Le goût de l'espoir

In 1945, young Francine and her mother were sent to the Nazi concentration camp of Bergen-Belsen. Life there was bleak and hopeless for the prisoners. Anxious to keep her daughter's spirits up, Francine's mother confided a secret: she had two pieces of chocolate hidden in her bag. A treasure for Francine, who hadn't seen sweets in years. Her mother, however, forbade her from touching them. "One day, when I see that you really need them, I'll give them to you," she promised.

Francine learned a second secret when she met Helene, another prisoner in the camp: Helene was expecting a child. There was so little food there, and even less hope… Helene and her baby were in grave danger. Francine thought of the two pieces of chocolate. Perhaps she could do something to help the mother and child. This act of kindness would mark their lives for decades.

Kathy Kacer has won many awards for her writing, including the American Jewish Library Association Award. In 1999, she wrote the first book in Second Story's Holocaust Remembrance Series, The Secret of Gabi's Dresser. Since then, she's penned four other books in the series. Kacer now writes about the Holocaust for young readers and travels the country speaking about it. Kacer lives in Toronto, Ontario, with her family.