"Clara and her family leave their home in Prague and the privileged life they enjoyed before the war broke out, simply because they are Jewish. They are taken to the city of Terezen, a concentration camp. The Nazi guards force the people to stand outside in the cold and rain. This is not a typical concentration camp. Some of the inmates are quite well known in their fields of art, poetry, and music, and they decide to produce a children’s opera called Brundibar to offer some hope to the children in the camp. Clara manages to make friends in spite of the horrible circumstances and even secures a lead role in the opera. The Red Cross sends a group of observers to inspect conditions at the camp, and they see improved buildings and white picket fences as well as an opera for the children as planned by the Germans. This novel reveals the horrors and tragedy that the Czechoslovakian Jews endured during the war."--Ministry of Education website.

English language arts grade 7 (2009).