Title: Milkweed
Author: Jerry Spinelli
Genre: Historical Fiction
Awards: Winner of the Golden Kite Award for Fiction, A Notable Children's Book of the Association of Jewish Libraries, Winner of a Parent's Guide Children's Media Award, A National Jewish Book Award finalist, An ALA Best Book for Young Adults
Summary: This book is about a young orphan named Misha,who lives on the streets of Warsaw, Poland during World War II. He doesn't know who his parents are, he doesn't know what his name is, and he doesn't realize what is going on around him. Day after day, he raids the streets looking for food in order to feed himself and to feed other orphans who are in need. One day Misha discovers that he is a Jew and he marches along to the Ghetto with the other Jews. While in the Ghetto, he realizes that finding food isn't going to be as easy as it used to be. Just when the Jews think it can't get any worse, trains come to take them away. They think they are going to a different settlement but what they really don't know is that they are going to be transported to a concentration camp. Misha has been warned by an old friend not to get on the trains. However, Misha has a bad habit of not listening to his friend. Does he listen this time? Find out for yourself by reading Milkweed!
Reaction: I enjoyed reading this novel. I like how the story is told through an innocent orphan's perception. The Holocaust is a very morbid topic, but this book is written in a very easy to read format and it isn't gruesome at all. Misha, the orphan, is oblivious to everything that is going on around him. He doesn't know what it means to be a Jew, Gypsy, or a Jackboot. He is very naive and believes everything that he is told. He finds himself in many dangerous situations but always seems to escape from danger. Even though this novel is written on a very serious topic, I found many parts of the novel to be humorous.
Recommendation: This novel is labeled as a YA novel but it is written at a 3.6 reading level. Since the novel isn't gruesome, I would recommend this novel to both boys and girls in grades 6 and up.
Book talk hook: I would bring in props that relate to certain events that happened in the novel. For example, I might bring in a pickle, hard boiled egg, ear, seed, a necklace with a yelow stone on it, angel wings, and a train. I would then discuss some things that happened within the novel.
I am glad to know what this book is about since it is on our shelf and I have not really looked at it. It sounds kind of sad but it is good that there is some humor sprinkled throughout to make it easier to read. I think that bringing in the items you mentioned for the booktalk would really get students to wonder how the items are connected; it would peak interest.
ReplyDeleteIt's good that there are works to introduce young people to the Holocaust without scaring them silly. It seems as though it would be hard to downplay the horrors while talking about the events but it sounds like Spinelli does just that.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree with Denette ... bringing out seemingly unrelated items is a good way to get students to pay attention.
Our eighth grade Language Arts teacher does a Holocaust unit every year. Besides researching the Holocaust, the students read ficiton and nonfiction books in small groups, like a reading circle. As soon as I read Milkweed, I brought it to her attention. We were looking for a title that would be less grim and difficult to read for our weaker readers or less mature students. She uses Miklweed for some of the students and they really like it
ReplyDeleteSounds like another good book on the Holocaust. I have not heard of this one but I plan on reading it. There is a need for different reading levels on the same subject.
ReplyDeleteI love Jerry Spinelli, but haven't read this book. In January I read "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" and really liked the way the boy saw the historic events of the Holocaust unfold before him in such an innocent manner. I agree with Erin that it is a hard topic to introduce without scary young students silly.
ReplyDeleteI love that there are books out there that can take a topic that there is so much information on and so many people have researched it and written about, and spin it in a whole different light. I am sure there are quite a few fiction books that are written from a child's perspectives on the Holocaust, but I highly doubt that there is one written from the perspective of an orphan who doesn't even know he is Jewish. It seems like this book might really be able to shed some new light on the Holocaust and would be a great addition to any curriculum.
ReplyDeleteMilkweed is a title that is in our collection, but one I have not read. I am anxious to check it out, read it for myself, and find out how all the "hooks" you mentioned connect. The copy that we have has a different cover - one with the plant and seeds floating in the air. The cover you show is much more intriguing and is a hook in itself.
ReplyDeleteSounds like an interesting book. I will have to add that to my must read book list this summer!
ReplyDeleteYour booktalk idea for using props is terrific!
ReplyDeleteYes, your booktalk idea is great--it has several of us wanting to read the book just to understand how these props relate to the book!
ReplyDeleteI love historical fiction pertaining to this period and this is a book that I've been meaning to read for awhile. I've taught Holocaust units in 8th grade before, and I think that this would indeed be a great book to use for that purpose. "Night" was gruesome at parts, and my students didn't come away with what I'd hoped they would. They HATED "Farewell to Manzanar" and Anne Frank way way beyond them. I think this book would have been great. A Children's lit book I would recommend to introduce this sort of unit is "Rose Blanche" by Roberto Innocenti. Powerful.
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