Random words I used in conversation today (and then had to look up later to make sure I used them correctly):
Obelisk
Necropolis
Pumice
Movies I watched recently and recommend…both revolved around a key:
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close – I loved this movie. I can’t believe it got bad reviews. I thought it was so well written. I totally related to this kid too….his thoughts would go off in complete tangents and I loved that he handed out cards that listed him as: inventor, jewelry designer, jewelry fabricator, amateur entomologist, Francophile, vegan, origamist, pacifist, percussionist, amateur astronomer, computer consultant, amateur archeologist, collector.
Sarah’s Key – I read the book first. I have a hard time learning about history unless it’s through photos or movies. This was my lesson of the Vel’ d’Hiv Roundup in 1942.
Boo watched this movie with us. We had to read most of the subtitles. While most people wouldn’t let their 5 year old watch a PG-13 movie about the Holocaust, I would rather Boo watch realistic historical movies than scary Disney movies. Why sugarcoat things? A teacher the other day commented that she overheard Boo saying: Did you know some people are really poor? They have no money. And some kids have no parents. They are called orphans. It’s really sad. It made me swell up hearing that. Above all, I want her to grow up having empathy and humility.
There’s a scene in Sarah’s Key where children in one of the concentration camps are being fed by women across a barbed wire fence….and one of the guards lets Sarah and her friend secretly escape:
Boo: He let her escape. (very emotional) He could get in big trouble, right?
Me: Yes, he could.
Boo: But hopefully no one was looking. He hurt his hand too. What is that called?
Me: Barbed wire.
Boo: To keep them in, right?
Me: Yes. I would have let those kids go too…..even if it meant getting into trouble.
Boo: Me too.
Boo: What does Jewish mean?
Me: Well, for starters, Jesus was a Jew….
Boo: ….then we are Jewish.
Me: Actually we are Christian. But they are very close…..
Boo: No….we are Jewish.
Every time I tried to explain this….I lost.
So until further notice, Boo is Jewish…..because Jesus was.
I’m going to go look for that book in the library. I do better with history in a story format, otherwise I forget.
BtW, did u ever read Angelas Ashes?
Yes! Loved it. Saw the movie too!
I just finished the book “Sarah’s Key” last week. Loved it, but was so sad. I still think about it daily. I feel compelled to watch the movie now, but wonder how it will compare to the book? I think I shall watch it, sub-titles and all (that sounds exhausting! lol) and then go lay by my littles for a few before bedtime. Unless Tropical Storm Debby turns into a hurricane or some other such natural disaster occurs and knocks out my power and water for another 24 hours, at which point, I will just go play solitaire. #choosingjoy. 😉
I read Sarah’s Key cover to cover in one sitting – I had to know the ending – and I cried the entire time. I love how you summed up why you let Boo watch such a movie as opposed to a Disney movie. An excellent outlook!
If you liked those movies I recommend “The Boy in the Striped Pajamas” or something like that. It is about the concentration camps also. And appropriate for children with a little explanation. I rented it from our local library but don’t know how old a movie it is. Alot of them are a couple of years old.
Thanks Charlotte! I have it on my Netflix list!
I think you should watch or read this one first – I was surprised by the ending in the book. it will help you help Boo to know what’s going to happen…
I watched the “Boy in the Striped Pajamas” when I couldn’t sleep one night. I still think about it. The ending is very shocking(but what isn’t shocking about this period in history).
I just finished The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, SO worth the read. I am looking forward to watching the movie. Sarah’s Key is on my list now 🙂
I read the book Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (and cried most the way through). It was such an amazing read that I refused to see the movie in case they didn’t do a good job.
Jonathan Safran Foer was the author, and he also wrote Everything is Illuminated. I saw the movie too (stars Elijah Wood), and highly recommend it.
I’m putting Sarah’s Key on my reading list now.
So totally agree with you on the “scary disney movies.” Read both the books and loved them. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas was great!!
I only know what pumice is — that thing you scrub your feet with right?
The boy in the striped pyjamas we watched with my 11 year old daughter as she had been asking to see it, as she had read the book at school. It didn’t affect my 6 year old in a negative way, but my 11 yr old cried and had a hard time going to sleep. I have to say it affected me a lot, couldn’t get the images from my mind for days, knowing these things really happened. Worth watching for sure, but extremely sad.
Love Boo! Makes some kind of perfect sense to me 😉
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas was a good movie and very moving. Another excellent movie is Life is Beatiful!
