A child’s innocent curiosity about her grandmother’s tattoo is the premise of a new children’s book.
Growing up, Courtney Tisch learned about the Holocaust from her grandparents, both survivors of Nazi concentration camps.
The University of Delaware graduate has adapted her childhood conversations with her grandmother about that experience into “The Number on Her Arm.”
The aim, Tisch says, is to give parents a way to talk about the Holocaust in a tactful but honest manner with their kids.
“That was my whole purpose for this book; to be that conversation starter,” she says. “The book itself doesn't particularly have harsh details about my grandparent’s experiences. It really just says this is what happened, in a very gentle manner.”
Tisch, an elementary school teacher, says she thinks the topic can be introduced to children at the fourth grade level.
She wrote the book following her grandmother’s death and says she felt a sense of urgency now that the number of Holocaust survivors is dwindling.
“I felt an obligation to get that story out there, not only to honor them but to pay back their legacy.”
You can learn more at thenumberonherarm.com
This piece is made possible, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
