Between Shades of Gray

Background

During WWII, Lithuania became occupied by the Soviet Union.

Anyone who spoke out against this and wanted to keep Lithuania independent was labeled as an ‘enemy’ and a criminal.

Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union, was a cruel and ruthless dictator.

He ordered thousands of Lithuanians deported to concentration camps in Siberia.

Families were split up. 70% of those deported were women and children and only about ½ of them survived.

Main character is Lina, a young girl who is deported to Siberia because her father was a college professor and disagreed with Stalin

She is separated from her father and tries to send him secret messages in her artwork.

Weedflower

Background In the 1940’s there

was a large population of Japanese- American’s living in the U.S., mostly in California.

During the war, Japan was a German ally, so people became very prejudiced against the Japanese-Americans that were living here.

On December 7, 1941 Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, which was an American army base.

Shortly after, the US forcibly ‘relocated’ over 100,000 innocent Japanese-Americans, where they were sent to Interment Camps.

They had to leave behind most of their belongings, homes, and businesses.

Weedflower Main character is

Sumiko, a twelve year old girl, who has lost both of her parents and goes to live on her grandparents farm in California.

They are forced to leave behind their farm and belongings to go live in an Interment Camp in North Dakota.

Code Talker

Background Code talkers are people

who used different languages as a means of secret communication and coded messages during the war.

Over 400 Native Americans were recruited as code talkers during the war because of their knowledge of English and the Navajo language.

Code Talker Ned Begay is moved from his

family's home at the age of six, and sent to a boarding school to learn English and the "American" way of life. There he is forbidden to speak his native language Navajo.

When he is 16, he is recruited to join the Marines and he discovers that his Navajo language, which he has been using only in secret for years, is the secret weapon that the U.S. is using in their war against the Japanese.

As a Navajo code talker, Ned is able to use his native language to save countless American lives.

The Book Thief The protagonist, Liesel, is an

orphaned 9 year old girl. She goes to live with foster

parents in the heart of Germany where the Nazi party is rising to power.

This story has a very interesting narrator who shows us the experiences of Liesel and describes both the beauty and destruction of life in this era.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas Bruno is a nine-year-old boy

growing up during World War II in Berlin.

After a visit by Adolf Hitler, Bruno's father is promoted to Commandant, and the family has to move to 'Out-With' (Auschwitz) because of the orders of "The Fury" (The Fuhrer).

From his house he can see the death camp, and he eventually befriends a young boy on the ‘other side of the fence’.

The Devil’s Arithmetic The protagonist is Hannah,

a young girl living in present day, New York.

During a Passover Seder, Hannah is transported back in time to 1942 Poland, during World War II, where she is sent to a death camp thought to be Auschwitz and learns the importance of knowing about the past.