Week 45: Storming the Tulips

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Storming the Tulips, by Ronald Sanders and Hannie J. Voyles

The students of the 1st Montessori School in Amsterdam are the focus of this collective World War II memoir. Those who survived the war tell their stories and remember the many who were lost. There is quite a lot here about how Dutch citizens survived the war and what it was like, which I think many Americans don't know all that much about; we read about Anne Frank and others who were taken away, but not so much about those who stayed.

This would actually make a great companion volume to the story of Anne Frank for a teenager studying it; she was also a Montessori school student nearby and is mentioned a few times here. Storming the Tulips fills in quite a lot of the background and would lend depth to a study of Dutch victims of World War II. It's also a good length and reading level for a teen student.

For local residents, Hannie Voyles will be giving a presentation on the book and her experiences on Wednesday, December 7, 2:30 – 4:30 p.m. in the Center for Excellence, Library 210 at Butte College's main campus. Ms. Voyles is an emeritus faculty member.

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