Irena's Jars of Secrets

Author(s) Marcia Vaughan
Illustrator(s) Ron Mazellan
Age Group 8-12
Publisher Lee & Low Books
ISBN 978-1600604393
Year 2011

Irena Sendler, born in 1910 to a Polish Catholic family, was raised to respect all people, regardless of their race or religion. After Poland was occupied by the Germans during World War II, Irena knew she had to help the Jews who were in the Warsaw Ghetto. She smuggled children out of the ghetto using false papers and creative means of escape. Hoping to reunite the families after the war, Irena kept secret lists of the children’s identities, which were buried in jars under an apple tree.