Someone recommended The Boy in the Striped Pajamas to me after I read Sarah’s Key. I think I’m still trying to process it. And I saw it 3 months ago. It’s MUCH heavier than Sarah’s Key. In my mind anyway. I haven’t seen the movie of Sarah’s Key but loved the book. I would NOT let my kids watch The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.
I love Boo! Guess I’m Jewish too!
Just finished reading “Sarah’s Key” a few weeks ago and recommended it to my sister just the other night. Excellent Book! I didn’t know there was a movie… I may have to check that out.
And, Boo’s logic makes complete sense to me. You have a very special girl there… Not that you didn’t know that, I just had to say it.
Love boo’s sayings!!! 🙂 I don’t think it was a movie, but “Alicia my story” by Alicia appleman jurman is a really good book. It’s an autobiography of a Jewish girl and her story of survival. very sad and courageous. I will check out those books soon. I like to read the holocaust stories, as sad and horrifying as they are.
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas is great movie!!
And Boo is one creative, emotional and inteligent little girl! 🙂 Love her comments!
Wishing you a nice day!
T.
Sarah’s Key loved it and emotionally hated it. Boo has a point, if you ever find a way to explain it to a 5 year old, maybe you could share it with the adults too :D).
Two movies (have not read the books) I highly recommend based on the holocaust are The Devil’s Arithmetic and The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Stumbled upon each movie and so glad I stayed and watched. My son’s 7th grade class read The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.
la vita e bella and shindler’s list
Remember seeing schindler’s list with highschool in amsterdams at Tuschinski (amazing theater), it was sooo quiet in the bus going home…
Boo is so precious. I like that she wants to be like Jesus. Bless her heart! It reminds me of my daughter at that age who insisted that Buckwheat from The Little Rascals was a GIRL and her name was BUCKWEED. I never won that argument but now we laugh about it.
I love you…I love Boo…I love Jesus too!
I never understood that growing up either. It’s a strange disconnect for a kiddo knowing that Jesus was King of the Jews but that people were murdered in the Holocaust by Christians because they were Jews. Huh? So to know that a 5 year old is thinking about the fact that this makes no sense is fantastic! And I LOVE that you don’t shelter her from this but that you want her to be compassionate and caring. You’re a tremendous mother! I read Sarah’s Key on my way home from Amsterdam last fall, just after having visited the Anne Frank House. Talk about heavy. Just knowing what evil took place and for such a long time and how far it stretched out its greedy, hateful fingers makes me so angry! I am grateful for the cinematographers that tell the stories so non-readers get to hear them too. Thanks for your post today.
Though I’m not familiar with the movie you watched, I also prefer to let my children watch (and read about) real life scariness (like missionary stories!) over things like Disney movies. I’m still very picky, but as they get older I would like to show them more historical movies like the one you mentioned. When they start asking questions, I then have the wonderful opportunity to have discussions about sin, depravity, and ultimately the grace of God.
Another very moving, good book about the holocaust is Night by Elie Wiesel. It’s a short but, very heavy read.
Boo is one interestingly articulate gal. Love her.
I just watched Sarah’s Key last week and thought it was wonderful, in a horrific-I-can’t-believe-that-actually-happened sort of way.
I highly suggest reading Between Shades of Gray (not to be confused with 50 Shades of Gray). It’s almost like Sarah’s Key in that it took place during WWII, but it’s different because you read about a first hand experience of WWII under Stalin instead of Hitler. It was very moving and I highly suggest it.
My “little boo” is only 2 and 1/2, but I feel the same way about movies as you do. I would rather watch them together and be able to explain than have them watch something later at someone’s house without any explanation. You are raising a very compassionate child and that is AWESOME!
And, hey…as long as she wants to be like Jesus…that’s pretty awesome too!
I read and saw Sarah’s Key, and found them both horrific and powerful. We definitely need to remember that time and our (humanity’s) mistakes (seems too mild a word). I would let my 3 kids watch the movie at age 12, but not before. I have a 5-year old son, so maybe it was too close to home.
Nothing to say, really, other than that I’m glad you are still alive.
I’ve been reading your blog for ages and really enjoy it.
Oh and my grandmother grew up with Angela McCourt.
I’m with Boo! Jesus IS our big brother! And His Daddy is our Daddy, yup, Boo is RIGHT!
Thanks for sharing your life 🙂
Another AMAZING book along the same lines is ‘The Book Thief’ – you will adore !
I love that you let Boo watch those movies. I try not to sugar coat things too much in class because it is the reality of life and I would rather have a class discussion and answer questions rather than have my students be misinformed.
My book club just read this last month, I love that you watched with your little one, and I love your last line… until further notice. Great writing! xo