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Milkweed

3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 · rating details · 9,300 ratings · 1,100 reviews

He’s a boy called Jew. Gypsy. Stopthief. Runt. Happy. Fast. 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 some day, with tall shiny jackboots and a gleaming Eagle hat of his own. Until the day tha...more

Hardcover, 208 pages

Published September 9th 2003 by Knopf Books for Young Readers

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Feb 22, 2008 Wendy rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the first Jerry Spinelli book that I have read. I bought Stargirl at the same time and after reading Milkweed I am excited to start reading Stargirl. Spinelli does well to portray the voice of a young orphan boy in Warsaw. There are a lot of reviews about this and the book "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" that say that it is unbelievable that there were children that did not know what was going on around them. I really disagree with these statements. I have taught 5th graders and 6th gra...more

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Mar 27, 2009 Patricia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: parents to read with their YA or teachers

Recommended to Patricia by: my sister, Alicia

I initially read this book to determine whether it was appropriate for my 11 year-old daughter to read. Although it is considered a YA novel, any book (fiction or non-fiction) with a theme centered around the holocaust, is a novel I want to preview before allowing my child to absorb.

I was immediately drawn to the short sentence structure and quick action. From the beginning, the reader is drawn into an eight year-old orphan boy's innocent view of a world where he must steal, and become virtually...more

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Feb 06, 2012 Avery rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Milkweed, a novel by Jerry Spinelli, tells the tale of Jewish/Gypsy smuggler Misha Pilsudski. Through his young eyes, Misha describes his struggle to survive during the WWII Holocaust.With the help of his friends Uri, Kuba, Enos, and "little sister" Janina, Misha finds light in the dark world of the Warsaw Ghetto. The plot, though somewhat uneventful, gives the reader rich details about Jewish children during the time period. The innocent writing style sugar-coats the true horrors of the Holocau...more

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Nov 12, 2008 Barbara rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: childrensbookclubreads

Outstanding book. We've chosen this to read for the November 2008 Children's Book Club. My students wanted to read about the Holocaust and I think this will provide an interesting discussion. I may try to read them Innocenti's Rose Blanche for a comparative (sp?) point of view.

We discussed this November 12. One didn't like, one liked but thought it was sad, the other was finishing it but liked it. Don't know where the other members were. Lots of people checked the book out so someone must be re...more

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Jul 16, 2008 Leslie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: history buffs, romantics

Shelves: favorite

Author - Jerry Spinelli

This is a young adult book - maybe even for middle schoolers.

It takes place during WWII in Warsaw, Poland. A young boy is stealing food and is caught by another boy who lives with a group of children who steal food and live on the streets. This boy knows nothing about himself - not his name, not where he lives, not even his age. The author uses very simple language and sentence structure in the beginning of the book so that we are drawn into this child's state of being.

