Milkweed

Decided to revisit one of my favorite authors Jerry Spinelli for one of his newer titles. Milkweed follows a young orphan boy who doesn't know his name or where he's from but has found a new home with Uri, a street urchin. Uri names the small boy, Misha and takes him under his wings. He teaches Misha how to survive on the streets of Warsaw, Poland during World War II. Uri and the ragtag group of orphans he runs with are Jews. Misha with the help of Uri's fairy tales decides he must be a Gypsy. As the crew moves about in the periphery of Warsaw stealing food, Misha meets a young Jewish girl named Janina. He begins taking food to her and becomes a permanent part of her family when the Nazis move them to the ghetto. It's an interesting look at the Nazi's treatment of Jews from a child's point of view. As a small boy, Misha is entralled by the Nazi uniforms and their "parades" until he realizes the horrors going on around him. Recommended read.