| Author | Message | ||
| Katrina |
Spinelli has long proven himself to be a provocative writer of intricate, involved stories - but this one is SO different. Misha is so mysterious; he does not know where he comes from, he has no past. The whole world of the story is like the cover: grey, barren, a sky perpetually cloudy as if the smoke of debris and bombs filled the air. I have read a large number of Holocaust stories but never one about homeless, persecuted, oppressed children trying to survive on their own. I wonder where Spinelli's information comes from..? It is a depressing story that I think many parents, teachers and adults might object to - and yet children lived it. I found it very powerful. |
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| Jenn |
The protagonist, Misha Milgrom, is a young orphan who witnesses the atrocities in a Warsaw ghetto during World War II. Spinelli’s narration is powerful as Misha recounts what he observes to other characters and tries to make sense of it all. The imagery in Milkweed is vivid and discomforting for the reader; “They marched us to the ghetto. Since they had finished the brick wall—topped with broken glass and coils of barbed wire—I had not been able to visit Janina (79). The reader is given a clear sense of the disturbing setting. The plot moves swiftly and follows Misha from his early days stealing food on the streets of Warsaw, through his horrific experiences within the ghetto to his later life where the reader sees Misha’s need to share his story on the boardwalk and the breakdown of his marriage to Vivian (202). Spinelli closes the novel with a sense of hope as Misha enjoys his new identity…”And now this little girl whose call silences the Jackboots. Her voice will be the last. I was. Now I am. I am … Poppynoodle(208). |
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| Laura |
I did think it was powerful but so unlike Spinelli. katrina, I agree with you, where did he get his information from? I thought at times that it really didn't spell out it was about the holocaust and without guided reading, some young readers who are not familiar with the specifics may get lost. I thought the end was wrapped up too quickly and that Spinelli threw together information to get him to an old age, the whole quick marriage, reunion with daughter/grand daughter was not convincing to me. Just my opinion =) |
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| Susan |
The imagery that Spinelli wove through Milkweed was gripping. The merry-go-round, the angel statue, and the milkweed are all images that children (of a certain age) understand have symbolic meanings. These recurring images were powerful. |
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| Rachel |
Some of this book is so painful to read, but I think that speaks to its power. Part of what makes the story so amazing is to read about the horror of the holocaust through the eyes of a child who absolutely doesn't understand what he's seeing. He wants to BE a jackboot! Slowly he starts to understand more. I think this is realistic...why would a child understand at first? The journey he goes on carries the reader so that they too can better understand the time. Spinelli has a perfect vehicle in the boy for articulating beautiful images. His innocence allows for a sense of wonder, even at things we know are awful. He says the flames the Nazi soldiers fired at people were "gorgeous". "When I saw the brilliant orange flame in the night, I saw better than ever before how gray was the world I lived in." page 137 I agree this is a tricky book, but one that children might find really rewarding if reading with other students. Lots and lots to talk about. |
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| Cherri |
Spinelli did a good job describing the location and setting. He was able to bring me into the physical world of Warsaw described in Milkweed. For example, I could really 'see' the small opening in the wall where Misha crawled through to forage for food. |
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| Roxanne |
I guess we are talking both positive and negative at once here?? I really would like to keep it so we can explore all the strength before jumping into problems with each book.. Thanks. But, since some have already raised issues, I would like to discuss a little bit about that. I, too, would like to have an author's note for this story. I believed that Misha's story could and did probably happen with many war children. I never once doubted that Spinelli had his sources -- just that sharing some of them with the readers would have satisfied my curiosity. Misha, to me, is a "holy fool," for lack of a better phrase -- in the American Heritage Dictionary, a holy fool is defined as: One who subverts convention or orthodoxy or varies from social conformity in order to reveal spiritual or moral truth. This fool/wiseman character is often found in Jewish folk literature. (Remember the Fiddler on the Roof??) Spinelli uses Misha and his paradoxical ideologies and observations(like the one that Rachel points out or that stealing and smuggling is a heroic act) to drive home the notion of the world turned upside-down and the horror of such inhumanity. The images of the laughing Jackboots and their girlfriends haunt me still. I imagine children will be drawn to the story and they will not be confused by what is happening because the old-age Misha as narrator gives enough information by words of other characters (such as Uri) and by describing truthfully the bleakness of his surroundings. -- Roxanne |
