Shadow of the Wall

by Christa Laird

In the Warsaw Ghetto in 1942, Misha is befriended by the director of the orphanage, Dr. Korczak, and joins a resistance organization

Genres: Historical Fiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 2011

Reviews

[Miss Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

gr 7+ 138pgs


WWII 1942 Warsaw Ghetto. Tells the story of Janusz Korczak, the director of the Orphan's Home, and the orphans living there. The story is told through the eyes of Misha, who live in the home because their mother is too ill to care for them. Misha faces constant danger as he struggles to find food for his mother and the orphan home. As conditions in the ghetto deteriorate and mass roundups begin for "relocatoins to the East". Misha is asked to join the Resistance. Misha must decide if he should join or stay with his sister.

Although Misha and his family did not actually exist, the story is based on actual events. I found this story very sad, but gave it 3 stars because I thought the author did a good job telling an important story.

[Devin Harazmus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shadow of The Wall by Christa Laird was a very fascinating book as well as a quick read. It is about a teen boy named Misha living in a Nazi ghetto in Warsaw Poland during World War II. He was determined to ensure that his mother and loved ones survive. He would risk death by smuggling food for them. He joins a resistance group to oppose the Nazis. They would smuggle people and items behind the Nazi’s backs. Dr. Janusz has him smuggle his sister out of the Ghetto. I very much enjoyed this book. It had sad and touching moments and suspense. Several chapters had me on the edge of my chair while reading it wondering what is going to happen next. It makes me realize how learning about our history is so important so that these atrocious acts on humanity do not take place ever again. I would suggest this book to someone who is looking for a historical book about the Holocaust.

[Daniel L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Risking Life to Preserve Life - A Book That Deserves Greater Recognition

To keep his ailing mother alive, Misha Edelstein must risk his life to smuggle what bits of food he can find into the Warsaw Ghetto during the Nazi occupation of the city in World War II. Later on, he must risk his life to smuggle his baby sister out of the Ghetto, into the hands of kind strangers, in the hope that she may survive. Adding to the theme of the meaning of life in the face of death is that much of the story takes place in Janusz Korczak's orphanage in the Ghetto. Dr. Korczak, along with Mrs. Stefa and Miss Eszterka and several of the orphans were all real people. Throughout his life, "Mister Doctor" (as Korczak often was called) cared for orphans, providing Warsaw's unwanted children with nurturing and comfort. When the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939, Warsaw was under seige; the following year, the city's significant Jewish population was rounded up and imprisoned in a Ghetto the Nazis encircled with an eight-foot wall (hence the title of this book). Though Janusz Korczak was offered false papers for safe passage to the Aryan side on several occasions, he steadfastly refused, saying that one must never abandon children in a time of need. To the end, with solemn dignity, Janusz Korczak accompanied his children to the cattle cars that would take them to Treblinka, never to be seen or heard again.

The theme of this Young Adult novel fits very well with the life of Janusz Korczak, an important figure more children should know about. Ms. Laird drew upon her own research to ensure the book's historical accuracy. Although Betty Jean Lifton's superb biography had not yet been published when this book was written, Ms. Laird did consult Hanna Olczak's "Mister Doctor" and Joseph Hyams's "A Field of Buttercups," the former being a translation from the Polish of an account written by someone who actually knew the Doctor, the latter being the first original English-language biography of Korczak. Young readers who wish to know more about this kind, gentle champion of children would do well to read Mark Bernheim's "Father of the Orphans."

Christa Laird's beautifully told book has been translated into several languages and deserves to be reprinted again in English. Moreover, it deserves to be read by a new generation of young adults.

[Riley Hasty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shadow of the wall was an amazing book that had a lot of sad parts and suspenseful ares that adds to the book's reading value. The book is about a teen named Misha, which stands for Michel, who is trapped in the Warsaw ghetto in World War I I. The Warsaw ghetto was very harsh and dangerous, and the sheer lack f food in the ghetto makes it almost impossible to survive. Misha lives in this place with his Mother and two sisters. He has to sneak out and smuggle food in for his sickly mother and the orphanage so they will not starve. The orphanage is run by the heroic Dr. Korczak, who has to watch over all of the orphaned kids with the help of a few older children, such as Misha. Misha is beloved by all of the orphanage because his high stakes job of feeding all of them. They all look up to him for support and as an older brother like roll model. The real test of faith is when he has to sneak his baby sister beyond the wall to non jewish people to protect her. The whole story is filled with the hardships and persona struggles that could have possibly happened in World War I I.

[Lindsay N · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just finished reading Shadow of the Wall by Christa Laird. In this book there were some parts that I liked but some that I didn't. At some points during the book I was very entertained but at others very bored. My favorite part of the book was the end, I think Christa Laird ended it very well. The theme of the book is to have courage even in the hardest of times. If I were to recommend this book I would say it is for both male and females around 6th and 7th grade.

[Sam M · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this book because it was a book about Workd War 2. It also had a lot of sad things in it about what the natzies would do to people from the getto and any where else. I also liked the idea that a group of anti-natzies would start a group without the natzies knowing. I would recomend this book to anyone who likes historical fiction books, becasue it is about or history.

[Ashley mathews · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought it was really well written and had a good story line.