Description
Caldecott Honoree and Sibert Medalist Peter Sís honours a man who saved hundreds of children from the Nazis.
In 1938, twenty-nine-year-old Nicholas Winton saved the lives of almost 700 children trapped in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia—a story he never told and that remained unknown until an unforgettable TV appearance in the 1980s reunited him with some of the children he saved.
Czech-American artist, MacArthur Fellow and Andersen Award winner Peter Sís dramatises Winton’s story in this distinctive and deeply personal picture book. He intertwines Nicky’s efforts with the story of one of the children he saved—a young girl named Vera, whose family enlisted Nicky’s aid when the Germans occupied their country. As the war passes and Vera grows up, she must find balance in her dual identities—one her birthright, the other her choice.
Nicky & Vera is a masterful tribute to a humble man’s courageous efforts to protect Europe’s most vulnerable, and a timely portrayal of the hopes and fears of those forced to leave their homes and create new lives.
Reviews
"In this beautiful tribute by Peter Sis, we hear the story of Winton, a former banker and Olympic fencer, and Vera, one of the Czech children he saved - and was eventually reunited with. A beautiful story told in stunning pictures and words." — Alex O'Connell, Best Children's Books for Summer 2021, The Sunday Times
"A story that deserves to be told, and in Peter Sís it’s found the perfect storyteller and illustrator. I read it with fascination and admiration for a man of great goodness and modesty." — Philip Pullman, author of His Dark Materials
"The latest in Sis’s series of picture-book biographies tells the story behind the 1988 reunion on That’s Life! of Sir Nicholas Winton and some of the Jews he rescued as children. It is spectacularly imaginative and will make readers weep." — Watch Out For, Nicolette Jones, The Sunday Times