Milkweed summary
Stopthief was a little boy who stole food from houses and stores. Once, he was chased by a woman after he stole some bread. He met Uri in a hole. Uri named him Misha Pilsudski and made up a story of Misha’s past life. Later, he met a girl about his age called Janina before she went to the Ghetto (a place that Jews were sent to in World War 2). Misha soon went to live with Janina’s family. Misha was called many names (Jew, filthy child of Abraham, Gypsy, stupid, turd and many other names) by some other boys.
When he gets older, he gets enough money to move to the United States by ship. There, he meets his wife Vivian who stopped to listen to him on a street corner. Later, Vivian has had enough and leaves Misha. In a supermarket, Misha meets his daughter Katherine and his granddaughter Wendy and chooses his granddaughter’s middle name, Janina. He has been called names by all sorts of people. Now he is called “Poppynoodle” by his granddaughter.
Stopthief was a little boy who stole food from houses and stores. Once, he was chased by a woman after he stole some bread. He met Uri in a hole. Uri named him Misha Pilsudski and made up a story of Misha’s past life. Later, he met a girl about his age called Janina before she went to the Ghetto (a place that Jews were sent to in World War 2). Misha soon went to live with Janina’s family. Misha was called many names (Jew, filthy child of Abraham, Gypsy, stupid, turd and many other names) by some other boys.
When he gets older, he gets enough money to move to the United States by ship. There, he meets his wife Vivian who stopped to listen to him on a street corner. Later, Vivian has had enough and leaves Misha. In a supermarket, Misha meets his daughter Katherine and his granddaughter Wendy and chooses his granddaughter’s middle name, Janina. He has been called names by all sorts of people. Now he is called “Poppynoodle” by his granddaughter.
Individual reviews
Ingrid This book was awesome. I liked how the book had a lot of details and because the book was funny. I also like how the chapters were really short because it makes me think that I'm getting faster and improving my reading. I think it could be better if the time didn’t past so quickly in the book. My favorite part was when Misha asked her wife if she was pregnant because it was kind of funny and dumb. My least favorite part was when Misha woke up very lonely with Janina’s shoe in his hand because it very sad. This book was one of my favorite books that Jerry Spinelli as written. My excitement is waiting to read another one of his books. I recommend this book to children 9+ years and to children or even adults who enjoy reading about war. Milkweed is a good book and it was easy to read. It is an interesting story about a Jewish boy who grows up on the streets of Poland. This is a story about a boy who grows up as an orphan who steals food to survive and it takes place in World War 2. It is a story about a boy who lives a hard life during the war without any real family but finds friends and people to help him survive through the war.
Laura This book tells about the story about how violent people were to the Jews and how badly they were treated. I would recommend reading this book and I would give it 4 stars out of 5 because the story makes you wonder what if would be like to grow up in a war. Life is not easy when you have to steal food to survive and you have to sleep in a cellar. Friends disappeared and it makes you wonder if they got caught in concentration camps. |
Justin Milkweed was a good book. It is very detailed and tells a lot about the life of many people during the Polish invasion. It is also good because it is very specific and it tells about and a lot of peoples’ life story. In the book, the events that happened are very realistic and most of the story is based on events that actually happened. Sometimes though, it is confusing and Misha ages about fifty years in the last part of the book and it does not make sense. I would recommend this book to people who are interested in war history; it is also a good book for people who are interested in learning about World War II. Mimi Milkweed was an excellent book because the details were great. The details were very specific and descriptive. It’s sad because a lot of people die and they sent Jews to concentration camps which torture them until they die. The book makes me feel what the people in the book are feeling because he described it very well. The book was very detailed and has a lot of action which brings out the characters because it moves very fast and speeds up the time in the book. It could have been better if his wife did not leave because he got very lonely and sad. |
Shane
