Really, it's a very ordinary looking suitcase. You could fit quite a lot in it. Books, games, treasures, toys. But nothing is inside it now. Across the front, there is a girl's name, Hana Brady. A date of birth: May 16 1931. And 'Waisenkind'. That's the German word for orphan." When Hana's suitcase arrives from Germany at the small Holocaust education centre in Japan, all the children who visit want to know about Hana. Where did she come from? Where was she going? What did she pack? When Fumiko Ishioka, the centre's curator, decides to find the answers, she embarks on a journey of discovery across Europe and North America, and 70 years of history. What Fumiko finds in Hana's suitcase is a true story of terrible sadness and great joy.

 

 

This book is the winner of numerous awards

There are 120 pages in this book.

It is aimed at Young Adult readers. The term Young Adult (YA) is used for books which have the following characteristics: (1) aimed at ages 12-18 years, US grades 7-12, UK school years 8-15, (2) around 50-75k words long, (3) main character is aged 12-18 years, (4) topics include self-reflection, internal conflict vs external, analyzing life and its meaning, (5) point of view is often in the first person, and (6) swearing, violence, romance and sexuality are allowed.

This book was published in 2003 by Allen & Unwin .

Karen Levine has won many awards for her work in radio, including two presigious Peabody Awards (Canada) - one for the documentary Children of the Holocaust. This book is based on Karen's CBC radio documentary, also called Hana's Suitcase, which appeared on The Sunday Edition (Canada)and which won the gold medal at the New York International Radio Festival.