So, as I was getting book talks ready after school today for a teacher I started flipping through this particular choice, mainly to see if it would work for the assignment the students will be doing, and I got sucked into it.
Jack Mandelbaum was only 15 when he was deported to a concentration camp during Nazi Germany and he was shipped to a number of camps before finally being liberated on May 7, 1945. At the first camp the man in the bunk next to him, Aaron, tells him to treat it like a game that he wants to win, that if he plays everything right, he might beat the Nazis. Jack is determined to survive and meet back up with his parents, brother, and sister, who he is certain are still alive and waiting for him. Jack eventually arrives in the United States and becomes an American citizen, marries, and has a family. He does find a few family members, but his parents and siblings all perished at the hands of the Nazis.
This would make a good introduction to the Holocaust for someone who wasn't very knowledgeable, or for a late elementary student. It was a quick and easy read. And it should do just fine for the project, so my students will be hearing about this one on Wednesday. :)
Happy Reading!
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