The Island on Bird Street
Uri Orlev
Summary
Alex, his father, Boruch, and Alex's pet mouse, Snow, all live in the Warsaw Ghetto. They are all of course Jewish. Soon German soldiers soon come through the Ghettos and take Jews to concentration camps, and they end up taking Alex's father, but Alex escapes. Alex has to learn to live on his own in the destroyed Ghetto and wait for his father to return to him like he said. He is alone in this Ghetto on bird street and all he has is his pet mouse, Snow. Alex has to find his own food and learn to survive in these horrible conditions. He will do this until his father returns.
3 things I learned about the Holocaust
First off, this book re assured me that it was so hard to fight for your life during the Holocaust. You could die from so many things, hunger, disease, abuse from soldiers, and stuff like gas chambers. In the book if Alex cant find food he will die of hunger. He really fought for his life through out this book. Secondly, This book taught me that you can lose a loved one so quickly and to cherish every moment you have with them. Alex lost his father very quickly and you know he is going through pain and suffering with out him. And lastly this book taught me was that you have to have trust in others, because you need others to survive in this situation. Alex lost his father and waited for him to come back, it showed his love and trust for his father. Alex already lost his mother so he has to have a lot of trust in his father that he will come back. He also had to put trust in the others hiding in the Ghettos. I think Alex did a great job with who he trusted, and its good that he put a lot of trust into his father.
Quotes by Alex
1: "Father thought that I was dead. I wanted to run out of the cellar and throw myself on him." This quote shows that he has so much hope to have his father back, this shows how loving of a boy he is and how much he loves his father.
2: "It was that belief that kept me going. Only now that it had actually happened, I couldn't believe it." In this quote he is talking about when he finally see's his father and he cant believe it, but him believing he would see him again was what kept him going though the struggles. This shows what these conditions can do to you, it shows how much negativity it can put through you, and the loss of hope. This shows that Alex was such a determined boy that he worked through the doubts and negativity and thought on the positive side.
3: " And I didn't know if I was crying for myself, because I was so happy and had waited so long for him to come without admitting that I never thought he would, or if I was only crying because he was. Crying can be catching. Just like laughter." This shows that Alex is so joyful his father is back. It shows that his father is loyal and trustworthy, and that Alex put the trust in him. This showed that Alex was a positive thinker and a positive kid all round and he deserved getting his father back with all his work through the struggles.
2: "It was that belief that kept me going. Only now that it had actually happened, I couldn't believe it." In this quote he is talking about when he finally see's his father and he cant believe it, but him believing he would see him again was what kept him going though the struggles. This shows what these conditions can do to you, it shows how much negativity it can put through you, and the loss of hope. This shows that Alex was such a determined boy that he worked through the doubts and negativity and thought on the positive side.
3: " And I didn't know if I was crying for myself, because I was so happy and had waited so long for him to come without admitting that I never thought he would, or if I was only crying because he was. Crying can be catching. Just like laughter." This shows that Alex is so joyful his father is back. It shows that his father is loyal and trustworthy, and that Alex put the trust in him. This showed that Alex was a positive thinker and a positive kid all round and he deserved getting his father back with all his work through the struggles.
Reflection
I found this book very good. It made me want to keep on reading it. The story was very touching and the fact that it was based on a true story makes it even better. This book shows that people can be so tough if they have faith in what they are fighting for through the process. He trusted in his father and had hope that he would come back which he ended up doing. Alex was such a strong and positive kid and this could be inspiring to other who had read or will read the book.
This book is a very good example of what the holocaust was somewhat like. It showed the true struggles of not having loved ones around, being starved, and always being at risk for any disease or being taken and killed. This situation that Alex was in was emotionally and physical hurtful towards him. But he stayed strong and fought through and that's what i really liked and respected about this book.
This book is a very good example of what the holocaust was somewhat like. It showed the true struggles of not having loved ones around, being starved, and always being at risk for any disease or being taken and killed. This situation that Alex was in was emotionally and physical hurtful towards him. But he stayed strong and fought through and that's what i really liked and respected about this book.
Recomendation
I would definitely recommend this book for others to read. Its such a touching story and I could stop reading it, kind of like my eyes were glued to the page. I would say that an elemantary schooler shouldnt read this book since it talks about starvation and bad events but anything older than that would be just fine. Someone would want to read this book because its such a touching story that can be referenced to the holocaust very well. I would say any other schools that have a holocaust class like the one that I am in should read it as a class. It has such a good story line to it.
'The Island on Bird Street' Trailer