Milkweed

Jacket Description/Flap: 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 that suddenly makes him change his mind. And when the trains come to empty the Jews from the ghetto of the damned, he's a boy who realizes it's safest of all to be nobody. Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli takes us to one of the most devastating settings imaginable--Nazi-occupied Warsaw of World War II--and tells a tale of heartbreak, hope, and survival through the bright eyes of a young orphan. "From the Hardcover edition. Biographical Note: Jerry Spinelli has won the most prestigious awards in the industry, including the Newbery Medal for "Maniac Magee" and a Newbery Honor Award for "Wringer." "From the Hardcover edition."Excerpts: 1 MEMORY I am running. That?s the first thing I remember. Running. I carry something, my arm curled around it, hugging it to my chest. Bread, of course. Someone is chasing me. ?Stop! Thief!? I run. People. Shoulders. Shoes. ?Stop! Thief!? Sometimes it is a dream. Sometimes it is a memory in the middle of the day as I stir iced tea or wait for soup to heat. I never see who is chasing and calling me. I never stop long enough to eat the bread. When I awaken from dream or memory, my legs are tingling. 2 SUMMER He was dragging me, running. He was much bigger. My feet skimmed over the ground. Sirens were screaming. His hair was red. We flew through streets and alleyways. There we thumping noises, like distant thunder. The people we bounced off didn?t seem to notice us. The sirens were screaming like babies. At last we plunged into a dark hole. ?You?re lucky,? he said. ?Soon it won?t be ladies chasing you. It will be Jackboots.? ?Jackboots?? I said. ?You?ll see.? I wondered who the Jackboots were. Were unfooted boots running along the streets? ?Okay,? he said, ?hand it over.? ?Hand what over?? I said. He reached into my shirt and pulled out the loaf of bread. He broke it in half. He shoved one half at me and began to eat the other. ?You?re lucky I didn?t kill you,? he said. ?That lady you took this from, I was just getting ready to snatch it for myself.? ?I?m lucky,? I said. He burped. ?You?re quick. You took it before I even knew what happened. That lady was rich. Did you see the way she was dressed? She?ll just buy ten more.? I ate my bread. More thumping sounds in the distance. ?What is that?? I asked him. ?Jackboot artillery,? he said. ?What?s artillery?? ?Big guns. Boom boom. They?re shelling the city.? He stared at me. ?Who are you?? I didn?t understand the question. ?I?m Uri,? he said. ?What?s your name. I gave him my name. ?Stopthief.? 3 He took me to meet the others. We were in a stable. The horses were there. Usually they would be out on the streets, but they were home now because the Jackboots were boom-booming the city and it was too dangerous for horses. We sat in a stall near the legs of a sad-faced gray. The horse pooped. Two of the kids got up and went to the next stall, another horse. A moment later came the sound of water splashing on straw. The two came back. One of them said, ?I?ll take the poop.? ?Where did you find him?? said a boy smoking a cigarette. ?Down by the river,? said Uri. ?He snatched a loaf from a rich lady coming out of the Bread Box.? Another boy said, ?Why didn?t you snatch it from him?? This one was smoking a cigar as long as his face. Uri looked at me. ?I don?t know.? ?He?s a runt,? someone said. ?Look at him.? ?Stand up,? said someone else. I looked at Uri. Uri flicked his finger. I stood. ?Go there,? someone said. I felt a foot on my back, pushing me toward the horse. ?See,? said the cigar smoker, ?he doesn?t even come halfway up to the horse?s dumper.? A voice behind me squawked, ?The horse could dump a new hat on him!? Everyone, even Uri, howled with laughter. Explosions went off beyond the walls. The boys who were not smoking were eating. In the corner of the stable was a pile as tall as me. There was bread in all shapes and sausages of all lengths and colors and fruits and candies. But only half of it was food. All sorts of other things glittered in the pile. I saw watches and combs and ladies? lipsticks and eyeglasses. I saw the thin flat face of a fox peering out. ?What?s his name?? said someone. Uri nodded at me. ?Tell them your name.? ?Stopthief,? I said. Someone crowed, ?It speaks!? Smoke burst from mouths as the boys laughed. One boy did not laugh. He carried a cigarette behind each ear. ?I think he?s cuckoo.? Another boy got up and came over to me. He leaned down. He sniffed. He pinched his nose. ?He smells.? He blew smoke into my face. ?Look,? someone called, even the smoke can?t stand him. It?s turning green!? They laughed. The smoke blower backed off. ?So, Stopthief, are you a smelly cuckoo?? I didn?t know what to say. ?He?s stupid,? said the unlaughing boy. ?He?ll get us in trouble.? ?He?s quick,? said Uri. ?And he?s little.? ?He?s a runt.? ?Runt is good,? said Uri. ?Are you a Jew?? said the boy in my face. ?I don?t know,? I said. He kicked my foot. ?How can you not know? You?re a Jew or you?re not a Jew.? I shrugged. ?I told you, he?s stupid,? said the unlaugher. ?He?s young,? said Uri. ?He?s just a little kid.? ?How old are you?? said the smoke blower. ?I don?t know,? I said. The smoke blower threw up his hands. ?Don?t you know "anything"?? ?He?s stupid.? ?He?s a stupid Jew.? ?A "smelly" stupid Jew.? ?A "tiny" smelly stupid Jew!? More laughter. Each time they laughed, they threw food at each other and at the horse. The smoke blower pressed my nose with the tip of his finger. ?Can you do this?? He leaned back until he was facing the ceiling. He puffed on the cigarette until his cheeks, even his eyes, were bulging. His face looked like a balloon. It was grinning. I was sure he was going to destroy me with his faceful of smoke, but he didn?t. He turned to the horse, lifted its tail, and blew a stream of silvery smoke at the horse?s behind. The horse nickered. Everyone howled. Even the unlaugher. Even me. The pounding in the distance was like my heartbeat after running. ?He must be a Jew,? someone said. ?What?s a Jew?? I said. ?Answer the runt,? someone said. ?Tell him what a Jew is.? The unlaugher kicked ground straw at a boy who hadn?t spoken. The boy had only one arm. ?That?s a Jew.? He pointed to himself. ?This is a Jew.? He pointed to the others. ?That?s a Jew. That?s a Jew. That?s a Jew.? He pointed to the horse. ?That?s a Jew.? He fell to his knees and scrabbled in the straw near the horse flop. He found something. He held it out to me. It was a small brown insect. ?This is a Jew. Look. "Look!"? He startled me. ?A Jew is an animal. A Jew is a bug. A Jew is less than a bug.? He threw the insect into the flop. ?A Jew is "that."? Others cheered and clapped. ?Yeah! Yeah!? ?I?m a horse turd!? ?I?m a goose turd!? A boy pointed at me. ?He?s a Jew all right. Look at him. He?s a Jew if I ever saw one.? ?Yeah, he?s in for it all right.? I looked at the boy who spoke. He was munching on a sausage. ?What am I in for?? I said. He snorted. ?Strawberry babka.? ?We?re all in for it,? said someone else. ?We?re in for it good.? "From the Hardcover edition."Brief Description: A street child, known to himself only as Stopthief, finds community when he is taken in by a band of orphans in Warsaw ghetto which helps him weather the horrors of the Nazi regime. Marc Notes: Includes reader guide and author interview.; A street child, known to himself only as Stopthief, finds community when he is taken in by a band of orphans in Warsaw ghetto which helps him weather the horrors of the Nazi regime. Publisher Marketing: 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 that suddenly makes him change his mind. And when the trains come to empty the Jews from the ghetto of the damned, he's a boy who realizes it's safest of all to be nobody. Newbery Medalist Jerry Spinelli takes us to one of the most devastating settings imaginable--Nazi-occupied Warsaw of World War II--and tells a tale of heartbreak, hope, and survival through the bright eyes of a young orphan. "From the Hardcover edition." Review Citations:

