Protagonist and Central Conflict: Based on the real figure of Yanek Gruener, the novel follows young Yanek’s struggle to survive many death camps and Nazi atrocities during the Holocaust.
Potential Sensitivity Issues: The Holocaust; concentrations camps; racism; dehumanization; death, including murder of parents and family members
Alan Gratz, Author
Bio: Born 1972; holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Tennessee; currently lives in the mountains of North Carolina; member of the East Tennessee Writers Hall of Fame; awarded the National Jewish Book Award, the Young Hoosier Book Award, and a Malka Penn Award for Human Rights Honor (2017) for his novel Refugee
Other Works: Projekt 1065 (2016); Refugee (2017); Allies (2019); Ground Zero (2021); Two Degrees (2022)
Awards: YALSA 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults (2014); Bank Street Best Children's Books of the Year (2014); SIBA Book Awards Long List (2014); Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People (2014); IRA Young Adult Choices Reading List (2014)
CENTRAL THEMESconnected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:
The Dehumanization of the Jewish People
The Desire to Survive
Good Versus Evil
STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:
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