Masters of Silence

Name: Masters of Silence
Brand: Findaway
Availability: InStock
Author: Kathy Kacer
ISBN: 9781773218267

Author: Kathy Kacer

Series: The Heroes Quartet #2

Narrator: Gabi Epstein

Unabridged: 5 hr 37 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: ECW Press

Published: 07/18/2023

Categories: Children's Fiction, Historical Stories, Children's Social Themes

Synopsis

Silence can be powerful. Kathy Kacer’s second book in her middle grade series about heroic rescues during WWII tells the tale of siblings Helen and Henry, and history’s most famous mime. Desperate to save them from the Nazis, Henry and Helen’s mother makes the harrowing decision to take her children from their home in 1940s Germany and leave them in the care of strangers in France. The brother and sister must hide their Jewish identity to pass for orphans being fostered at a convent in the foreign land. Visits from a local mime become the children’s one source of joy, especially for Henry, whose traumatic experience has left him a selective mute. When an informer gives them up, the children are forced to flee yet again from the Nazis, but this time the local mime—a not yet famous Marcel Marceau—risks everything to try to save the children. Masters of Silence shows award-winning author Kathy Kacer at the top of her craft, bringing to light the little-known story of Marceau’s heroic work for the French Resistance. Marceau would go on to save hundreds of children from Nazi concentration camps and death during WWII. In characteristic Kacer style, Masters of Silence is dramatic and engaging, and highlights the courage of both those rescuing and the rescued themselves. Wenting Li’s chapter heading illustrations and evocative covers provide the perfect visuals for the series.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Alex on April 05, 2019

Sometimes, silence can speak louder than words as this novel about the world-famous mime Marcel Marceau shows. Late one night siblings Helen, 14, and ten-year-old Henry Rosenthal arrive with their mother at a convent in the south of France, having clandestinely traveled there from their home in Kronb......more

Goodreads review by Anne on September 15, 2019

Henry and Helen Rosenthal are brought to a convent in Southern France when their father is rounded up by the Nazis in their native Germany, and their mother determines that this may be the only way to keep them safe. The children are given new identities and the Sisters do their very best to protec......more

Goodreads review by J.L. on March 24, 2019

MY THOUGHTS: I received this book in exchange for my honest opinion. This is a middle-grade historical fiction novel. Kathy Kacer is the award-winning author of more than 20 children’s books inspired by real events. She lives in Toronto, Canada. The subject of WWII and the plight of the Jews must be to......more

Goodreads review by Lori on October 01, 2019

A wonderful easy to read in third person genre and I do like to read from this point of view because I tend to connect with the characters! This book is also geared more towards the middle grade and YA The author has done a fabulous job in telling the story in this book. Their thoughts, fear and yes......more

Goodreads review by Jane on February 13, 2019

Set in Europe during World War II, Masters of Silence tells the story of two Jewish children. Father had already been taken by the Nazis and Mother was being taken care of by a Catholic family but they couldn’t keep the children. Mother takes the children to a Catholic orphanage in a distant city an......more