His...more

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Mar 21, 2008 Tawny rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Author: Jerry Spinelli
Title: Milkweed
Genre: historical fiction
Publication Info: Random House, New York, 2003
Recommended Age: 11 and older
Plot Summary: A pocket-picking orphan who thinks his name is “stopthief” tells of his experiences during the Holocaust. The story begins when he is about eight years old. A redheaded older boy named Uri finds Stopthief and takes him under his wing, introducing him to a whole group of young thieves. Uri gives Stopthief a new name and makes up his background, tel...more Author: Jerry Spinelli
Title: Milkweed
Genre: historical fiction
Publication Info: Random House, New York, 2003
Recommended Age: 11 and older
Plot Summary: A pocket-picking orphan who thinks his name is “stopthief” tells of his experiences during the Holocaust. The story begins when he is about eight years old. A redheaded older boy named Uri finds Stopthief and takes him under his wing, introducing him to a whole group of young thieves. Uri gives Stopthief a new name and makes up his background, telling him he came from a large Russian gypsy family and was kidnapped and brought to Warsaw. He told him to remember that he was not a Jew. Despite Uri’s efforts to keep Misha (Stopthief’s new name) safe, the Polish and German soldiers relocated both the Jews and the pickpockets to the ghetto. Food was scarce and the soldiers were cruel. Misha’s small frame, quickness, and experience stealing came in handy for him and his friends. Each night he snuck out of the ghetto through a small, two-brick gap in the enormous wall that separated the Jews from the Polish. He brought back whatever food he could find and fit through the small hole. In this manner, he saved his friends from dying of starvation. Uri became a soldier and made sure Misha did not get on the trains headed for the concentration camps. Young and naive at the time all this was going on, Misha did not understand the gravity of the situation. His version of the Holocaust is innocent, cute, and horrifying at the same time.
Personal Notes: I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read about history or the holocaust. There are definitely violent, morbid, and disgusting parts to the story, which I think is appropriate given the topic. I think it is wonderful that authors are writing these kinds of novels. Youth should be able to get a good picture of what happened during the Holocaust so that it never occurs again, even on a smaller scale. After reading this book, I would hope that young people would even try to treat each other a little bit better.
Evaluation: I think this book is on par with Elie Wiesel’s Night. It is not as forward or upfront, but when you read between the lines and make sense of Misha’s perspective, it is just as heart wrenching. What makes it really interesting is that readers catch a glimpse of Misha as an adult. He is still very innocent, but knows that what he went through was terrible. His life is totally affected by it. This is the first adolescent book I have read recently that has brought me to tears more than once.
Other Comments: This book is a nominee for the Utah Young Adults’ Book Award and recipient of the Golden Kite Award. I think adults should read this one…it is definitely worth the time.
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Jan 18, 2008 Jack rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

After loving "Maniac Magee" for the greater part of my life, I was enthralled to stumble upon another Spinelli work at the library. However, I was gravely disappointed by "Milkweed". The novel really isn't believable. There aren't plot holes or anything, it's actually very well pieced together...but it's about a Jew (who really doesn't know if he's a Jew) who wants to be a Nazi in 1940's Germany. He's basically a homeless boy taken in by some Jewish homeless boys. They run around and steal food....more

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Mar 31, 2009 Talia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: j-fiction, j-historicalfic, audio-books

An orphan is first known as “Stopthief”, then dubbed “Misha” by a new friend while running through the streets of wartime Poland. As he steals food, he is called many things: gypsy, dirty Jew, “Stop, Thief!”, while the war progresses, and Jews are bullied, shot at, and eventually crammed into the infamous Warsaw Ghetto. Misha befriends a Jewish family, and is very naive and not understanding what is happening in his world. As his friends starve, Misha crawls out of a small two-brick space to sca...more

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Mar 29, 2009 Kari rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I originally picked this book up because of the title; we're big monarch butterfly fans in my house. Well, it's about the holocaust and not butterflies, but it still interested me. I agree with another person (Patricia) who rated this book on a lot of things. I read the book in about two days and did like the story and was quite captivated by it.

I had trouble with two things. The first was where Stopthief came from. It seemed that he just materialized when he was 8. He couldn't remember his name...more

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Mar 24, 2009 4brianabyrd rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Tragedy, historical content, and Sarcastic is the tone given by the author. This book was about events that happened during the time period of the Holocaust. I had to read this book over the summer before entering the eighth grade because we were going to learn about it in school and we needed basic knowledge of what it was. So here I am thinking I probably find a book review on it and there I finish and prepared. But as I read the first chapter that turned into the middle of the book to the end...more

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Mar 07, 2009 Theresa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: listened-to-it

This was another book of Juvenile Fiction that I listened to. It is the story of an orphaned boy, about eight years old, who knows nothing about himself and is "adopted" by a group of Jewish youth in Warsaw, since they assume he is one of them. He does not even know his name - the only name that he responds to is "Stop Thief" because that is what he has heard people shout at him as long as he can remember. Because of his total innocence and ignorance about what is happening in Warsaw as the Nazi...more

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Jan 21, 2009 Ruhama rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: teen

Note: I listened to this on tape, read by Ron Rifkin (who read The Giver by Lowry) and he did a marvelous job of reading.

