Boxes for Katje

Author: Candace Fleming

Illustrator: Stacey Dressen-McQueen

Published: 2003

Boxes for Katje is a striking picture book inspired by the true experiences of the author’s mother which shows that simple seeds of friendship and hope van grow into something extraordinary. The book begins when Katje—a young girl in Holland—receives a mysterious box from America. The contents of the box and the letter attached to it immediately set of an exchange that will change the girls’ and the townspeople’s lives forever. This engaging story of post-WWII Holland serves as a strong lesson in generosity which illustrates the idea that sometimes all it takes is one person to bring about changes (TEKS Connections: 2.13 (D) and 5.5 (A)). Boxes for Katje is a story of encouragement, kindness, long distance friendship and freely giving to one another.

 

Here is a snippet of Boxes for Katje:

“After the war, there was little left in the tiny Dutch town of Olst. The townspeople lived o cabbages and seed potatoes. They patched and repatched their worn-thin clothing, and they went without soap or milk, sugar or new shoes.

One spring morning, when the tulips bloomed thick and bright, Postman Kleinhoonte pedaled his bicycle down the cobbled street.

‘Oh ho!’ he whooped. ‘I have a box for Katje—a box from America!’

‘America?’ exclaimed Katje. ‘Who would send me a box from America?’

‘The Children’s Aid Society,’ replied the postman. ‘Children in America are collecting and mailing many hard-to-find items to the children of Holland. You, young miss, were lucky to get one.’

Katje took the box. She rubbed her finger across the block letters that spelled ‘U.S.A.’

‘The land of the plenty,’ she whispered.

Katje’s mama came to stand beside her. ‘Open it,’ she urged.”

I chose Boxes for Katje because the book contains both a historic side and a side which speaks to friendship and good citizenship. Although the book touches upon a tragic time for the Dutch townspeople, the events are portrayed for small children to read about in a very delicate way. The illustrations in the book pack lots of detail, color and pattern into every page which craft a very credible world of cobblestone streets, vintage clothing and lively characters. I really liked that the layout of the book allows the reader to experience the exchange of letters between Katje and Rosie, and that the reader can become a third person in the interchange of boxes and letters. I think this book can reach out to both young and older children depending on which side of the story the reader decides to focus on: post-WWII or good citizenship and kindness. Overall, I chose Boxes for Katje because it’s an engaging story which transports readers to a different setting, and it serves an amazing lesson of generosity.