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Brown, Elizabeth

The World Entire: A True Story of an Extraordinary World War II Rescue

68 pp. | Chronicle | September, 2025 | Trade ISBN 9781452170985 $19.99
(4) K-3 Illustrated by Melissa Castrillón . This meticulously researched and dramatically narrated picture book tells the story of Portuguese diplomat Aristides de Sousa Mendes, who at great personal risk and sacrifice saved thousands of Jews fleeing Nazi-occupied southern France. In "what may have been the greatest individual act of rescue in all of World War II," he defied his government and in a twenty-three-day period in 1940 issued thousands of forbidden visas, ensuring safe passage into Portugal. The text is thoroughly informative as well as immediate and suspenseful; illustrations are eye-catching and lively (although the use of flags rather than names to identify countries on the maps seems less than ideal in such a location-dependent story). Unusually for a picture book, this is appended with an extensive bibliography and detailed source notes, plus an author's note and timeline.
Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano

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