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Two young boys encounter the best and worst of humanity during the Holocaust in this powerful read that USA Today called "as memorable an introduction to the subject as The Diary of Anne Frank.”  

Berlin, 1942: When Bruno returns home from school one day, he discovers that his belongings are being packed in crates. His father has received a promotion and the family must move to a new house far, far away, where there is no one to play with and nothing to do. A tall fence stretches as far as the eye can see and cuts him off from the strange people in the distance. 

But Bruno longs to be an explorer and decides that there must be more to this desolate new place than meets the eye. While exploring his new environment, he meets another boy whose life and circumstances are very different from his own, and their meeting results in a friendship that has devastating consequences.

From the Publisher

Publisher ‏ : ‎ David Fickling Books; Reprint edition (October 23, 2007)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 215 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0385751532
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0385751537
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 9+ years, from customers
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1000L
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 7 - 9
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.5 x 8.19 inches
Reviewer: David Seaman
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: to join "Sophie's Choice," "Night", "Anne Frank" and show you your own voice.
Review: It is quite possible that more has been written about The Holocaust than any other historical event in history. Not just in regard to hard research, but many of the world's finest novelists have fictionalized the story, film makers have touched upon the subject, playwrights, composers, painters and poets. If there has been a way to express the shock- and shock is an understatement in this case- it has been attempted. John Boyne, a gifted and now internationally known Irish author, wrote the book "The Boy In The Stripped Pajamas" in about two weeks time. As he said, in order to maintain "the voice," once he began he was afraid to stop. The same is true when reading it- we are compelled to continue and it is evident from early in the book that Boyne has disguised the terminal words so that it can apply to any and all of the other holocausts' that occurred prior to and after this one. In fact, only once does Boyne choose to use a "telling" word; on page 54 one of the officers says, "Heil Hitler" but then we are told that the boy assumed that this was like saying, "Well, goodbye for now and have a pleasant afternoon." The boy, his name Bruno; his age nine, misunderstands the key words and Auschwitz is written as "Out-With" every single time. The negative pun- the only way I could describe this- suggests the old work rhythm, "In with the good; out with the bad." Then the boy mishears the Furher as The Fury" and this negative pun needs no description at all. We have a moment when Bruno meets "The Fury" as well as "her" when they come for dinner and Bruno is appalled at how small The Fury is, but how kind the beautiful blonde woman with him is (her name is simply Eva). The innocence and ignorance of this young boy is as critical to the brilliance of this work as the story of the Titanic. (I speak not just of Cameron's film, but Maury Yeston's musical, "a Night to Remember" and the three other films made between 1938 and 1984) Boyne uses the literary tool that his audience not only knows so much more than Bruno, but that we are anticipating the sadness that ends the novel. So we are prepared to cry but when the end does come, Boyne shocks us in such a way that instead of tears, our mouths are opened in the O shape that he uses to describe several characters through the book. This book is by no means a "Sophie's Choice" though the horror is just as shocking, but few writers in history have been able to achieve what William Styron did. Still Styron's novel and Boyne's novel use a similar foundation but their books are about very different things. Where the ending is horrifyingly shocking and, like Styron's "Sophie's Choice," completely unexpected (who in fact could have imagined an ending such as this one) the poignancy of "The Boy In Striped Pajamas" makes it impossible for this book- and the fame it will bring Mr. Boyne, you heard it here first- to become satirized in any way. Because the innocence and ignorance, as a result of the way his parents have shielded Bruno, is a metaphor for the way in which the population who was aware of the death camps were inactive; complacent and how the same continues to occur day after day from the beginning of recorded time to the continued genocide in Darfur- the world's largest death camp- to which the UN has placed sanctions against while The full force of the American military tore apart Iraq in search of Weapons of Mass Destruction. The current political winds in the United States suggest that Gay Americans and Female Americans are just as vulnerable. All of these circumstances suggest that you could very well be next. John Boyne manages to suggest all of this is his two hundred page fable using a modicum of brilliantly chosen words. John Boyle has sub-titled his book, A Fable" and it is. His final words are like a double edged sword: "And that's the end of the story of Bruno and his family. Of course all of this happened a long time ago and nothing like that could ever happen again. Not in this day and age."The irony of this ending reminds us that this is a fable, but more so, it makes us stop and think of the responsibility that we all owe to anyone who has been maltreated, either in the form of Bruno, Anne Frank, Sophie Zawotoski or Carol Stewart, Amy Fitzpatrick, Dave Pelzer and the millions of others. This novel is worthy of a prize. It's not a children's book, though my children should read it. It's not an adult book, but all adults should read it. This would rule out the Newbury or Caldecott. In regard to its literary merit, the American version needs some editorial work (only once did the editors miss a pajamas and leave pyjamas) but the writing is pristine and brilliant and worthy of The Pulitzer. As far as The Nobel Prize for Literature, it is worthy there too. But mostly it's is worthy of you. And, like "Sophie's Choice" I am told that a motion picture is in the making. Depending on whose hands it falls into this could be a miracle. The innocent eyes through which Bruno's story unfolds are critical and these innocent eyes are just as important as Sophie's guilty and lying soul. If Benton could do it, perhaps "The Boy In The Stripped Pajamas" will as well. But there are a lot of "Maybes" involved with the hopes of John Boyne, this critic and every other artist who has attempted to move us. As far as I can see, Boyne has done his part. This book, like Elie Weisel's "Night" needs to be published in as many languages as possible and marketed toward as many customers as possible. No one should keep this book from the hands of a nine year old nor should anyone consider it a book too young for adults. In short, this is a remarkable book in every way and perhaps, after more times has passed for thinking and another read through or so, l may well see that there is no other possible way for this story to have ended. Not in this day and age.

