This book is an excellent reminder that the Holocaust happened, and that history lessons can make a difference in children's lives. The Paper Clip teachers, students, and community deserve thanks for preserving the memory, as hard as it is to face. My response is to tell others and pray: never again allow humans in and from any nation attempt to destroy a whole and Godly culture and community.

The book and the companion DVDs are some of the best done material I have ever seen. It is a touching and moving true story about a small Tennessee school and town that accomplishes some amazing things.

This is a companion book to the documentary about the Paper Clip project started at Whitwell Middle School outside of Chattanooga, Tennessee, in the late 1990s. What began as a class to teach diversity to a mostly white southern group of schoolchildren evolved into a project of collecting 6 million paper clips (the clips are historically tied to the Holocaust) to represent the Jews who perished during that dark period. This book is a wonderful story that shows what can be accomplished when children are determined and how a relatively small idea can grow into something significant that can affect millions of people. This one is highly recommended for children of all ages.

I happened upon a review and ordered the book. When it arrived, I read it with a lump in my throat and my eyes tearing up. My 72 year old mother and I were driving to another town when I started telling her about it. I couldn't get that damn lump out of my throat and pretty soon my voice started quivering and I started crying. She just reached over and held my hand as I got my composure back. I was done, though, I told her she had to read it. She did. Afterward, she took it to one of her clubs and shared it. It's just a 10 minute read, but it sure provides plenty of emotion. I am so glad I happened upon it. A glorious story. Thank you.

Those of us who are horrified by the murderous actions of the Nazis during the Holocaust pray that such a terrible event will never happen again. It is heartening to know that there are a number of middle school children in Whitwell, Tennessee who did their share to raise the consciousness of people from all over the world. Whitwell, a small town of white Anglo-Saxon Protestants with a population of only 1,600, is now internationally famous for its "Paper Clip Project."

In 1998, Sandra Roberts, an eighth-grade teacher, began to teach a voluntary class on the Holocaust after school, and sixteen students enrolled. The students could not believe it when their teacher informed them that six million Jews were murdered by the Nazis. One boy came up with the idea of collecting six million objects to put the number in perspective. Since the Norwegians (one of whom invented the paper clip) wore paper clips on their lapels to protest the anti-Jewish policies of the occupying German army, the children decided to collect paper clips, first locally, and later from all over the world.

This book, which clearly and eloquently describes the project from its genesis to its completion, was written by Dagmar and Peter Schroeder, two German newspaper correspondents. The Schroeders helped the campaign by writing articles in nine German newspapers, and they later decided to write a book about this phenomenal effort. Eventually, a documentary film was made to describe what the students in Whitwell accomplished.

This inspiring book will encourage children and adults alike to believe that ordinary individuals can make a difference. "Six Million Paper Clips" is filled with colorful photographs, including those of the participants and of an authentic German railcar that now stands outside Whitwell Middle School. This railcar houses the Children's Holocaust Memorial containing eleven million paper clips weighing eleven metric tons! The memorial was officially dedicated on November 9, 2001, on the sixty-third anniversary of Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass. Today, students from all over the country travel to Whitwell to see the memorial, and many other schools are starting Holocaust remembrance projects of their own.

"Six Million Paper Clips" was named "An Association of Jewish Libraries Notable Children's Book" and I recommend it highly for children, parents, and teachers. The story of the Paper Clip Project can help students understand the consequences of hatred and intolerance, and may also foster the idea that everyone can play a part in making the world a better place.