Misha Pilsudski doesn't really have a name--his friend and "guardian" Uri gave him a name and story so he would have something to tell people when asked. He lives in Warsaw in 1938, is a Gypsy, and his estimated age is about seven or eight. Misha is going through life without any cares, other than he feels the need to be quick and a thief, and doesn't realize the seriousness o...more

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May 10, 2013 Brittany Kerwin rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli takes place in Poland in 1939. The story is about a boy who we understand has no home, no family, and no idea what his name even is. There are other boys just like him and they all live on the streets together. They get by, but they have to do their best to stay away from the Nazi Germans otherwise known as the “Jackboots”. The boy is basically like a blank canvas. He looks at the Jackboots as if he wants to be like them. They are well dressed, have shiny boots, and se...more

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Apr 17, 2013 Wesley B. rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: milkweed

Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli
Reviewed by: Wesley Bold
In the book Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli, the author speaks to an audience of those who understand the hardship of World War 2 times, yet see the silver lining in small acts. You are thrown into pre-World \War 2 in the eyes of an orphan who steals for a living. The boy has no name, yet his name changes from many different sources. He believes in few things that include angels, mothers, and food. By his friend Uri, and other orphans, they live a li...more Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli
Reviewed by: Wesley Bold
In the book Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli, the author speaks to an audience of those who understand the hardship of World War 2 times, yet see the silver lining in small acts. You are thrown into pre-World \War 2 in the eyes of an orphan who steals for a living. The boy has no name, yet his name changes from many different sources. He believes in few things that include angels, mothers, and food. By his friend Uri, and other orphans, they live a life of thievery. When the naïve boy gets stuck in the middle of WW2, he adores the “Jackboots”, but later learns of the horrors of the Nazi Party when placed in the fearsome Warsaw Ghetto. This changes him from gay thoughts to a hardened life of a prisoner of the city.
When there, the boy by many names will learn how to use his skills as a bread winner to provide food for him and others. Of those fed, he has a close relationship with and will remember the times before in the once easy life of bread filled bags. His actions seem just for the natural instinct of survival and moral of modern life. While reading this, keep in mind that these are the thoughts of a young boy. He may be childish at first, but you shall see the life of his former self in the “Heaven” is no more, and see him transition to another life. He will grow up fast and learn of his mistakes. The boy is told of what others think and whether they are myth or real as simple things in our life like cows, oranges, and heaven. They are real to me in many ways when reading.

Milkweed is a new view of the Holocaust that only those who suffered saw. It doesn’t show the glossy title, or the statistics of the event, but of the personal and ethical part of the war. It gives a new sense of hope and horror that can’t be described by statistics. This is as the hiding of Anne Frank in the book Diary of Anne Frank showing the victims of the war and not in third-person. This book is different however to the Diary of Anne Frank by the contrast of support early on, the location and the thoughts of the characters. The boy and his actions have a sense of moral of doing the best for others even in a hard situation. Milkweed also shows the repercussion of the event that happened during the Holocaust and how society looks at the new immigrants and former prisoners of the war. This shows the true life it would be if you lived then and was unlucky enough to be persecuted. I would say the book Milkweed is a must read to help you understand the times then, and how life was. You will not understand the Holocaust without reading this or other related books.
This book is written by Jerry Spinelli, and is published by Alfred A. Knopf for the price of $15.95 in the America, and the ISBN is 0-375-81374-8.
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Apr 17, 2013 Brynn Emond rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: very-good

