Upon the Head of the Goat : A Childhood in Hungary 1939-1944

Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in 1981. Aranka Siegal is the nine-year-old Piri of the narrative. The name 'Piri' comes from the Yiddish name Siegal's grandmother used to call her by, 'Perele'. During her summers visiting her grandmother, the children Siegal played with picked up on the name, but would instead say 'Piri'. Also, the title, Upon the Head of the Goat, comes from the Biblical passage, Leviticus 16, which Siegal came across while looking up the definition of "scapegoat".

People

Fage Rosner – author’s maternal grandmother
Rise – Fage's daughter; first husband, Mayer; second husband Ignac Davidowitz
Etu - Rise's daughter (living in Budapest)
Lilli – Rise's daughter; married Lajos (from Salank)
Manci – their daughter
Rozsi - Rise's daughter
Aranka - Rise's daughter; author
Iboya- Rise's daughter
Sandor - Rise's son
Joli - Rise's daughter
Srul Davidowitz – Ignac’s brother
Lujza Davidowitz – Ignac’s sister
Sanyi Davidowitz – Ignac’s brother
Aunt Helen ( in Sozolos)

Awards: Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, Newbery Honor Book, American Library Association Notable Children's Books, Janusz Korczak Literary Competition, IRA Teachers' Choices, Booklist Best Books of the '80s, Booklist Editors' Choice, and Library Journal Best Books of the Year.

Recommendations: Booklist, Boston Globe, Bulletin-Center Child Books, Elementary School Library Collection, Horn Book, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, and Starred Review.