A Pocket Full of Seeds

by Marilyn Sachs

Book Overview

Nicole Nieman has never really thought about being Jewish. Now, with the Nazis occupying France, it is the only thing on her mind. An almost endless stream of refugees comes to stay at their house,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0590483757
• ISBN13: 9780590483759
• Release Date: January 1994
• Publisher: Scholastic Inc
• Length: 137 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A haunting story...

Thirteen-year-old Nicole Nieman never really thought about being Jewish -- until her native France is invaded by German soldiers upon the outbreak of World War II. Suddenly, her friends and neighbors are struggling against hunger, wondering whether it's better to wait out the war -- which they're certain will end within months -- or risk fleeing to Switzerland. One day, after spending the night at her best friend's house, Nicole discovers that soldiers have ransacked her family's home and taken away her parents and nine-year-old sister. She barely has time to register the horror when she is forced to run, as the soldiers are hunting for her, too. Desperate, Nicole approaches countless Christian friends, only to be turned away each time, as each family fears for its own safety. Finally, Nicole finds refuge with her teacher. Living in a dormitory with classmates from the country, Nicole waits and hopes, her mind struggling to remember the way things were. Although this intriguing story is powerfully written, it might be a bit frightening for younger children. Like many Holocaust-era stories, there is no sugar-coating or promise of a happy ending.

A Pocket Full of Stars for A Pocket Full of Seeds...

As I read the book A Pocket Full of Seeds, by Marilyn Sacks, the vivid verbs and its unusual style soon drew me in. Taking place in Aix-les-Bains, France, in the early 1940's, it brought the sense of World War II and the invading German soldiers to life. Nicole, the main character, and her family, Papa, Maman, and little Jacquline, are Jews, so they get to "enjoy" the full wrath of the Germans. One day, Nicole comes home from school to find a wrecked home and a neighbor urging her to leave, for her parents had been captured by the Germans! She searches for a place to stay, for the soldiers were planning to return to her apartment. Do you think she'll find one? Whatever the outcome, you will enjoy this book. The style in which the author writes is intriguing. She starts the first chaper in February 1944, but the second dates to may 1938. She increases the dates slowly as the first chaper begins to make sense, and the last chaper is dated December 1943. This book is so descriptive! I loved A Pocket Full of Seeds, and I guarantee other readers will too.

Left a lasting impression...

I must have read this book 5 times between 4th and 6th grade. I am now 30 years old, and the name of the book AND the author pops into my head as if it were just yesterday. I highly recommend this book for children who are just beginning to have that special curiosity about the world and its history. Thoroughly entrancing.

Hannah H.

This is a wonderful book. It grabs you and makes sure you understand. It's about a girl named Nicole Nieman and her family who live in Aix-Les-Bains, France. They are not enslaved until 1944 when their town is invaded. A weakness is it can be confusing in parts of the book. Sometimes it goes back in time so Nicole, the girl, can tell when she lived with another family besides her parents. If you like the type of books that hold on to you and make you live for your life, this is a book for you.

Children's Holocaust Issues

This is a very touching story of a young teenage Jewish girl in France during World War 2 who loses her whole family. The story is based on a real live event that happened to a friend of the author. The book is very moving. It is a great book to introduce teenage children to the Holocaust. A great book