I've read another book by Jerry Spinelli, Maniac Magee, and I remember really, really liking it. I liked it because it had elements of craziness, a definite weirdness, realness, and sense of humor to it-- and Milkweed is the same. Except it's about three trillion times more serious.
Milkweed takes place in Warsaw, Poland, during Nazi rule. (That's why it's more serious.) We get a wild, weird, very vivid narrative from the main character, Misha. He's a little kid throughout most of the book, and...more I've read another book by Jerry Spinelli, Maniac Magee, and I remember really, really liking it. I liked it because it had elements of craziness, a definite weirdness, realness, and sense of humor to it-- and Milkweed is the same. Except it's about three trillion times more serious.
Milkweed takes place in Warsaw, Poland, during Nazi rule. (That's why it's more serious.) We get a wild, weird, very vivid narrative from the main character, Misha. He's a little kid throughout most of the book, and that really shows: it really is like seeing things through his eyes. He doesn't understand a lot of the awful things that are happening around him. He's pure and ignorant and rash, a very agreeable hero in a story that could've been overtaken by the darkness of the situation. But there's enough light and color that it's bearable. It's very good for the most part. Everything feels surreal, which I guess is what it probably would feel like, to a small kid during a time that was extremely hard to make sense of. There are moments of horror, moments where you feel your stomach turn over-- moments that force a grin out, and moments that really are beautiful. Our little Misha sees what he wants to see in a terrible world, and never mind thinking he's invincible, he constantly does good. He is possibly the most non-evil character I have ever read about-- everything he does is for someone else. He barely seems to realize he's a person, himself. Other people matter more. I liked that.
I also really liked some of the side characters, especially Uri and the other orphans who lived on the streets that Misha hung around with. They felt like real people.
A feeling I got from this book was that, yeah, the things going on are absolutely horrifying. And you can see that, plainly, even through Misha's eyes, even though he doesn't understand all the time. (But I think he understands more than Jerry Spinelli lets on.) But hearing about the holocaust and the Nazi rule from an adult's eyes would be hard-- from a kid's, it's easier, because they see things differently. It isn't so oppressing. Misha can get past it because he ISN'T lost in despair-- he's a kid. He keeps going.

I didn't like the ending of Milkweed. (I won't give any major details in case you haven't read it.) I appreciate how honest and life-like it was, but it seemed to come too fast. I was still caught up in Misha's story, and then it was over, just like that. I also didn't like hearing about how he was slightly crazy as an older man-- even if that's what happened to him... it took away from the lightness of the story. What, you say? Lightness in a Nazi holocaust story? Yes, lightness. I mean it. But the very end IS happy, even though it sort of isn't in a way... I wanted one of those endings where the still-young Misha looks out on the world and nothing's conclusive, but it still rings with hope. There was no hope at the end of this story-- it was just the end. Not bad and not good. I understand it wouldn't be a powerful story if everyone lived happily ever after, that would take away from the horror of the situations they went through, and it would probably feel unrealistic-- but I don't know, I just didn't like it. Up until the last twenty or so pages I absolutely loved this book. Then the end rushed up on me, things passed too quickly, and by the last sentence I had a bitter taste in my mouth. It just wasn't in keeping with the rest of the story.
I understand why someone might disagree, and maybe I'm just not ready to accept an ending that is, really, the END. I like inconclusive, up-in-the-air endings. I like when the characters are left as they were during the story, and I don't lose touch of who they are now, at the end.
I hope that made sense?
Anyway, I feel all muddled from Milkweed. I loved the beginning especially. It got sadder and sadder and finally bitter. Maybe I just didn't like that the end felt like real life. The whole book was surreal, like a little kid's dream. And then, boom. Real life in yo face. I can appreciate it. I just didn't like it.

