Kathy Kacer
Kathy Kacer (born 6 September 1954)[1] is a Canadian author of fiction and non-fiction for children about The Holocaust, and has written one adult fiction book (Restitution). She has won several awards and her books have been translated into a variety of languages (e.g. Die Kinder aus Theresienstadt ( ISBN 9783473542536), German translation of Clara's War and ちいさな命がくれた勇気 ( ISBN 9784072491072), Japanese translation of The Underground Reporters). As well as writing, she speaks to children about the Holocaust, and to educators about teaching sensitive issues to young children.[1][2]
Personal life
Both Kacer's parents, Gabriela (née Offenberg) and Arthur Kacer,[3] were Holocaust survivors, her father having been in a concentration camp and her mother living in hiding. Kacer was born in Toronto, where she still lives, and is married to a lawyer, Ian Epstein. They have two children, Gabi and actor and singer Jake Epstein. Kacer has a master's degree in psychology and worked with troubled teenagers before becoming a full-time writer in 1998.
Works
Children's fiction
- The Secret of Gabi's Dresser (1999, Second Story Press, ISBN 9781896764153), pre-teen fiction[4]
- Kacer's mother's experiences included hiding in a dresser, or cupboard[5]
- A sequel to The Secret of Gabi's Dresser[5]
- Clara's War(2001, Second Story Press, ISBN 9781896764429)
- Based around true stories of the opera Brundibár produced in Theresienstadt[5]
- The Diary of Laura's Twin (2008, Second Story Press, ISBN 9781897187395)
- A contemporary Jewish girl is "twinned" with a girl of the same age in the Warsaw Ghetto through her diary[5]
- Margit (Our Canadian Girl series, Penguin Books Canada), pre-teen fiction[4]
- The central character, Margit, has fled with her mother from the Nazis in Czecholslovakia to Canada[5]
- Home Free
- A Bit of Love and a Bit of Luck
- Open Your Doors
- A Friend in Need
Children's nonfiction
- The Underground Reporters (2004, Toronto: Second Story Press, ISBN 9781896764856)
- A group of Jewish children in hiding in Czechoslovakia created a local newspaper, Klepy[6]
- Hiding Edith (2006, Second Story Press, ISBN 9781897187067), pre-teen nonfiction[4]
- The story of Edith Schwab and other Jewish children being hidden and protected in a French village
- To Hope and Back: The Journey of the St. Louis (2010, Second Story, ISBN 9781897187968)[lower-alpha 1]
- The story of the 1939 voyage of the MS St. Louis, when German Jewish refugees were turned away from Cuba, the US and Canada[7]
- Whispers trilogy, co-written with Sharon McKay
- Collections of personal stories from the time of the Holocaust
- We Are Their Voice: Young people respond to the Holocaust (2011, Second Story)[lower-alpha 1]
- Shanghai Escape (2014, Second Story)[lower-alpha 1]
- The Magician of Auschwitz (2014, Second Story)[lower-alpha 1]
Adult fiction
- Restitution: A family's fight for their heritage lost in the Holocaust ( ISBN 978-1897187753)
Awards
- 2009 The Louis L. Lockshin and Brenda Freedman Award, the Youth award of the Canadian Jewish Book Awards, for The Diary of Laura's Twin[8]
- 2009 Yad Vashem Award for Children's Holocaust Literature for Hiding Edith
- Finalist in the Norma Fleck Award in 2005 (The Underground Reporters), 2006 (Hiding Edith) and 2010 (Whispers from the Ghetto)[9]
- And several provincial awards and shortlistings for other awards[10]
Notes
References
- 1 2 "FAQ's". Kathy Kacer website. Kathy Kacer. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
- ↑ "About me". Kathy Kacer website. Kathy Kacer. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
- ↑ http://www.engagingnews.us/select/Kathy-Kacer.html
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Kathy Kacer". Canadian Society of Children's Authors, Illustrators and Performers (CANSCAIP.org). Retrieved 30 July 2015. With short autobiography.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "My books". Kathy Kacer website. Kathy Kacer. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
- ↑ Berman, Kathryn. "The Underground Reporters: Featured Book". Yad Vashem: The International School for Holocaust Studies. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
- ↑ "To Hope and Back". Second Story Press. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
- ↑ "2009 Helen and Stan Vine Canadian Jewish Book Awards". Koffler Centre of the Arts. 25 May 2009. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
- ↑ "Previous Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children's Non-Fiction Winners and Finalists". The Canadian Children's Book Centre. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
- ↑ "Awards". Kathy Kacer website. Kathy Kacer. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
External links
- Official website
- Kathy Kacer at publisher Second Story Press
- Kathy Kacer at Library of Congress Authorities, with 5 catalogue records