Polacco has an uncanny way of facing sophisticated themes head-on and succeeding in finding a child-like simplicity in them. It's this ability of hers that draws her readers into the core of big issues instead of allowing them to get caught up in politics and other trivialities that merely skim the surface. One thing I like about this work in particular is the literary quality of it; it's very subtle. Polacco does a splendid job of reaching kids with the message by fixing big moral ideas around something very familiar to them: friendship. I read this to my third grade class and we not only had intriguing conversations about Nazi occupation in Europe, but conversations from a writer's point of view. The kids shared thoughts like, "The butterflies still fly in the sky even though the Nazi killed one..." or "Maybe if people still have hope they win instead of the bad guys." Witnessing young children take hold of moral issues and deep convictions is truly breath-taking. Thanks again, Ms. Polacco.