From Author Fern Schumer Chapman- Dear Viking Middle School students:
I received your beautiful thank-you cards yesterday. I delighted in discovering what you took away from reading THREE STARS IN THE NIGHT SKY and my presentations for your one book - one school project. Here are some of your comments: "This really made me think about my life and how I should be grateful." "Thank you for showing us the life during WWII. We are all equal, no matter what. Period!" "I hope people really take this in and stop bullying. I say this because people all around the world get bullied." "Thank you for showing us that it does not matter if you're a different race or religion, we are still people and we all still need respect." "Thank you for writing this inspirational book. It brought my classmates closer in a way. We had a great conversation in class." "I couldn't imagine myself separated from my family for a long time. I know I wouldn't survive." "I promise you, after the speech you gave us, I'm going to treat students from another country with kindness and respect." It was my great honor to be with you and your classmates. It's gratifying to hear that Gerda's story was so instructive to you. Keep reading!
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Dear Fern Schumer Chapman, Does the writing process energize or exhaust you? Regards, Mrs. Nass' Class Dear Mrs. Nass' Class,
Both! I find that when I write I achieve a state of “flow,” which is defined as the complete absorption in what one does, resulting in a transformation of one's sense of time. Colloquially, this is often called “being in the zone.” Sometimes, I don’t move from my desk for five or six hours, and I hardly notice how much time has passed. One other thought… When I meet with young writers, I always share with them this counter-intuitive idea. Motivation does not result in productivity. Productivity results in motivation. Once you start writing, you will keep writing. Do not wait for inspiration! Sincerely, Fern Schumer Chapman Mrs. Velazquez's Class Dear Fern Schumer Chapman, How did you get to know Gerda and her story? Regards, Mrs. Velazquez's Class Fern Schumer Chapman Response Dear Mrs. Velazquez's Class,
On the ship that brought her from Nazi Germany to America, my mother, Edith Westerfeld, met Gerda Katz. Both 12-year-old girls were traveling alone and immediately became best friends. Unfortunately, the two unaccompanied minors lost touch after their arrival in 1938. Decades later, after a middle-school class read my historical novel, Is It Night or Day?, that captures the two girls friendship, the students were so moved by the story that they made it a class project to reunite the two women. The students were successful. Fulfilling a shared life-long dream, the two women, now in their 80s, finally saw each other again in Seattle, Washington, in 2011. I captured this remarkable reunion in my book, Like Finding My Twin. I met Gerda at the reunion at 2011, and I knew as soon as she told me her story that it was worthy of a book. I visited Gerda several times in Seattle and she filled in the details of her history and explained how her past defined her life. In addition, she shared with me all of her photographs, letters, and documents (some of the primary source material) that I included in Three Stars in the Night Sky. Gerda saved ever shred of paper from her history, including over 170 letters from her parents from the 1940s-1950s, when they were living in the Dominican Republic. Sincerely, Fern Schumer Chapman Mr. Pastori's Class Dear Fern Schumer Chapman, Do you know if Gerda had any type of PTSD or flashbacks from her childhood? Sincerely, Mr. Pastori's Class Fern Schumer Chapman Response Dear Mr. Pastori's Class,
This is an excellent question. Post-traumatic stress disorder is a by-product of uncertainty. Most child immigrants who leave their family, friends, school, home, and language suffer with post-traumatic stress disorder. In fact, there are two inherent traumas in immigration – the upheaval of leaving and the difficult adjustment to a new school and culture with a new language. The answer is yes, Gerda had PTSD. During the 21 years when she was separated from her family, she feared she would never see them again. That chronic uncertainty created terrible chaos in Gerda’s young life, which often revisited her through flashbacks during the rest of her life. Regards, Fern Schumer Chapman Mrs. Horne's Class Dear Mrs. Schumer Chapman, If Hitler wanted to rid the Jews of Germany so badly, why do you think he made it so hard for them to get the necessary paperwork to leave? Regards, Mrs. Horne's Class Fern Schumer Chapman Response Dear Mrs. Horne's Class,
This is a very important question, and it forces us to consider what the world was like in the late 1930s. There was a serious economic depression throughout the world. Most countries, including the United States, refused to admit immigrants. The Nazi regime made it difficult to gain exit papers in order to get money from frightened Jewish people. In addition, the regime wanted to use healthy adults as slave laborers. Hundreds of thousands of Jewish people wanted to flee Nazi-occupied territories. The sad fact is that few countries would open their doors to these refugees. This was painfully evident at the Evian Conference in 1938 (before World War II began.) Sincerely, Fern Schumer Chapman Mrs. DeLaurentis' Class Dear Mrs. Schumer Chapman, How long did it take Gerda to learn English? As a class we couldn't imagine how difficult and intimidating it would feel to join an English speaking class with no background knowledge. Sincerely, Mrs. DeLaurentis' Class Fern Schumer Chapman Response Dear Mrs. Laurentis' Class,
It was difficult to learn English, especially since there were no school programs such as English Language Learning (ELL) classes. At that time, immigrant students were placed in the appropriate language level classes, so a student like Gerda who had low English skills would have been placed in 1st grade even though she should have been a 7th grader. In first grade, students were learning to read with flashcards that featured visuals. That helped Gerda learn language. In addition, she was immersed in English at her boarding house, so she had to learn the language quickly to survive. Sincerely, Fern Schumer Chapman |