So four stars for Milkweed. All things said, Jerry Spinelli is a wonderful writer. He really understands people, and the voices of the kids especially rang off the pages-- the images were vivid, the story wrenched at my emotions and pulled them all over the place until, like I said, I felt muddled and a bit overwhelmed, and just a little bitter.
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Apr 16, 2013 Jonathanlashgari rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli, in simple terms, is about a Jewish boy, Misha, in Warsaw, Poland in World War II. Misha finds a group of thieves, meets Uri, a thief acting as Misha's guardian. He hides from the German soldiers, Jackboots, as called in Milkweed. After Germany conquers Poland, Misha is sent to the ghetto, where the conditions were even worse than the city itself. Misha went out of the ghetto each night, to steal things needed in the ghetto. After escaping the ghetto with a friend, fac...more Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli, in simple terms, is about a Jewish boy, Misha, in Warsaw, Poland in World War II. Misha finds a group of thieves, meets Uri, a thief acting as Misha's guardian. He hides from the German soldiers, Jackboots, as called in Milkweed. After Germany conquers Poland, Misha is sent to the ghetto, where the conditions were even worse than the city itself. Misha went out of the ghetto each night, to steal things needed in the ghetto. After escaping the ghetto with a friend, facing the risk of deportation, they come back to find his friend's dad, before he is deported. When Misha arrives at the ghetto, he is clubbed unconscious and wakes up, finding a farmer, where he works for 3 years. He then travels to America and marries. The book has a good intro, it introduces the main character quite sufficiently, as well as background characters. You can visualize the transition from pre-WWII Warsaw and Nazi Warsaw, as Spinelli's writing captured me. His short stories of adults and children during Nazi occupation are very relevant and give you different perspectives on life for every kind of Jew. The book describes the ghetto in Warsaw very well, and again uses not just Misha point of view, but from many children in the ghetto. Reading this book gave me an idea of the horrors of the Holocaust. As Janina's uncle Shepsel says, the ghetto was like living in a closet. Milkweed shows the plain truth of the Holocaust, without that sugar-coated feel like some other Holocaust books. The only thing I have to complain about this book are the personalities of the characters in this book. Some of the people in the ghetto don't sound like real people. Such as, Buffo, who uses his fat to suffocate children. Although I understand that these can be symbolism of serious things, as characters, they didn't sound that believable. The most believable character was probably Uri, I think this mostly because of his wisdom about freedom and hope. When he said, "When you're nothing, you're free to believe in anything", I felt this line touch my heart. Although about the Holocaust, Milkweed has its humorous moments, like when Misha thinks that they were burning the cake with candles at Jenina's birthday. Overall I liked it. The scene that moved me the most was the ending. It contained the essence of the story, the Milkweed. All the Jews had in the Holocaust was hope. The Milkweed growing in the ghetto was a symbol of hope, and when Misha plants the Milkweed in his back yard in America, it symbolizes that hope has prevailed, and it has brought the ones with hardships to freedom.(less)

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Apr 16, 2013 Pieter rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I rated this book a four because I do like European History and I am interested in history about the Nazi occupation so I found the book very interesting, but at some parts the book got a little slow and I had to motivate myself to continue reading, but overall it was a page turner and I could not wait to get home and finish it.
This is a very well written book about the Holocaust from the perspective of a Jewish child living in the ghetto with no family. The book was fairly short but it can pai...more

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Apr 16, 2013 Olivia Goldstein rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Milkweed, by Jerry Spinelli was an inspiring book about a boy who survived during the Holocaust only to live a normal life after the horrible time period. Milkweed was one of the first books during the Holocaust time period that I enjoyed. It was refreshing to hear later in the book that even though he spent his childhood in horrible conditions he was able to have a wonderful adulthood filled with family who had his back even during his worse times. Milkweed was a great book based on a character...more

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Mar 12, 2013 Sheila DeChantal rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The world thinks me dead, but there is a lot of life left in these old bones, yet. I've been absent from the world for a long time. But I'm here. Waiting.