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| Jane |
I found it unsettling in a provocative way to have the story told through Misha because he had no context for judging what he saw and experienced. As Rachel mentioned, his total lack of understanding forces the reader to examine his own morals and ethics. Though Uri offers some guidance, it's often to say "don't be noticed" or "don't go out alone" which isn't exactly the same as "these people are despicable and what they are doing is inhuman and wrong and this is why..." So, though the descriptions are painful, they do present bare facts that we must interpret for ourselves. I, like many of you, would love to hear what younger readers, who haven't much knowledge of the Holocaust, say about this book. |
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| Wendy |
RAchel, I agree with you. I think what made this book so powerful to me was the fact that we are experiencing the HOlocaust through the eyes of a child who does understand what is going on around him. This nievete is what made this piece so powerful. I remember the emotions it stirred in me for the first third of the book or so. I felt angered in a way by Misha. Why was Spinelli spending so long developing this character who quite obviously did not understand the severity of the situation? Once I realized that this was the concept of the story, I was hooked. Once I realized that this was the point of the author, to look at the HOlocaust from a very different perspective, I settled in to see just what Misha was going to get himself into next, and see where his curiosity would take him next. |
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| Shirley |
I don't think this has been opened for negative comments, but Roxanne has asked for me to comment, so here goes. I really tried to like this book, but it just did not work for me. I have read a lot of books about the Holocaust (for both adults and children) so the subject matter wasn't the problem. I just did not like Misha. He always seemed to rush in and act without thinking. I realize he was a child in horrible times, but one would think he would learn something along the way. I can think of other books with young children in terrible circumstances who grow and deal with what life throws them, but Misha seemed to always just rush in and do whatever he thought of at the time. This was my least favorite book of the ones we were assigned and I read all except Tadpole ( I just ran out of time--I should run upstairs and read it tonight when I return from a banquet). |
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| Roxanne |
Shirley, Banquet! Yeah! Regarding Misha's "not growing": I noticed that, too. And, pretty much, no one really changes in the entire story. Every character acts according to an assigned set of traits -- Uri does not change; Janina does not change; Mr. Milgrom does not change; etc. -- but, the circumstances change for the worse with each new chapter -- only Uncle Shepsel changed..once... and then stayed the same through the rest. If you believe in the theory that only rounded and changing characters make good literature, than, you won't appreciate this book where the main character really does NOT change. However, recently, and inspired by Milkweed, I've been pondering how in real life, people simply do NOT change that much. Yes, we gain some knowledge about certain things, and yes, we grow somewhat -- but, within a couple of years, even a young child who is supposed to change dramatically as they grow, does not really always change their ways -- and especially their personalities. I can think of hundreds of students in my 4th and 5th grade classes that behave exactly THE SAME even after repeated experiences which should have pointed them to the OTHER direction. So, in a way, this UN-change seems more true to life to me. A stubborn 6-year-old simply becomes a stubborn 8-year-old and a "stupid and rash" 8-year-old (that's how old I presume Misha, because that's Janina's guess) becomes a "stupid and rash" 10-year-old... On top of this, Misha is supposed to be not very bright (once again, the Idiot Savant tradition) so it will be even harder for him to learn and change from experiences. Of course, you may disagree with me 100%! |
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| Shirley |
Roxanne, I see your point. I guess I have just learned to expect the protagonists in children's literature to change, even if it is just a little. Honestly, my problem is probably that I just don't like the character. I yes I see him as "stupid and rash." In all of my reading, it is very important that I not dislike the main characters--they don't necessarily have to be good. And I really found myself thoroughly disliking Misha. But I do wonder if young people would relate to this book. Granted, I haven't taught 7th and 8th in almost 20 years. But I don't see them being so interested in a character as young as Misha. But children closer to his age are too young, I think, for this book. For this reason, I wouldn't support this book for the Newbery. |
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| Roxanne |
