The Lily Cupboard

Oppenheim, S. (1992). The Lily Cupboard. Illustrated by Ronald Himler. New York, NY: Charlotte Zolotow Book.

Brief Annotation: Miriam is a young Jewish girl living during World War II. Her parents pack up her bags and she is confused as to why they need to leave their home. The family brings her to a new family where Miriam is told to stay. She develops a friendship with her new “brother” Nello and a pet bunny Hendrik. One day Miriam is told to hide in the cupboard. She hears soldiers come in and is thankful that she and her bunny are safe in the lily cupboard, where finally the door opens to the light and they are safe. Miriam survives the war and is thankful to be a part of her new family.

Genre: Picture book- Historical Fiction

Grade Level: Grades 1- 5

Readers who will like this: Students who are learning about World War II would really enjoy this book. It is fairly lighthearted even though it’s addressing a very difficult and dark subject. This would also be a great book for teachers who are starting a unit or lesson on World War II, especially for younger ages.
Response/Rating (1-4): 4, Absolutely beautiful book. World War II is such a tough subject, and this book brings to light the many heroes that we found throughout that time, people who risked their own lives to help the Jewish people. At the end of the book it says that many young children went to live with other families throughout the war, this was truly inspiring. The story is almost cheery in some parts and you can appreciate the child like view that we get. The illustrations are beautiful and overall this was a great book.

One question you would ask before a read aloud: “Do you think you would risk your life to help another person?”

Reading Strategies Connection: Before reading this book out loud to an older group, I would have them do a Quickwrite. I would ask them to write down everything they know about World War II and ask what questions they may have as well. (Yopp & Yopp, 2010, pg. 52).