Uri Shulevitz can spin a yarn. And when it is based in/about real events they hit even harder. One of the last writings of Shulevitz, The Sky Was My Blanket: A Young Man’s Journey Across Wartime Europe (due in August 2025, read via an online reader copy), takes another true World War II story and brings it to life in emotional text.
This time, instead of following Uri’s story during the war, we follow one of his fathers younger brothers, Yehiel’s parallel journey during the same time. Having left home at fifteen (which would save his life) we see how he travels Europe, eventually finds himself in Spain during the Spanish Civil War, and finally France. We see how he would face death in many ways, and frankly just dumb luck helps him survive. In fact, a pair of used shoes plays a part in one event. We see how he fought in Spain, later in the French resistance, and finally became a tailor in France at the end of the war. Easy to read text, but a difficult subject, unfolds at a medium pace on the page.
One of the most telling parts of the story is how names are important to the characters. Yehiel has a journey of names as well as places. Growing up he was Yehiel (and always would be to his brother Abraham), in Spain he was known as Largo, and in France he was Florent and finally Henri. The other other part is how the littlest dumbest pieces of luck saved him and, eventually, a wife and her family.
The illustrations were not my personal favorite, but the photographs intertwined were a nice touch. They are not as fleshed out as I would have liked, but in August 2025 I hope to find a finish copy to see if they are changed/updated in any way. My online reader copy had a lot of blank pages, so the format will also be nice to see.