`Lucia Grandi

Born the first day of June, Lucia Grandi has lived a long life. Having just celebrated her one hundred and tenth birthday she is startled when a young female visitor, as Lucia does not receive much company, comes to see her. She is more startled, or perhaps a better word is amused, when this stranger asks if she will share her life...more The world thinks me dead, but there is a lot of life left in these old bones, yet. I've been absent from the world for a long time. But I'm here. Waiting.

`Lucia Grandi

Born the first day of June, Lucia Grandi has lived a long life. Having just celebrated her one hundred and tenth birthday she is startled when a young female visitor, as Lucia does not receive much company, comes to see her. She is more startled, or perhaps a better word is amused, when this stranger asks if she will share her life story. Having outlived friends, family, and other loved ones, Lucia had seen much in her long life. Still with her wits about her (not sure if that was a gift or a curse) Lucia decided that perhaps she could share her memories... just this once...

And so Lucia does share her life stories, from being an unwanted child from the moment of birth, witnessing a suicide at 3 years of age, difficulty with parents and siblings, running away, sent to a strict Catholic school, and more, Lucia opens up her life to the stranger a chapter at a time....

Lucia Grandi speaks with a voice of someone I could listen to a long time. (How fun is that to say we can put a voice to writing, a voice I have never heard except for the one in my head I have given to this elderly protagonist). As chapter by chapter unfolded I was more and more memorized by the book. Never heavy, but always interesting, what a life this woman lead!I am finding it hard to put into words the beauty of this writing. Rhythmic comes to mind. Poetic. Resigning. There were quite a few passages that I had to pause after reading, think about how I liked what was said, and then read it again to go even deeper into the meaning. Time and again this happened throughout this read, never distracting, but instead engaging me even more. What a fascinating way to write a book.

Over all, I am thoroughly impressed. I enjoyed this book so much that for several days it became a constant companion everywhere I went so I could get in a few pages while waiting in the car, before meetings started...

Take note - this is called "The Early Years" and we do not hear all of Lucia's life within this book and I suspect there will be more to come... Yet reader, sigh not, for I believe that by the time you turn the last page of this book, you will have no problem wanting to read the next as well. After all Lucia's story needs to be told. (less)

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Jan 23, 2013 Miles Mcginley rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The courageous young man named Misha, is a survivor of world war two in Warsaw Poland fighting for survival and freedom. His family is gone and everyday is a struggle to find food and dodge different lethal obstacles. Misha was a sly thief that slipped in and out of a small hole in a brick wall separating the ghettos from the city. Jerry Spinelli symbolized the wall as something blocking you from your freedom, which is worth breaking through. Other obstacles physically and mentally are tossed at...more

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Dec 10, 2012 Noah Alexander rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The book Milkweed is one of the most emotionally – charged and descriptive books I have read. In this book, a boy I’d say around the age of 14 is plunged into the hardships and dangers of the depression from World War II. As I said, this book can be a tear jerker for some people. The obstacles that Stopthief has to overcome seem too unbearable for a boy his age. The author writes about the conditions that the Jews had to deal with, let alone the mass homicide. I know that this book is historica...more

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Nov 20, 2012 Savanah rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Reading Level: 5. 2 (Lexile: 510)
Interest Level: 5-9th grade
Genre: Historical Fiction
Main Characters: Misha, Uri, and Janina
Setting: Warsaw, Poland during WWII
Point of View: Misha

This chapter book is about a young boy who really has no identity. He is used to be called names such as: “Jew, Gypsy, Stoptheif, Runt, and Filthy Son of Abraham”. He is a short, small orphan who steals food to get by. During his time living on the streets, things around him start to change. The Nazis, or as he would re...more

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Nov 19, 2012 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Grade/interest level: 5-9
Reading level: 510L
Genre: Historical Fiction

Main Characters: Misha, Uri, Janinia
Setting: Warsaw, Poland
POV: Misha

Milkweed tells the story of a young orphan thief living in Poland during the rise of Hitler and the Nazi regime. The little orphan boy, who is latter called Misha lived alone on the streets stealing food from people and shops to survive. One day while shoplifting, he runs into a group of young orphan boys who take him under their wing. Uri, the leader of the g...more

