Behind the secret window
This book is about Nelly and her mother hiding from the Nazis in a friend’s house. They hid in a little window that had been closed off to keep the house warmer in the winters. They only went into the window when someone came into the house, so no one would know that they were hiding there. For around three years Nelly and her mother hid there. Nelly was constantly wondering if her father would come and join them. For these three years they passed the time by talking with each other, knitting, or for Nelly, painting watercolors. The setting is in a house in Lwow, Poland. Lwow was taken by Soviet troops in 1939, and was occupied by Germany for the rest of the war. The time frame was from 1941- 1944, to be exact, June 1941 through July 1944. The house that they were hiding in had three or four rooms, but Nelly and her mother lived in the guest bedroom. In the guest bedroom, there was a bathroom that they used to hide in as a last resort. The area in the window was accessed by a panel in the wall, which was covered by a huge rug that hung over it. The house was more like a large apartment than a house. It was in an apartment building but it was as big as a small house. The main character in this book is Nelly. (She is also the author- Nelly S. Toll) She was only six when the Germans invaded Poland. She kept a diary, and wrote in it almost every day about the horrors that surrounded her, of hiding in a room, hoping not to be found, and of surviving under all the pressure. Nelly loved to draw, and create watercolors. (A lot of her drawings are in the book) Nelly was very nice and loving, and was never mean to anybody. She loved her mother, and took care of her if she was in need. Some other important people in this book are, Papa, Mama, and Pani (Aunt) Krysia. Papa is Nelly’s dad. He was very nice, and he was always doing things for the family. He was the one that arranged for Nelly and her mom to go into hiding, but he never went into hiding himself. He did