. It was first published in 1971, but it has had several reprints, so it is still widely available. I think any girl from 10+ would like this, an advanced 9 year old would also enjoy it. I don’t have a boy to test run it on. It is told from a girls perspective, but it is not excessively ‘girlie’.

If you are going to the library this weekend, get a copy, or buy a copy online with FREE worldwide shipping. If you have pre-schoolers or early readers get Mog instead!