Nicky & Vera: A Quiet Hero of the Holocaust and the Children He Rescued

Gr 2-5–Sís tells the story of Nicholas Winton (1909–2015), a British citizen who helped send Czech children to England just before World War II officially broke out. In December 1938, Winton canceled a planned ski trip and joined a friend in Prague who was aiding refugees in the Sudetenland. Working from his hotel room, Winton created lists of children, took photographs, and created train schedules. He soon returned to London to work on securing visas and travel arrangements, find families to welcome the children, and handle the paperwork and bureaucracy. Vera, a young Jewish girl who was a citizen of Czechoslovakia, was one of the 669 children who were successfully brought to Great Britain through Winton’s efforts. She lost all but one aunt in the war and its aftermath. Many years after World War II, Vera and some of the other children Winton helped save paid tribute to him on a television show called That’s Life. Sís’s illustrations combine the literal with the symbolic. Using everything from expansive spreads to miniature panels, he captures different elements from the lives of those involved. The text and the artwork demonstrate the power of one courageous individual who was determined to make a difference.