Kliatt 01/01/2006 pg. 18 (EAN 9780440420057, Mass Market Paperbound)

Publishers Weekly 01/12/2004 pg. 25 (EAN 9780807218587, Analog Audio Cassette)

Multicultural Review 03/01/2004 pg. 29 (EAN 9780807218587, Analog Audio Cassette)

Kliatt 01/01/2004 pg. 49 (EAN 9780807218587, Analog Audio Cassette)

New York Times 01/18/2004 pg. 18 (EAN 9780375913747, Library Binding)

School Library Journal 11/01/2003 pg. 149 (EAN 9780375913747, Library Binding)

Wilson Middle/Junior Hi Catalo 01/01/2004 pg. 93 (EAN 9780375913747, Library Binding)

Horn Book Magazine 11/01/2003 pg. 756 (EAN 9780375913747, Library Binding)

Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 11/01/2003 pg. 125 (EAN 9780375913747, Library Binding)

Booklist 10/15/2003 pg. 404 (EAN 9780375913747, Library Binding) - *Starred Review

Kirkus Review - Children 08/01/2003 pg. 1024 (EAN 9780375913747, Library Binding) - *Starred Review

Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2003 pg. 103 (EAN 9780375913747, Library Binding)

Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2004 pg. 103 (EAN 9780375913747, Library Binding)

Booklist 05/15/2004 pg. 1630 (EAN 9780375813740, Hardcover)

Booklist Ed Choice Youth 01/01/2004 pg. 780 (EAN 9780375813740, Hardcover)

ALA Best Books Young Adults 03/15/2004 pg. 1284 (EAN 9780375813740, Hardcover)

Publishers Weekly 09/01/2003 pg. 90 (EAN 9780375813740, Hardcover)

School Library Journal 11/01/2003 pg. 149 (EAN 9780375813740, Hardcover)

Wilson Middle/Junior Hi Catalo 01/01/2004 pg. 93 (EAN 9780375813740, Hardcover)

Horn Book Magazine 11/01/2003 pg. 756 (EAN 9780375813740, Hardcover)

Voice of Youth Advocates 02/01/2004 pg. 498 (EAN 9780375813740, Hardcover)

Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 11/01/2003 pg. 125 (EAN 9780375813740, Hardcover)

Multicultural Review 06/01/2004 pg. 97 (EAN 9780375813740, Hardcover)

Booklist 10/15/2003 pg. 404 (EAN 9780375813740, Hardcover) - *Starred Review

Kirkus Review - Children 08/01/2003 pg. 1024 (EAN 9780375813740, Hardcover) - *Starred Review

Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2003 pg. 103 (EAN 9780375813740, Hardcover)

Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2004 pg. 103 (EAN 9780375813740, Hardcover)

Contributor Bio:  Spinelli, Jerry Jerry Spinelli received the Newbery Medal for Maniac Magee and a Newbery Honor for Wringer. His other books include Smiles to Go, Loser, Space Station Seventh Grade, Who Put That Hair in My Toothbrush?, Dump Days, and Stargirl. His novels are recognized for their humor and poignancy, and his characters and situations are often drawn from his real-life experience as a father of six children. Jerry lives with his wife, Eileen, also a writer, in Wayne, Pennsylvania.