In 1940 Janusz Korczak marched and sang with 170 orphans when the German Army forced them to move from a Warsaw orphanage to the “the other side,” the Jewish ghetto. Korczak was a physician, children's book writer, musician, and fierce advocate for the orphans in Warsaw. The children called him Mister Doctor. The story is told from the point of view of one of the children who Korczak sustained and championed until 1942 when Nazis established extermination camps where they were sent. “We were saplings ripped violently from the earth. We never became trees…” (52)

2016, Commended, Sydney Taylor Book Award, Notable Book, 2016 Joint winner, Independent Publishers Book Award, Gold, 2016, 2016 Outstanding International Book, United States Board on Books for Young People.

Author lives in France.

Italy. Originally published in Italian as L'Ultimo Viaggio by Orecchio Acerbo in 2015. English translation by Paula Ayer published in the United States by Annick Press/ Toronto in 2015.

Forced by the Nazis to leave their orphanage, 160 Jewish children march through the streets of Warsaw. Led by their beloved director, Doctor Korczak, the children are defiantly joyful as they enter the ghetto. Two years later, the same children are rounded up to be transported to the death camp, Treblinka. Offered his freedom, Doctor Korczak refuses to abandon the children and proudly joins them to make sure that they are comforted even at the very end. This extraordinary true story introduces young readers to a remarkable man whose humanity and bravery shone through during one of history s darkest periods. Beautifully poignant drawings accompany the text, adding to the somber tone of the book. A gatefold page towards the end shows the line of children led by Doctor Korczak as they leave on their last journey. "