The Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education and Tolerance, in partnership with the Dallas Independent School District and Hold on to Your Music, proudly sponsors the first-ever City-Wide Read and Performance! This fall nearly 12,500 Dallas 5th graders, along with students from the city’s Jewish schools, will read The Children of Willesden Lane, a true story of escape from the Nazis, and the students will attend a musical performance by the author and Grammy-nominated classical pianist Mona Golabek.
The Children of Willesden Lane tells the story of 14-year-old Lisa Jura, Golabek’s mother, a Jewish musical prodigy whose family sent her from Vienna to England on the Kindertransport to escape from Nazi-controlled Austria. Lisa goes alone to London and finds her way at the Willesden Lane Orphanage where she works hard to pursue her dreams of becoming a concert pianist.
After the students have read and studied The Children of Willesden Lane, they will attend a classical music performance at the Music Hall at Fair Park in November. Mona Golabek’s musical performance combines elements of storytelling, acting, and music to tell her mother’s inspirational story of survival during the Holocaust. The show expands on the themes found in the book and further demonstrates the strength of the human spirit to persevere through times of darkness.
As part of the City-Wide Read and Performance event, every Dallas ISD 5th grader and several Dallas Jewish schools will receive a personal copy of The Children of Willesden Lane. Every 5th grader available will be transported to and from a performance by Golabek at the Music Hall at Fair Park (November 14, 15 or 16).
The City-Wide Read and Performance also incorporates professional development for teachers and librarians on teaching Holocaust history and The Children of Willesden Lane and includes bilingual teacher resources and cross-curriculum projects for English Language Arts, Reading, Performing Arts, Social Studies, Library and Media Studies.
The City-Wide Read and Performance is funded by the Dallas Holocaust Museum, Dallas ISD, and the Dallas Jewish Foundation.