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Nov 15, 2012 Daniela rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Grade Level: 5 and up
Main Characters: Misha, Uri, Janina
Setting: Warsaw, Germany
POV: First person

Summary:
This is a story set during the Holocaust about a young Gypsy boy who doesn't have a name, until Uri gives him the name Misha Pilsudki. Misha has lived his life on the streets his entire life, and was completely oblivious to what was going on in Germany. Misha meets Uri, among other people, who live on the streets, hiding from the Nazi's and stealing food to survive. Misha becomes friends with...more

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Nov 13, 2012 I Heart Corgis rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Oct 23, 2012 Joanna Lialios rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Author Study: Milkweed is about a young gypsy boy living in Warsaw, Poland, in the 1930s. He has no idea who he is, how old he is, or where he came from. After becoming friends with an older boy named Uri, who takes him under his wing, the gypsy boy begins to find his place in the world and his purpose in life. Caught up in the Nazi occupation and moved into the Warsaw ghetto, the gypsy boy's identity begins to take shape through the experiences he has. Taking the name of Misha, he learns to rel...more

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Oct 14, 2012 Sean Gardocki rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Imagine you have nothing. You know no one and have no family. Everyday your scavaging for food not knowing if you will see day light tomorrow. This is the life of a young boy named Misha. The book Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli shows how a boy living in Warsaw Poland during world war two overcame various obsticales so he could gain freedom.

Misha, the young boy living in such harsh conditions, had to do what he had to do to survive. In this case he had to steal food because he had no money for anyt...more

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Aug 23, 2012 Izabel Reyes added it · review of another edition

Milkweed is an amazingly well written book. The book Milkweed is the story of an old man recounting his days as a young boy in Poland during World War II. During this time, he meets interesting people that take important roles in his life. The main character meets up with an older boy, Uri, who knows the streets of Warsaw. Uri makes up a name for the young boy and calls him Misha Pilsudski. Uri takes him to a group of boys who also steal food. After meeting these people, he learns of Jackboots,...more

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Aug 22, 2012 Melinda rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Favorite book of one of the teachers at my school, but I didn't care for this novel much, perhaps because, given the complexity of the subject, I'm not sure YA novels about the Holocaust are a good idea. Too often, the focus includes salacious details about the abuse and murder of Jews. Those details are important, but I don't think they should be used to "engage" young readers. Do you really want a fifth or sixth grader compulsively reading about beatings, shootings, hangings, child murders and...more

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Jul 31, 2012 cait rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction

There's something special, something real, about Jerry Spinelli's books. His style of writing is one of my absolute favourites. You don't just read his books. You get inside the pages and stand on the street corner while the pickpockets run, the bombs fall, and the Jackboots march in their perfect rows. It's not just a story. It's your story -- because you're in it.

The characters, the plot, the setting, the details, the dialogue -- all pitch perfect. I had to read the whole book in one sitting....more

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Historical Fiction

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World War II > Holocaust

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War

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History > World War II

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Childrens > Juvenile

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Cultural > Poland

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About Jerry Spinelli

When Jerry Spinelli was a kid, he wanted to grow up to be either a cowboy or a baseball player. Lucky for us he became a writer instead.

He grew up in rural Pennsylvania and went to college at Gettysburg College and Johns Hopkins University. He has published more than 25 books and has six children and 16 grandchildren.
Jerry Spinelli began writing when he was 16 — not much older than the hero of his...more

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Trivia About Milkweed

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Quotes from Milkweed

“When you own nothing, it's easy to let things go.” — 72 people liked it

“Who are you?'
I didn't understand the question.
I'm Uri', he said. 'What's your name?'
I gave him my name. 'Stopthief.” — 17 people liked it

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