Benno and the Night of Broken Glass

Title: Benno and the Night of Broken Glass

Author: Meg Wiviott

Illustrator: Josee Bisaillon

Medium: collage, drawings, digital montage.

Genre: Historical Fiction

Summary: This picture book is a fictional tale based on an actual historical even. The Night of Broken Glass is what people call the events that occurred on November 9, 1938. This book is written from the perspective of a stray cat named Benno. He tells about his days and the people in his life and then explains what happened on that memorable night. He tells all about what he experiences and what happened to those in his life. It is a sad, yet touching tale. 

Literary Elements:

            Language: The story is told in narrative format with an episodic progression. It incorporates German within the text.

            Themes: History, Curiosity, Religion, Culture

            Illustrations: The illustrations are made from drawings, montages, and collages. The pictures depict what is happening in the text. They are full of patterns and textures.

Evaluation: I really enjoyed reading this book. It is a sad book about an awful time in world history, but the book was very captivating. I love how the author tells the story from a cat’s perspective. That is new and inventive.

Follow up Activity: First, it would be best to have an open discussion about the events that led to this book. I think it would be interesting for the children to create their own collages. Pick any character except Benno and create a collage showing what that character may have witnessed that night.