A Jewish boy learns about his Eastern European ancestry and the meaning of remembrance in this powerful picture book, based on a true Holocaust story. Year after year, Eli watches the solemn lighting of seven candles at his family's celebration of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. On such a happy occasion, his parents and grandparents always seem sad, and Eli can't understand why. But when he travels to Eastern Europe to learn more about his family history, Eli learns how the candles represent his family's connection to the Holocaust in Lithuania, and how remembering his ancestors can help heal years of grief and shame. This moving story is based on the true life experience of Sneider’s grandson. Illuminated by Bill Farnsworth's sensitive brush strokes and muted palette, the book can be used as an introduction to World War II and the Holocaust and discussions about family history. Named an ILA/CBC Children’s Choices Book and a Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People by the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and Children's Book Council (CBC). Why does Eli's great-grandmother Gussie cry when she lights the candles for the Jewish New Year? Eli learns the horrifying secret when he flies with his family to the Lithuanian village where Gussie lived as a child. They drive through the forest to the pit, where 80,000 Jews, including her father and siblings, were shot dead by the Nazis, their bodies burned. Based on the experience of Sneider's grandson, this picture book tells the history in stark prose, and Farnsworth's unframed, glowing oil paintings show the boy in his warm home and then in the bleak forest. Unfortunately, the present-day scenario is sentimentalized; the characters are almost greeting-card icons of grief and love. There isn't any of the bitterness or anger in survivor stories found in books such as Art Spiegelman's Maus (1986) and Anita Lobel's No Pretty Pictures (1998), for older readers. But this is a journey back that many Jewish survivor families are now taking, uncovering the horror of genocide that no one ever talked about at home. Sure to spark discussion and more research. Rochman, Hazel AWARDS and RECOGNITIONS Florida Book Awards ,  Bronze Medal, Children's Literature  (2007) Children's Book Council ,  Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People  (2008) International Reading Association-Children's Book Council Joint Committee ,  Children's Choices  (2008)   “ This is a journey back that many Jewish survivor families are now taking, uncovering the horror of genocide that no one ever talked about at home. Sure to spark discussion and more research.”  ― Booklist “This beautiful and affecting book adds something new to the genre of illustrated books about the Holocaust.  Rarely do we find a story of a present-day youngster who is placed directly at the location of past tragic events, especially at a mass grave.  Most of the Holocaust books deal with either relating the event within its historical framework, or letting the older generation be the mouthpiece and do the explaining to American children…the fact that there are some survivors who ‘do not speak of these events’ is realistic and creates a tension in the story that makes it quite readable…this book is an effective use of the genre and can be shared with children learning about the Holocaust from grades 4 and up.”  ― Association of Jewish Libraries (AJL) Newsletter  “The text is spare and sen­si­tive; the illus­tra­tions are so pow­er­ful, so tuned to the momen­tum of the sto­ry ― that I can truth­ful­ly say that they are per­fect. This is a won­der­ful book.”  ― Jewish Book Council “A sad, dark, candid look at a boy’s family history.”  ― Kirkus Reviews  “Vander Zee ( Mississippi Morning ) and Sneider, whose experiences inspired the book, use simple, direct language to follow Eli's trajectory from puzzlement and ignorance to horrific realization and resolve….Farnsworth ( The Christmas Menorahs ) freezes the action in his realistic oil paintings, an approach that makes the most of the emotionally wrenching subject matter.”  ― Publishers Weekly Ruth Vander Zee , teacher and writer, is also the author of  Erika's Story,  illustrated by Roberto Innocenti (Creative Editions). She lives in San Jose, California with her husband. Marian Sneider (1934–2005), author and family therapist, wrote professionally for the Miami Herald, Miami News, and Highlights and Turtle children's magazines. Eli Remembers was inspired by events from her own family, and is her first published book for children. Marian passed away in December 2005. Bill Farnsworth has illustrated more than forty books, including Louis Sockalexis: Native American Baseball Pioneer by Bill Wise (Lee & Low) and The Flag with Fifty-Six Stars by Susan Goldman Rubin (Holiday House). Bill lives in Florida.