This book was superb! I loved the way he made the character Misha Pilsudski, and I liked the way they skipped at the end. My favorite part of the book was when Uri shot Misha in the ear. I think they could have put in more details by making more characters, and making the chapters a bit longer. I also think he can improve the name of the book. Pierson I think Milkweed was a fantastic book whose story-line and details about the characters were well written. I especially liked how the author, Jerry Spinelli wrote the story based on the life of a real Holocaust survivor and how the book was historically accurate. My favorite part of the book was when the protagonist, who used to go by stopthief is given the name Misha by Uri. Uri helps him fabricate a past and identity as a gypsy. This gave Misha a lot of comfort even if it wasn’t true. The friendship between Misha and Uri was really special and I think Uri only shot Misha to protect him. If he hadn’t I think the Jackboots would have killed him. By shooting Misha in the ear, Uri saved Misha’s life. While I really liked these things about the book, there were a few things I didn’t like. For example, after the Jews left the ghetto a lot of the minor characters got excluded from the book, such as the boys who hung out in the stables. I would have like liked to know what happened to them after they were kicked out of the stables by the Jackboots because they were Jewish. I also disliked how time was unevenly distributed. For the majority of the book, Misha was around 9 then he turned to 21, then he turned very old when he had a daughter that was 21 and he also had a granddaughter. While it was good to see how his life passed, I was sad that he never got to see Janina or Uri again. While I enjoyed the book, I found it to be very gloomy. Misha did not live a very happy life, but I think that the ending was sweet how his daughter and granddaughter came to see him and helped take care of him. Overall, I really liked this book but it was a little too sad for me. I would give this book 4 star out of 5 and would recommend it to people who are interested in learning about the Holocaust in Poland from a child’s point of view. |
Edwin I think that Milkweed was pretty interesting. The information in the book was written in a way that was fun . The author could have put more details in some parts like the part when Uri shoots Misha in the ear. The part that is confusing is the part that goes from Misha being a little kid to Misha being old at the end of the book. The author should make the chapters longer because some chapters are only one or two pages long. I would give this book four stars. Athena I rated this book four and a half out of five stars because the book gives real information but the characters are fake. The author added some funny stuff that made it not so serious and the kids won’t think it’s boring. When you start reading the book, you won’t feel like doing anything else but read until you’re finished the book. You’ll feel like you’re reading a book without any real information in it. You will learn how it was like in the ghetto and how the people in the ghetto went to the concentration camp. I minus a half of the fifth star because the book was very awesome but it wasn’t the first time reading a book as good as this, and it wasn’t a book that I will go crazy about it and bragging about, but I haven’t read a book like that. So that’s why I picked four and a half out of five stars. |
Kyra This book is excellent. I like how the book is balanced with bad parts and good parts like when Misha realizes he is not allowed to go out of the ghetto, unless he has a work permit, but then he finds that there are two bricks missing in one part of the brick wall. I also like all the action in this book. For example when the Jackboots found the boys in the stable, one boy that everyone didn’t know jumped from the loft and the Jackboots shot him in midair. One thing I didn’t like was that sometimes I didn’t understand the wording, like when Uri told him that his name was Misha Pilsudski and how he came to Warsaw. I didn’t know if that part was true or that Uri just made it up. Finally I like that this book is fiction but you still learn a little bit about World War 2. In World War 2 people did live in ghettos and they were sent to places on trains. I recommend this book for grades 4-7 and for kids who like action. |
Character Profile
Misha
Misha is a little boy, he is 8 years old. He has short black hair that was dyed blue by Uri because he looked like a Jew and if the Jack boots see him he would be in danger. His eyes are small and round, his mouth was small and curved. He was adark skinned little boy with a warm heart. Misha is adventurous and he never had a family, the only thing he remembers is that he was riding on a horse.
Misha always had a yellow stone, which he always had around his neck, he was a lonely orphan which Uri (also an orphan) watches over. When he was taken to the ghetto (a place where all the Jews were locked up), Misha went through the wall to get food for Uri and Janina’s family (he met her when he wasn’t in the ghetto).