BENNO AND THE NIGHT OF BROKEN GLASS

Gentle and evenly voiced Susie Berneis narrates the story of Benno the cat, who lives at 5 Rosenstrasse and observes all that happens on the street. A welcome visitor in the apartments in the building, Benno knows how Sophie Adler and Inge Schmidt spend their days at home, at school, and on the playground. He then sees changes taking place as brown-shirted men unsettle the peace of the street. Throughout, Berneis's voice is as quiet as the cat's paws--no raised pitch and no tone of alarm in her voice. Her pace slows such that listeners have time to question why such strange events would be happening--books burned, windows broken, people hurrying along with down-turned eyes, some stores open and some not. Adults will need to listen with children so that a discussion can be started about Benno, his world, and Kristallnacht. A.R. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2015]