A Literary Leaf for When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit

Overview and Outcomes:

This is a 15-session Literary Leaf for When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr and covers all aspects of the Upper Key Stage 2 content domains.  Children develop their knowledge and understanding of the history of World War Two through immersing themselves in the experiences of the main characters and considering their motives and reactions within context.  Children will consider the impact of language choices on the reader and how specific phrasing can create certain atmospheres and feelings.  Working through the text, children will explain their impressions of characters and their decisions, as well as making comparisons between the various settings. Children will be able to ask and answer their own questions and work collaboratively to develop their key reading skills.

Synopsis of Text:

This semi-autobiographical classic, written by the beloved Judith Kerr, tells the story of a Jewish family escaping Germany in the days before the Second World War.

Suppose your country began to change. Suppose that without your noticing, it became dangerous for some people to live in it any longer, and you found, to your surprise, that your own father was one of those people. This is what happened to Anna in 1933.

Anna is too busy with her schoolwork and tobogganing to listen to the talk of Hitler. But one day she and her brother Max are rushed out of Germany in alarming secrecy, away from everything they know. Their father is wanted by the Nazis. This is the start of a huge adventure, sometimes frightening, very often funny and always exciting.

Judith Kerr wrote When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit fifty years ago, based on her own journey, so that her own children would know where she came from and the lengths to which her parents went to keep her and her brother safe. It has gone on to become a beloved classic that is required reading for many children all over the world and is an unforgettable introduction to the real-life impact of the Second World War.

Links to Curriculum areas, other Literary Leaves and Planning Sequences:

This Literary Leaf would sit perfectly alongside Otto by Tomi Ungerer or Anne Frank by Josephine Poole (Y5 Planning Sequences on the Literary Curriculum)

World War Two, evacuation, migration, families, Jews, Nazis, friendship, childhood