Sound of Freedom, The

In 1936 Krakow, Poland, Anna and her Jewish family experience tension, violence, and anti-Semitism all around them. Afraid, Anna wants to leave, but her father is with the Krakow Orchestra and has few options until Anna hears of an orchestra in Palestine auditioning for Jewish musicians and he is accepted. Life in Palestine also proves dangerous and violent for Jews and Anna must take comfort in her family, faith, perseverance, and music. This engaging historical novel, for grades 4-7, is based on real events and deals with persecution, discrimination, and the search for a safe place, and can be a powerful aid to teach about life prior to the Holocaust and the first Arab-Israeli War.