Entertainment / children's books Publisher Yanks Kid Spinoff of Holocaust Fake Refunds offered for picture book based on hoax love story By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff Posted Dec 31, 2008 5:54 AM CST Copied Fake memoir author Herman Rosenblat poses with his wife, Roma, for a photo in their North Miami Beach, Fla., home. (AP Photo/J. Pat Carter, file) Publishers are now pulling a picture book inspired by a Holocaust love story revealed to be a fake, Publishers Weekly reports. Lerner Publishing has announced it will cancel reprints of Angel Girl and offer refunds for returned copies. Herman Rosenblat's memoir Angel on the Fence was canceled by another publisher after he admitted inventing the story of a girl who gave him food through the fence at the Buchenwald concentration camp. The author of Angel Girl, who contacted Rosenblat and his wife after reading their story in an online newspaper, said she was upset and disappointed after learning it was untrue. Lerner's president echoed her sentiments. "While this tragic event in world history needs to be taught to children, it is imperative that it is done so in a factual way that doesn't sacrifice veracity for emotional impact," he said. (More children's books stories.) Report an error