The Sky Was My Blanket
Review posted May 4, 2026.
Farrar Straus Giroux, 2025. 154 pages.
Review written April 29, 2026, from a library book.
Starred Review
The Sky Was My Blanket is the last book written by the brilliant Uri Shulevitz, completed months before his death in 2025. In it, he uses first person perspective to tell the incredible story of his uncle's adventures during World War II as they were told to him.
His uncle Yehiel was born in Warsaw during World War I, so his first memories are of being hungry. I hadn't really appreciated how little time passed between World War I and World War II (especially for people in Europe) until I read this book, because when this child who was born during World War I left home at fifteen and a half, he quickly got embroiled in war. However, he survived the experience, and the family he left behind did not.
Be aware that this book is written for kids using simple language and short chapters, but the topic is war, so it's appropriate for upper elementary and middle school kids who can handle heavy topics. There's nothing graphic, but Yehiel did plenty of fighting in trenches and on battlefields, and many of his friends and family died.
Yehiel originally left because he felt his father was oppressive and he wanted to see the world. He left without money or luggage or papers. At first he traveled across Europe from Jewish community to Jewish community and found work and strangers to help him. He was hoping to make his way to the Holy Land, but in Vienna, he took some wise advice and trained to become a leathersmith while also attending Hebrew school. He left Vienna in 1933 when Hitler came to power in Germany and Nazi swastikas started showing up in Austria.
Next, after a winding journey, he joined his brother in Paris, but after losing his job, joined a friend in Barcelona and learned to be a tailor. However, a year later, Franco attacked government troops and started the Spanish Civil War. Yehiel signed up to fight against him with other international soldiers.
And that's how the rest of the story goes - he traveled from one country to another, sometimes fighting, sometimes resisting, sometimes just trying to survive. After the war, Uri and his father - Yehiel's only surviving brother - visited him in Paris and heard his amazing story, told in this book.
I've read plenty of novels set during World War II, but the opportunity to hear personal true stories is quickly closing. I'm glad Uri Shulevitz wrote this one down for young readers.