My Brother's Keeper

Reach for this book when your child is ready to engage with the reality of the Holocaust through a lens of familial love and moral courage. It is an essential choice for middle schoolers asking big questions about human rights, history, and how people maintain their dignity under extreme pressure. Unlike many clinical history books, this narrative centers on the strength of the brotherly bond and the resilience of the human spirit within the Lodz ghetto. The book follows Ben Edelbaum's true experiences as he and his family survive the terrors of the ghetto and later deportation to Auschwitz. It explores themes of bravery and the quiet ways siblings protect one another during times of deep sadness and fear. While the subject matter is heavy, the focus remains on the 'keeper' aspect of the title: the active choice to care for others. It is best suited for children ages 10 and up who have the emotional maturity to discuss historical injustice and loss.