This is a well done book that uses poetic text and stark illustrations to tell a first person story of a boy in Warsaw during the Nazi occupation. It does an excellent job of telling the story and transporting kids to those terrible times, but at times it is too well done. Younger and more sensitive kids may be somewhat traumatized, so care should be taken in pre-reading the book and taking individual kids into consideration.

A hard-hitting look at one family's survival in the Jewish ghetto in Warsaw, Poland. In fact, it's told from first-person perspective, so it's exactly like seeing it through young Misha's eyes.

Yes, there's some gruesome/graphic scenes. Yes, there's pain and hurting on these people's faces. Yes, you're going to see and feel the pain for yourself.

The Nazis have taken over Warsaw, but the ghetto is uprising. The Jews in the area are being persecuted (the book fills the reader in on what the Jewish people could and could not do). As Misha in the story says, “I had never felt so Jewish before.” Because it never really mattered before the Nazis arrived. But the ghetto will not be downtrodden forever...

It's a fairly short read. I finished it in just a couple of sittings. But there's a big story behind these words and between these pages.

I'd recommend it for anyone 10 and up, but with a warning on some gruesome or violent content.