Shirley, Do you see this book as a 7th/8th grade book? Just to report back about the readers. I do have a few kids who already read it (6th and 7th grade mostly, but younger ones, too) and their reaction is OH, MY GOD, THIS IS SUCH A GOOD BOOK!!! You know how they talk! I see this book as absolutely appealing to children. And, contrary to Shirley, personally, I like Misha as a character for his absolute honesty and fierce loyalty and complete kindness to others: to Uri, to the Orphans, and to Janina. He is stupid, but not bad. |
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| Rachel |
I was just looking over this book and was again struck by how painful a story it is. It's representation of evil circumstances (I don't know how to describe the war adequately...) and how people live in those circumstances struck me as so powerful. It is hard, and for many people impossible, to be a GOOD person in such circumstances. Milkweed is filled with characters who struggle to balance surviving and being decent. Isn't this the struggle of being human? Uri who is a Nazi soldier, but who warns the boys to leave and who closes his eyes against the sky when he learns one has been hanged. Misha is an amazing character. He does not know evil, he doesn't understand it. I think maybe he does change though. Why does he want to walk to the ovens at the end? Is it because he has begun to understand evil and he does not want to live with it? And what about the way he stands on street corners and shouts out what sounds insane, but is only what he witnessed? Is this him trying to make sense of the world? I have to say I loved Misha. The world wasn't good enough for him. |
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| Ellen |
My reflections: It does very much remind me of "The Pianist"---in the bleak depiction of the Warsaw ghetto. Readers: I too, have seen young readers gobble books up on the topic of the Holocaust---this gives them such a unique perspective that it could not fail to make them pause and think in a different way. I agree with Wendy: "Why would a child understand?" Especially this boy, with no family to provide context and background. Misha describes himself at one point as being: "stupid, ugly and fast."---Whether or not he was ugly, depends on the vision the reader creates of him. Stupid? He was street savvy and very conniving---all traits that contibuted to his survival. But his inability to change might support that description. Fast? That word describes the pace of the entire book and makes the final few chapters believable for me. Was he likeable? I'm not sure. But I am sure that Spinelli made me care about all these characters. Jenn's comment about the evolution into "Poppynoodle" reminds me of the firm believe of a former children's lit. professor of mine that all books for children needed to end with at least a hint of hope. At the end of this stark tale, I think that's what Spinelli is giving us in "Poppynoodle." |
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| Roxanne |
Misha -- I think he did not really change when he wanted to go to the Oven -- it is consistent with his desire of being a Jackboot and other innocent longings. However, he DID change; was changed by the war and the loss of Janina. That is why we have this adult narrator who NEEDS to tell his story. I think Spenelli did wonders with his narrative voice: simultaneously wise (as the adult) and naive (as the child.) What an achievement. |
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| Shirley |
I don't know if I would use this earlier than 5th grade and that would depend on the class. You know, I think this is just one of those books that I just did not relate to. In light of the discussion, I think I will reread it later. It is probably a book I would have in my classroom for students if I were teaching 5th or up but I probably would not use it as a class project. As it is, I have it on my historical fiction reading list for my children's lit classes and will recommend it. But I don't know if I would teach it as a class book. I will definitely ask for feedback from my students who read it and encourage them to do so. |
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| Rachel | Posted on Sunday, January 25, 2004 - 10:47
am:
One of the reasons I think Milkweed is outstanding is because of the descriptions. Misha is so starved for basic comforts that simple things take on an unusual beauty, like the carousel or Janina's shiny shoes. On page 33 "I looked. There I was, as clearly as in the barbershop mirror. I looked...and looked...and then she was laughing. I was so intent on seeing myself that I hadn't noticed she was slowly lowering her foot; now it rested on the step and I was on my hands and knees, still looking." I can see Misha, so undignified on his knees, staring at his small reflection while Janina laughs at him in her perfect dress and shoes. |
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| Roxanne | Posted on Sunday, January 25, 2004 - 10:49
am:
And that shoe recurs several times, and in the scene where Misha last saw Janina -- on the station platform, there was that shoe. Lost forever is Janina to him.. and the image of the shoe haunts my memory. This book is more powerful every time I recall details from it. |
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| Ellen | Posted on Sunday, January 25, 2004 - 10:52
am:
Again, the starkness of this title---as in the simple image of a shoe, it was sets it apart as unique for me. |