Milkweed

Jerry Spinelli

Sep 2003 · Sold by Knopf Books for Young Readers

About this ebook

A stunning novel of the Holocaust from Newbery Medalist, Jerry Spinelli. And don't miss the author's highly anticipated new novel, Dead Wednesday!

He's a boy called Jew. Gypsy. Stopthief. 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, with tall, shiny jackboots 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 during World War II-and tells a tale of heartbreak, hope, and survival through the bright eyes of a young Holocaust orphan.

Ratings and reviews

i really really really LOVE this book. i think of it as one of my favorites. actually, the story itself wasnt the best, but i really got into it for some reason. and it made the holocaust stuff alot more interesting. this was really touching and it really moved me. i feel like im different in a way after reading it, even though im probably still the same. thats what makes it a good book. it really touched me and made me go 'aww'

I read this is 6th grade for a project. They let us choose from a selection of books. I'm so glad I chose this one. It really changed my life and perspective on a lot of things, not to mention it being educational and enjoyable. What an incredible novel.

The year is 1939 and the Nazis' have marched into Warsaw, Poland. It is a period when orphans must steal to survive. This is the story of a nameless boy who only knows his name as Stopthief. When he runs into another thief and orphan Uri he is taken under Uri's wing. Uri sees him as senseless. He creates a name and a history for him. This is how he becomes Misha. Misah goes everywhere Uri goes. He sees Uri giving food and coal to an orphanage and he does the same. Then he steal a couple of tomatoes from a yard and finds the young girl who lives there. He starts leaving food for her and her family. When they are relocated to a ghetto he finds them and tries to help. Helping gets him into trouble where Uri must once again bail him out. This is a story of home and survival. It is no wonder that it has won so many awards. It should be a must read for every child studying the Holocaust.

About the author

JERRY SPINELLI is the author of many novels for young readers, including Dead Wednesday, The Warden's Daughter; Stargirl; Love, Stargirl; Milkweed; Crash; Wringer; and Maniac Magee, winner of the Newbery Medal; along with Knots in My Yo-Yo String, the autobiography of his childhood. A graduate of Gettysburg College, he lives in Pennsylvania with his wife, poet and author Eileen Spinelli.