Reviewer: Michelle M.
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Loved This Book!!
Review: The historical fiction novel The Boy in the Striped Pajamas written by John Boyne brings readers into the point of view of a 9-year-old boy at the time of World War II. unfolding the reason why the “neighborhood” across from his house is so different. Bruno, a 9-year-old German boy had a perfect life in Berlin with his friends, the city he lived in ,and especially his house. One day he was coming home from school and saw the maid packing up his things in his room, soon after they moved. Bruno asked many questions about why, but the only answer he was told was that it was for fathers work. After getting to the new house, Bruno and his older sister Gretel both agreed that this was not home and was most likely a vacation house-well it definitely wasn't. Later in the story we come to find that the “modern neighborhood”is an Auschwitz compound and his father is a Nazi officer. The fence dividing the compound and Bruno's house is how he means the Boy in the Striped Pajamas. As the story continues, Bruno finds how inhuman his friend's life is. This book has many strengths and weaknesses but here are the ones I found most prominent. I liked how the book was told from Bruno’s perspective. He is young and his knowledge about the holocaust is slim ,so as the story unfolded ‘learned’ together in a scene. What I didn’t like was that the end of the book happened so quickly. It didn’t go into detail like the beginning, I felt almost rushed. The symbolism sticks out in this book. An example is the striped Pajamas , the people on the other side of the fence wear striped pajamas. This is a uniform that symbolizes their differences from Bruno and his family . Also these pajamas spark Bruno‘s curiosity of his “neighbors”. All in all this book was great! The type of reader that I think would like to read this book would be someone who likes historical fiction plus likes to learn with the characters. I recommend anyone who wants to read this book should, it’s quick, easy and enjoyable!

Reviewer: Nikta Forghani
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: erm very sigma book W AURA
Review: The skibidi adventures were very interesting to learn and each character had aura. They all had goats tho. SIGMA OUT.

Reviewer: Kelly
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Must Read!
Review: This is a must read! Great Holocaust Fiction/Historical Fiction book. The read is smooth and engaging.

Reviewer: Frequent Buyer
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Educational Reading
Review: Liked the book due to history, short and easy read, good for middle schoolers to help them understand part of our history etc

Reviewer: Colby
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: 10\10
Review: Such an amazing, heart breaking book. Well written and simplified to understand the horror they all went through during the early 90s

Reviewer: Lynne C. Bird
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Powerful thought provoking read
Review: This book presented the horrors of the NAZI regime from the prospective of the family members of NAZIs. It is well written and grabbed my attention. It’s one of those books that I continue to think about long after I’ve read it.

Reviewer: Luciano Amaro
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Produto entregue dentro do prazo e conforme o anunciado.

Reviewer: Seni
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Muy buen libro escolar recomendable, mejorable el precio

Reviewer: Siddhartha
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: It is a nice book to help young children understand the holocaust.

Reviewer: B. Marianne
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Livraison rapide et livre correspondant à la description donnée concernant son état.

Reviewer: Des
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Ottimo per chi ha bisogno di consolidare la conoscenza della lingua inglese. Non troppo facile, né troppo difficile.