Sandy answers “My 10 year old son has been assigned this...”

Jenny asked this question about Prisoner B-3087:

My 10 year old son has been assigned this book as part of a reading bowl competition. He is mature, very bright and in gifted education. I don't doubt his ability to read this, but I'm concerned about the emotional punch he might get from such violence and human suffering. He tends to be a bit sensitive. How graphic is the imagery? Is it appropriate for this age? Thoughts?

Sandy Brehl As a retired teacher, I encourage you to also read the book so that you can fully respond to his questions, and also support his effort to research an…moreAs a retired teacher, I encourage you to also read the book so that you can fully respond to his questions, and also support his effort to research and answer them for himself. Since it is assigned, please trust that the teacher is well aware and that it will be discussed in context with other background information. I hope they will also be reading other books on this topic to compare/contrast and broaden their awareness of the complexity of the Holocaust.
I just finished reading it myself, I'm a trained Holocaust educator, and I urge you to encourage him and share the journey. A recent survey revealed that nearly half of millennials could not define what Holocaust was- some even mis-identified it as 9/11. In today's paper there was an obituary for a 106 year old local man who was a Holocaust survivor and educator. Those who lived through it will soon be gone, and it falls to the rest of humanity to make sure the truth is told and shared to prevent it from happening again.(less)

flag

About Goodreads Q&A

Ask and answer questions about books!

You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.

See Featured Authors Answering Questions

Learn more