"Sitting around miserable all day won't make you happier"

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas - John Boyne

Publisher: David Fickling Books
Copyright: 2006
Number of Pages: 216

Awards:  Irish Book Award Children’s Book of the Year, Irish Book Award People’s Choice Book of the Year, Bisto Book of the Year, Que Leer Award Best International Novel of the Year (Spain), and Orange Prize Readers Group Book of the Year.

This book is a historical fiction book because it looks back at the Holocaust in Germany. It is intended for grades 7 and up because of how detailed it is about the events that are going on at this time.

Summary
Nine year old Bruno knows nothing about the holocaust. He doesn't know the cruelties that are happening all around the world. Bruno only knows that he is moving and when he gets there he doesn't like it because there is no one to play with and nothing to do in the middle of nowhere. Except for one day when he was exploring he found a tall wire fence with people on the other side of it. He met a little boy who was playing near the fence named Shmuel. There friendship is so innocent that they both don't see what is happening until it may be too late for both of them.
Book Use
This book is a good one for students to read so that they understand more about what the Holocaust really was. It gives some hope and distraction with Bruno and Shmuel but for the most part it really shows the process and troubling time of the Holocaust. With this book, I would get students to do presentations about the Holocaust and reference points in the book where that specific event occurred or was noticed. This book really helps tie social studies and reading together in an interesting type of way.
                       
                                      <3<3<3                    <3<3                          <3                           No <3

Rating System
Theme	If the theme is well developed and the message is portrayed very clearly.	The theme makes sense; however, it could be more developed.	The message is hard to find in the story and there isn’t much of a theme to go off of.	There isn’t a theme at all.
Plot	The plot is very well developed and everything flows smoothly.	The plot has a few gaps, but the story still is capable of moving along.	The plot has gaps that makes it hard to move the story along.	There is no plot in this book.
Characters	All the characters are developed well in the story.	There is more detail that could be added to the characters.	Characters are very poorly developed.	Characters aren’t developed at all.
Setting	The setting is described in detail and is necessary for the story to make sense.	The setting is described alright and still is needed to help the story make sense.	The setting is described alright, but it isn’t needed to help the story move along.	The setting provided is not necessary for the story to occur.
Illustrations	The illustrations are very detailed and help move the story along.	The illustrations are good, but don’t help the story move along.	The illustrations aren’t the best.	There are no meaningful illustrations at all.

Theme <3<3<3 - This book deserves three hearts because there are so many good themes that are seen throughout. They are also well portrayed and developed.

Plot <3<3<3 - The plot in this book moves along well and in a realistic manner. It all flows smoothly together and is developed well.

Characters <3<3<3 - The characters are described really well and the actions they take portray their personality perfectly. The descriptions really create a connection between the book and the readers because there is a lot of connections and emotions that are shown throughout the book.

Setting <3<3<3 - Without the setting this book would be pointless and not nearly as meaningful as it was.

Illustrations <3 - This book is a chapter book so there are no illustrations within the book, however, the title page is drawn wonderfully and even though it is simple, it portrays so much.

This book is a good book for students to read because it makes them aware of the past that has happened in hopes that nothing like this will happen ever again.