When We Had Wings
Imagine a world without any grown-ups telling you what to do. A world where the kids decide everything together. Janeck has a chance to live that life. Can he leave his old life behind? And can the others ever learn to trust a thief?
Average Rating
What the Book is About
In 1935 Warsaw, Poland, twelve-year-old Janek is an orphan who survives by stealing and running through the streets. After his legs are badly injured, his sister sends him to a Jewish orphanage run by the famous educator and doctor Janusz Korczak.
At first Janek doesn’t trust anyone. But life in the orphanage is different from anything he has known before. The children help run their own newspaper, hold a court where kids judge other kids fairly, and spend summers at a farm outside the city. Slowly, Janek begins to feel safe and even hopeful about the future.
As antisemitism grows more dangerous in Poland, the children at the orphanage learn about Jewish history and courage, including the story of the Beilis blood libel case. When Janek’s sister has a chance to emigrate to Palestine, Janek must decide whether he’s ready to leave the orphanage—and the life he has finally begun to build. This book is translated from the award winning Hebrew title “I Am Not A Thief”.
Jewish Content and Values
- Most characters are Jewish, and the story centers on life in a Jewish orphanage run by Dr. Janusz Korczak (a real historical figure).
- Jewish practice and culture run through the book, including Shabbat, Hanukkah, and Passover celebrations, Hebrew learning, and Yiddish sayings.
- The Doctor’s approach to caring for children highlights Jewish values, including chesed (kindness,) welcoming the stranger, and the idea that all people are created in God’s image.
- The story includes Zionism and it ends with emigration plans to Palestine.
Content Advisory
This book includes some intense material appropriate for older readers, including antisemitic harassment and violence (including Jewish kids being beaten with clubs) and a detailed discussion of the Beilis blood libel case. Janek’s backstory includes severe physical harm (his legs are broken at an orphanage) and poverty/hard living conditions. There is also sexual harassment (Mira is harassed by an employer’s husband) and mild profanity/insults (including “moron”). None of the violence is graphic, but the situations are intense.
What the Book is About
In 1935 Warsaw, Poland, twelve-year-old Janek is an orphan who survives by stealing and running through the streets. After his legs are badly injured, his sister sends him to a Jewish orphanage run by the famous educator and doctor Janusz Korczak.
At first Janek doesn’t trust anyone. But life in the orphanage is different from anything he has known before. The children help run their own newspaper, hold a court where kids judge other kids fairly, and spend summers at a farm outside the city. Slowly, Janek begins to feel safe and even hopeful about the future.
As antisemitism grows more dangerous in Poland, the children at the orphanage learn about Jewish history and courage, including the story of the Beilis blood libel case. When Janek’s sister has a chance to emigrate to Palestine, Janek must decide whether he’s ready to leave the orphanage—and the life he has finally begun to build. This book is translated from the award winning Hebrew title “I Am Not A Thief”.
Jewish Content and Values
- Most characters are Jewish, and the story centers on life in a Jewish orphanage run by Dr. Janusz Korczak (a real historical figure).
- Jewish practice and culture run through the book, including Shabbat, Hanukkah, and Passover celebrations, Hebrew learning, and Yiddish sayings.
- The Doctor’s approach to caring for children highlights Jewish values, including chesed (kindness,) welcoming the stranger, and the idea that all people are created in God’s image.
- The story includes Zionism and it ends with emigration plans to Palestine.
Content Advisory
This book includes some intense material appropriate for older readers, including antisemitic harassment and violence (including Jewish kids being beaten with clubs) and a detailed discussion of the Beilis blood libel case. Janek’s backstory includes severe physical harm (his legs are broken at an orphanage) and poverty/hard living conditions. There is also sexual harassment (Mira is harassed by an employer’s husband) and mild profanity/insults (including “moron”). None of the violence is graphic, but the situations are intense.
