Milkweed (Readers Circle) | 
| Author: Jerry Spinelli
Publisher: Laurel Leaf
Category: Book
List Price: $6.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  88 reviews
Sales Rank: 22001
Media: Mass Market Paperback
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 240
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.8
ISBN: 0439676959
EAN: 9780440420057
ASIN: 0440420059
Publication Date: September 13, 2005
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Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New and Factory Sealed Item Fast Shipping
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Newbery Medal-winning author Jerry Spinelli (Maniac McGee, Stargirl) paints a vivid picture of the streets of the Nazi-occupied Warsaw during World War II, as seen through the eyes of a curious, kind, heartbreakingly naive orphan with many names. His name is Stopthief when people shout "Stop! Thief!" as he flees with stolen bread. Or it's Jew, "filthy son of Abraham," depending on who's talking to him. Or, maybe he's a Gypsy, because his eyes are black, his skin is dark, and he wears a mysterious yellow stone around his neck. His new friend and protector Uri forces him to take the name Misha Pilsudski and to memorize a made-up story about his Gypsy background so that no one will mistake him for a Jew and kill him. Misha, a very young boy, is slow to understand what's happening around him. When he sees people running, he thinks it's a race. Nazis (Jackboots, as the children call them) marching through the streets appear to him as a delightful parade of magnificent boots. He wants to be a Jackboot! (Uri smacks him for saying this.) He compares bombs to sauerkraut kettles, machine guns to praying mantises, and tanks to "colossal gray long-snouted beetles." The story of Misha and his band of orphans trying to survive on their own would have a deliciously Dickensian quality, if it weren't for the devastation around them--people hurrying to dig trenches to stop Nazi tanks, shops exploding in flames, the wailing of sirens, buzzing airplanes, bombs, and human torture. Spinelli has written a powerfully moving story of survival--readers will love Misha the dreamer and his wonderfully poetic observations of the world around him, his instinct to befriend a Jewish girl and her family, his impulse to steal food for a local orphanage and his friends in the ghetto, and his ability to delight in small things even surrounded by the horror of the Holocaust. A remarkable achievement. (Ages 11 and older) --Karin Snelson
Product Description
He’s a boy called Jew. Gypsy. Stopthief. Runt. Happy. Fast. Filthy son of Abraham.
He’s a boy who lives in the streets of Warsaw. He’s a boy who steals food for himself and the other orphans. He’s a boy who believes in bread, and mothers, and angels. He’s a boy who wants to be a Nazi some day, with tall shiny jackboots and a gleaming Eagle hat of his own. Until the day that suddenly makes him change his mind. And when the trains come to empty the Jews from the ghetto of the damned, he’s a boy who realizes it’s safest of all to be nobody.
Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli takes us to one of the most devastating settings imaginable—Nazi-occupied Warsaw of World War II—and tells a tale of heartbreak, hope, and survival through the bright eyes of a young orphan.
From the Hardcover edition.
Download Description
He's a boy called Jew. Gypsy. Stopthief. Runt. Happy. Fast. Filthy son of Abraham. He's a boy who lives in the streets of Warsaw. He's a boy who steals food for himself and the other orphans. He's a boy who believes in bread, and mothers, and angels. He's a boy who wants to be a Nazi some day, with tall shiny jackboots and a gleaming Eagle hat of his own. Until the day that suddenly makes him change his mind. And when the trains come to empty the Jews from the ghetto of the damned, he's a boy who realizes it's safest of all to be nobody. Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli takes us to one of the most devastating settings imaginable -- Nazi-occupied Warsaw of World War II -- and tells a tale of heartbreak, hope, and survival through the bright eyes of a young orphan.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 83 more reviews...
 Amazing, insightful, chilling August 22, 2008
In this book, the Nazi invasion of Poland is seen through the eyes of a small homeless vagabond of a child, a child who is both too naive to understand properly what is going on around him, yet also more street-smart and much better at surviving the hard life than the adults around him.
I found this book refreshingly unique, intelligently written, and compelling too - in fact, I found it so impossible to put down that I ended up staying up most of the night to finish it. However, it is a very realistically written book, and none of the harshness of war is sugar-coated, so I would not recommend letting young children read it. Also, kids might need to ask a few background questions about World War 2 so that they can understand fully what the story is about, and they're probably going to need the holocaust and the Nazi death camps explained to them as well...and I myself would definitely not enjoy having to explain that to young children, especially not when it comes to the "But WHY would the Nazis do something so horrible like that?" part. Still, let's just hope that if our future generations learn about this sort of stuff, they can stop anything like it from happening again.
Milkweed August 4, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys WWII and holocaust books.
This story is about a boy. A boy who has no name, no family, no home. This boy is taken from place to place ripped from new friends and put into the hands of enemies. Put in jail cells one day, then living in the homes of strangers the next. It's always hard to find food, always a struggle to keep warm. He meets new people, and his told who he is countless times. He is called thief, Gypsy, Jew. He was called Misha. He is called one-eared Jack.
This book is all about this boy finding who he is. Bad things may happen, but that doesn't change who you are. This boy finally found who he is. After years and years of hurt and pain, hunger and thirst, friends and enemies, he knows who he is. He is... Poppynoodle.
 A very disappointing read indeed July 12, 2008
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
When I first started reading this book, I was impressed by the writing. The vivid descriptions. The emotions. The strong dialogue. The steady pace. Then when things were getting intense, the pace of the writing sped up like a runaway train hurling downhill. The author crammed a lot into the closing scenes and left me feeling exhausted and cheated. Many loose ends were never tied up. A very disappointing read indeed.
Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli April 25, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This is a great book. The way Jerry Spinelli developes the character, Misha Piludski, and makes it so that you really get a feel of what it was like to be Jewish during the Holocaust. This book is one of the best books i have ever read. It leads you through the story of a boy that with a little help will make it a long way. And learn to make with what he has. To be smart. And to care for others. Overall this is a great book for people looking for a page turner. The plot and the characters are so great that anyone who like historical fiction will like this book. You have to read this book!
 Milkweed from a teen's perspective April 7, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book deals with a boy who has to deal with the time and events of the Jewish past. The main character (Misha or Stopthief) has to learn what's really happening in the present time and how to survive it. The incidents of the past might confuse him on what was really happening and what's in the world. But luckily he doesn't have to do it on his own. Throughout his adventure he'll get help from his friends Uri and Janina. Maybe all together they can crack the code which is his past.
Reading this book thousands of emotions might come through you and might change throughout the book. Just reading the first couple of pages will make you think and ask questions about the story. And also the first couple of pages will get you through a tough roller coaster which is a story of life and the past.
Warning: lead character may piss you off!!;]
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