The Boy In the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

Boyne, John. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. David Fickling Books; Mti edition, 2008. ISBN 0385751893

Plot

Bruno is an eight year old boy who loves to play and have fun with his friends. One day, he returns home from school to find his belongings being packed into crates. His father, a Nazi soldier, has received a promotion and the family must move from their home in Berlin to a new house in “Out-With,” Poland. Bruno does not like his new home because it is in the middle of nowhere and he has no friends to play with. Outside Bruno window he realizes that there is a ‘farm’ where everyone is wearing pajamas, he sees children so he want to go over to play with them. Bruno who dreams of being an explorer decides that he must go over to find out what is going on. While exploring the hidden fortress, he meets another boy, but he is behind the fence wearing the pajamas. Shmuel is an eight year old boy just like Bruno which automatically means they are going to be friends. Bruno does not understand why Shmuel is behind the fence and cannot come out. Shmuel sort of understands the situation he is it but not completely. They become friends even though there lives and circumstances are different but develop an innocent friendship that results in shocking consequences.

Critical evaluation

This story is meant for children to understand the Holocaust but has more adult themes. The children are unaware of what is really going on within the fence. Bruno, a son of a soldier, does not really understand what his father is doing nor does he know that what his father does is affecting his friend, Shmuel. This novel is an eye opener for both child and adult because both play important roles. The father is the in charge of the “death” camp and is killing thousand of people without thinking about it. Bruno thinks that Schmuel is living an ok’ay within the camp and does not believe it to be dangerous. Bruno’s father realizes first hand what it feels like to lose someone with the gas chambers that he approved of.

Readers Annotations

Bruno is a young boy whose family moves to Poland after his Nazi father is promoted. Bruno discovers a new place where he makes friends with Shmuel not realizing that he has made friends with a Jewish boy in a concentration camp. There friendship leads to consequences that there innocent minds never thought of.

Information About the Author

The Boy In The Striped Pajamas followed in 2006, originally published for younger readers, it quickly found an audience with both adults and children. Since its release Boyne enjoys to visit schools and classrooms, talking to young children about the issues raised in the novel

Genre

Historical Fiction

Curriculum Ties

History/English

Booktalking Ideas

1) Father when he realizes that Bruno was in the gas chamber

2) How the extermination of thousands happened

Reading Level/Interest Age

Gr. 9+

Why Book Included

Has been on my list for a while, thought it would be a perfect time to scratch it off.