The Boy Who Dared Blog #3

               So far, in the book The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti, the main character, Helmuth, is in a prison in Germany.  Helmuth, 17, begins his day in prison as any other Tuesday, hoping he will continue to live to see another day because the executioner works on Tuesday. The author describes Helmuth as, "a boy of seventeen, lies awake. Shivering. Trembling." Helmuth is also having flashbacks from his early childhood. He has flashbacks to the ages of three, seven, and eight years old. All of the flashbacks have one thing in common. They all involve Hitler and the German soldiers.
              The setting in the flashbacks is a lively country of Germany who is excited to see how Hitler can rebuild the nation. I can infer the Helmuth's desire for Hitler has come from the closest person in his life, his mother. Helmuth's mother was a big believer that Hitler would make a change for the better for Germany.

milkweed blog #2

The book Milkweed by Jerry Spinelli is a book that makes you think a lot. You don't really no anything about the background of the characters or the setting of the book. The farther along you read, the more you begin to learn about the main character, Misha, and what exactly is going on in the small town of Warsaw, Poland. This makes the reader ask lots of questions.

Throughout the book, Misha mentions the Jackboot soldiers. The reader knows as much as Misha knows about the Jackboots. They hate Jews and they control the town of Warsaw. That is all the reader knows about the Jackboots halfway through the book. A question I have about the book is: Will the Jackboots effect the outcome  of the story, and if so, how?

Another question I have comes at about halfway through the book. Uri, the character who is looking after and fighting for survival with Misha, has been gone more and more since the Jackboots have put the Jews in the Ghetto. Where could Uri possibly have gone? I predict that Uri will leave one day and never return to the Ghetto, but in the end of the book, he will have an effect on the outcome.

milkweed blog #1

                In the beginning of the book Milkweed, by Jerry Spinelli, the main character, Misha Pilsudski, is a gypsy who is fighting for survival. He has no family, and has been taken under the wing by a Jewish boy named Uri. Since Uri has red hair, unlike any other Jews, he is not recognized as a Jew, so he is able to roam the streets without getting harassed by the Jackboot soldiers. He teaches Misha about want to do, and what not to do. For Misha and Uri to survive, they steal. They steel food, objects, and about anything they can get their hands on.

                Misha is a character who is smarter mentally than he appears. When he talks to Uri, he is very oblivious about what is going on around him with the whole war. When Misha tends to be disobedient with Uri, Uri has one word to describe it. Stupid.  Also, Misha is perfect for stealing from other civilians. He is small and hard to catch. But the most gifted physical attribute Misha has is his speed. Once he gets his hands on a loaf of bread, no one is catching him. 

                The story takes place in the town of Warsaw, Poland. Misha defines the town as a town with "large, fine houses," which are perfect for stealing from. Warsaw is a town right in the middle of the war. The Jackboot soldiers are constantly abusing Jews.

                The biggest problem in the book so far has been Misha and Uri's fight for survival. I do not expect that problem to change throughout the book because in a town of mischief and dictation, what person would accept a gypsy boy into their life and raise and care for him?