The House by the Lake (2020) is an autobiographical picture book for young readers. Deeply interwoven into a century of contemporary German history, the book tells the story of a family against the backdrop of the Holocaust and the fall of the Berlin Wall:
The BBC introduces the author and the book in this short video.
Visit the Website of the Alexanderhaus to learn more about the project and to find out how the house near Berlin looks today.
A great starting point for teaching the book is Candlewick’s comprehensive reading guide with suggestions for student projects.
Book recommendation: Terrible Things by Eve Bunting. It's about a group of animals and how they react when a dark thing comes to the woods. It's an opportunity to talk about standing up when other people are being hurt, without getting into the details of the Holocaust yet.
Let your students get creative. Here is an idea of how to organise a small competition in your classroom using the material from "The house by the lake".
If you like, you can also send us photos of your students' artwork and we will include them in our virtual art gallery. Send to
educational-services-uk@goethe.de
Are you looking for prizes and goodies to treat your students? Order one of our sets in the webshop!
Idea for a creative competition - download here