The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Wow.  Just finished reading John Boyne's acclaimed fable, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.  It's a haunting tale of the Holocaust told through the eyes of innocence.  Bruno, the 9 year old son of a Nazi commanding officer, moves with his family to "Out With" (Auschwitz), where he spends a little more than a year getting to know Schmuel, a young Jewish boy who surprisingly shares his birthday.  They become fast, secret friends.  And Bruno learns more about life during that one year than he ever could in Berlin. 

The author states that he intended to write a story that could span any war, any era, any prison camp.  And I believe it does.  Bruno shows us the cruelty of war and prejudice, yet never quite understands it himself.  The author wanted this story to be considered a fable, with the lesson of "complacency is dangerous" being the moral of the story.  Throughout, this moral is expressed, such as the talk Marie has with Bruno about just doing nothing and accepting the situation.  Wise advice or not?  

The 6th grade class that is reading this book now has had many important discussions about complacency already.  They plan to finish the book soon and watch the movie.  It was important to me to read this along with them so that I could be an additional resource should they want to discuss it further.  Their social studies teacher is teaching a lesson on the geography and history of Germany, so this worked perfectly.  

I love it when God steps in and shows me that He knows best.  I had a burning desire for this team to read this book...and now I know why.  The reading teacher had never read the book, but had seen the movie, so she knew her class would love the story.  They're enjoying it so much more than I dreamed they would.  I always hope a book I recommend can be that "one" book for a student...the one that changes him/her as a reader forever.  

This moral is a life lesson.  For everyone, especially during our modern world when our news reminds us daily that we're all losing touch with one another and hatred is driving decisions in many lives.  

Just as it did in the 1940s...

Happy Reading everyone.
RC