What Rosa Brought

Author Jacob Sager Weinstein and New York Times bestselling illustrator Eliza Wheeler deliver a stunning picture book about a young Jewish girl fleeing Nazi occupation with her parents. Drawing on the childhood experiences of the author’s mother, this story of family, immigration, and identity shows the boundless power of love.

Vienna, Austria, is the only home Rosa knows. While her parents work at their store, she plays with her grandmother, reads her favorite books, and climbs trees. But when the Nazis arrive in 1938, everything changes.

Rosa’s family is Jewish, and the Nazis’ new laws make it dangerous for Jews to live in Vienna. Rosa’s parents can no longer run their store. Soon, some Jews decide to leave the country, and Rosa wants to go, too. But where would they go? And what would Rosa be able to bring with her?

Jacob Sager Weinstein grew up hearing the story of his family’s escape from Nazi-occupied Vienna. His other books for children include Princess Unlimited and Lyric McKerrigan, Secret Librarian. He has also written for the New Yorker and the BBC. You can visit him at jacobsagerweinstein.com.

Eliza Wheeler has illustrated numerous books for children and is the illustrator-author of the New York Times bestseller Miss Maple’s Seeds. The telling of her own grandmother’s childhood story in her picture book Home in the Woods ignited a passion for the process of capturing family stories and doing historical visual research, and she was honored to be invited to help Jacob capture his mother’s childhood story through pictures for What Rosa Brought. Eliza lives with her husband near the lakes of Minneapolis, Minnesota. You can find her online at wheelerstudio.com.