It started with harassment, humiliation.
Every day, people were stopped, shot,
beaten to death,
kicked to death,
hounded to death,
frozen to death,
starved to death.
Death. An everyday occurrence
Warsaw, October 1940
It’s World War II, and Misha’s family, like the rest of the Jews living in Warsaw, has been moved by the Nazis into a single crowded ghetto. Conditions are appalling: every day more people die from disease, starvation, and deportations. Misha does his best to help his family survive, even crawling through the sewers to smuggle food. When conditions worsen, Misha joins a handful of other Jews who decide to make a final, desperate stand against the Nazis.
Heavily illustrated with sober blue-and-white drawings, this powerful novel dramatically captures the brutal reality of a tragic historical event.
Age: 14 and up
Eerdmans Publishing Co. (USA)
Translated by Laura Watkinson
Awards
Winner of the National Jewish Book Award 2014 (Children’s and Young Adult Literature) – Jewish Book Council
Sydney Taylor Honor Book 2014 (teens category) – Association of Jewish Libraries
Batchelder Honor Award 2014 – American Library AssociationLists
Best Books of 2013 (Children’s fiction) – Publishers Weekly
Best Books of 2013 (Teens) – Kirkus Reviews
Outstanding International Books – United Stated Board on Books for Young People (USBBY)
Notable Social Studies Books for Young People – National Council for the Social Studies