Prisoner B-3087
Yanek, a Jewish boy living in Poland during World War II, has been caught by the Nazis. Is his will to survive strong enough to pull him through the Holocaust?
Read Prisoner B-3087 to find out!
Cast of Characters
William Fichtner as Uncle Moshe
Uncle Moshe seemed to be aggravating old man before the Nazis took over Poland. However, when Yanek meets him again, he is a totally different person. Becoming a mentor to Yanek, Moshe set the basis of survival, telling him that the only way to survive the Holocaust was to keep your head down. This valid word of advice managed to keep Yanek alive through the entire Nazi occupation. Thinking about it everyday, Yanek not only used this strategy to stay alive, but used it as motivation to keep pushing through the Nazi imprisonment.
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson as Moonface
Melissa McCarthy as Mrs. Immerglick
When introduced in the story, Mrs. Immerglick is Yanek’s easily annoyed neighbor that lives across the hallway in an apartment building. Because he was stuck in the building at all times, one day Yanek decided to go out in the hallway and kick a ball around. He continued to do so until someone yelled at him to stop, and that person was the one and only Mrs. Immerglick. Later, when Nazis take prisoners from Yanek's apartment, Mrs. Immerglick and her family are taken. Mrs. Immerglick was the mean neighbor that lived in Yanek’s apartment building, but the emotions were quite different when they met again in the future.
Reviews
Lauren Christian
The book, Prisoner B-3087, tells the story of a Jewish boy struggling to survive the Holocaust. I personally love the topic of the book already, but the fact that it is based off a true story impresses me even further. I also applaud the author for writing violent details. These details spark emotions and paint an eye-opening picture of how awful the Holocaust truly was. I could feel the struggle and pain through the pages of the book, and I could feel the triumph when difficult circumstances were overcome. Prisoner B-3087 took me on an adventure while I read and then changed my thinking after I finished the book. After reading this story, I have a new perspective on how fortunate I am to have the life that I do. In a nutshell, Prisoner B-3087 is truthful, uplifting, influential, and could very well change your perspective for the better.
Rating: 5/5 stars- I give this book a rating of 5 stars because it stirs up emotions, shines a light on harsh reality, honors Holocaust survivors, and is brilliantly told.
Other Reviews:
“Gratz ably conveys Yanek’s incredulity, fatalism, yearning, and determination in the face of the unimaginable”-Debra Gold; Member of the American Library Association
“Although the subject is grim, the telling is handled in a way which should enlighten and engage”-The Historical Novel Society
Video Clip Analysis
Tyler Smith
The main idea or topic of Prisoner B-3087 is the Holocaust. This video really gives an inside look at the Holocaust and what it was really like for the prisoners. Just like in the novel, Rita Weiss says that the prisoners are bald and wearing striped uniforms. The new arrivals had thought those people were crazy and wondered what had happened to them, not knowing that they too would end up like them. That same scenario happened in the book when the people coming off the trains looked at Yanek and the prisoners with fear and pity. Another connection is how rumors get spread to get people's hopes up, only to get ruined by the Nazis. In a time like this, people very much need hope.
Quotes
¨We must not let them rip us from the pages of this world¨, Uncle Moshe and Yanek Gruener both said this quote at the beginning and became a mantra throughout the entirety of Prisoner B-3087. This quote is powerful due to having the phrase become one of the main reasons for Yanek´s survival and overcoming the harsh reality that was World War II.
¨Work makes you free¨ The Nazi work and Death camp motto, The quote takes place when Yanek and the other Nazi captives are taken to each Nazi camp like the Birkenau and Auschwitz camps and are forced to play the Nazis´ ¨games¨. This quote is powerful because it controlled the entire life and minds of the people forced to live and work at the camps.
¨Here at Plaszow, you must do nothing to stand out. You have no name, no personality, no family, no friends.¨ This quote would become a defining moment as Yanek is told by Uncle Moshe to not stand out in Plaszow Concentration camp. In the memory of this quote, Yanek worked out until disobeyed and became friends with a young boy named Fred from Yanek´s hometown of Kraków, Poland. However, Yanek later remembered that he should have kept to himself and only thought about himself.
Cover Analysis
A book’s cover is crucial for giving the reader a strong image of what the book is about. Prisoner B-3087’s cover depicts a prison. Barbed wire rings around the top of a dreary, stark brick wall, making escape virtually impossible. Inside the walls, a young boy stands, his hands on the wall and his face turned skyward. He just wants to be free. Alan Gratz, the author of Prisoner B-3087, likely chose this eerie cover for its dark, dangerous color scheme of red and black, and its message of hopelessness and desperation. The boy behind the walls is being held captive in a situation very similar to Yanek Gruener’s, the novel’s main character. The walls are Yanek’s life, almost; he is trapped within them for most of the book.
In a way much like a cover, a book’s title can also hold our attention. The words Prisoner B-3087 are bleak and startling. These qualities, along with the words’ value as a part of the story, made “Prisoner B-3087” the perfect title for such a serious book. Yanek is branded with the code B-3087 in the novel, and so this title connects extremely well with the book’s events. In addition, the title “Prisoner B-3087” is incredibly intriguing and sparks curiosity. This title catches the interest of a reader, and won’t let go.
Citations
Cast of Characters
http://deadline.com/tag/william-fichtner/
http://www.people.com/article/dwayne-johnson-depression-oprahs-master-class
http://www.today.com/style/melissa-mccarthy-suits-ghostbusters-first-photo-t30676
Reviews
http://www.thechildrensbookreview.com/weblog/2013/10/prisoner-b-3087-by-alan-gratz-review.html/
https://historicalnovelsociety.org/reviews/prisoner-b-3087/
http://gutenberg.polytechnic.edu.na/4/3/4/8/43487/43487-h/images/p24b.jpg
Video Clip
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ges-Od4tR0I
Cover Analysis
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51B6k2GlKCL.jpg
Quotes
http://jackprisonerb-3087.weebly.com/uploads/4/4/5/2/44520169/4522375_orig.jpg