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Breaking Stalin's Nose [Hardcover]

Eugene Yelchin
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)

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2012 Newbery Honor
This book was awarded the 2012 Newbery Honor! Check out this complete list of all previous winners and honors from 1990 through 2012.

Book Description

September 27, 2011 9 and up 670L (What's this?)
One of Horn Book’s Best Fiction Books of 2011
 
Sasha Zaichik has known the laws of the Soviet Young Pioneers since the age of six:
The Young Pioneer is devoted to Comrade Stalin, the Communist Party, and Communism.
A Young Pioneer is a reliable comrade and always acts according to conscience.
A Young Pioneer has a right to criticize shortcomings.
But now that it is finally time to join the Young Pioneers, the day Sasha has awaited for so long, everything seems to go awry. He breaks a classmate's glasses with a snowball. He accidentally damages a bust of Stalin in the school hallway.  And worst of all, his father, the best Communist he knows, was arrested just last night.
 
This moving story of a ten-year-old boy's world shattering is masterful in its simplicity, powerful in its message, and heartbreaking in its plausibility.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Mr. Yelchin has compressed into two days of events an entire epoch, giving young readers a glimpse of the precariousness of life in a capricious yet ever-watchful totalitarian state.” –Wall Street Journal

 

“A miracle of brevity, this affecting novel zeroes in on two days and one boy to personalize Stalin's killing machine of the '30s. …black-and-white drawings march across the pages to juxtapose hope and fear, truth and tyranny, small moments and historical forces, innocence and evil. This Newbery Honor book offers timeless lessons about dictatorship, disillusionment and personal choice.” --San Francisco Chronicle

 

"The cat-and-mouse chase that pits Sasha’s whole world against him will rivet middle-grade readers, but this title will hold special appeal for older students whose grasp of content outstrips their reading proficiency." --BCCB
 
"Picture book author/illustrator Yelchin (Won Ton) makes an impressive middle-grade debut with this compact novel about a devoted young Communist in Stalin-era Russia, illustrated with dramatically lit spot art." --Publishers Weekly
 
“…this brief novel gets at the heart of a society that asks its citizens, even its children, to report on relatives and friends. Appropriately menacing illustrations by first-time novelist Yelchin add a sinister tone.” --Horn Book, starred review

“Yelchin’s graphite illustrations are an effective complement to his prose, which unfurls in Sasha’s steady, first-person voice, and together they tell an important tale.” --Kirkus

"Yelchin skillfully combines narrative with dramatic black-and-white illustrations to tell the story of life in the Soviet Union under Stalin.” --SLJ

About the Author

Eugene Yelchin has illustrated several books for children, including Who Ate All the Cookie Dough? and Won Ton. He lives in California with his wife and children.

Product Details

  • Age Range: 9 and up
  • Hardcover: 160 pages
  • Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR); 1 edition (September 27, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0805092161
  • ISBN-13: 978-0805092165
  • Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #39,080 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Eugene Yelchin is a Russian born author and illustrator of children's books.
In 2012, Breaking Stalin's Nose, a middle grade novel that he had written and illustrated received a Newbery Honor award. Horn Book magazine called Breaking Stalin's Nose one of the Best Books of 2011. In 2010, the picture book Rooster Prince of Breslov that he illustrated received the National Jewish Book Award. In 2006, he received a Tomie de Paola award. His other books received starred reviews, and were on Children's Choice and the Independent Booksellers lists.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The title of this book intrigued me enough to pull it off the shelf. The cover picture drew me in. I read this book in about an hour. I couldn't put it down! Most of that hour I kept shaking my head wondering how anyone in USSR survived the Cold War without going mad. The mind games that adults played! This story shows us the effects of dictatorship and misinformation with heartbreaking results. For adults as well as young adults.
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A good read for child or adult November 5, 2011
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
A touching account of a young boy's misadventures in Stalinist Russia. It pulls no punches about the evils of communism. You might call this a kid's version of Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago. Harrowing but never gruesome.
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17 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Sasha lives in the USSR with his father in a communal apartment with 47 other people. He has dreamed of becoming a Young Soviet Pioneer all his short life and serving Stalin whom he worships. Then one night his father is arrested and slowly everything Sasha knows, loves and believes in begins to crumble.

Written to be accessible to young readers this is a look into the Cold War that just might send readers looking for more. Heavily illustrated and printed in a format that reluctant readers will be also be drawn to. As an adult I can only wonder how anyone survived this time period. Eugene Yelchin won a 2012 Newbery Honor for BREAKING STALIN'S NOSE and I am glad he did otherwise I am not sure I would have read this book. Recommended for middle graders that enjoy historical fiction.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Not a Pioneer!
A good book about hard decisions and others taking the blame for our mistakes. I enjoyed this book a lot and recommend will recommend it to all my friends.
Published 7 days ago by Catherine A Breen
2.0 out of 5 stars Where's the second one
Where's the second one you can't end a book like this I need to know what happened poo lease make a second one
Published 1 month ago by hailey reiss
5.0 out of 5 stars A rather grim tale, but a very worthwhile read
Our hero, Sasha, is a ten year old in Stalin's Moscow. His father is a much lauded officer in the secret police and Sasha is about to become a Young Pioneer. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Graham
4.0 out of 5 stars Sasha's astounding story-----heroically amazing (S.A.S.H.A.)
Sasha Zaichik lives in the U.S.S.R. As a boy, he wants nothing more than to be like his dad----A Pioneer and a devoted communist as well as a "hero" to Dictator Stalin. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Gina Marie Bertaina
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing
Great book for 10-11 year old kids it gives a lot of information about communism and Russian but I like it because I'm russian
Published 2 months ago by JRC
5.0 out of 5 stars Great story!
My 10 year old son does not like to read. He typically struggles with it and it's hard to find books that keep his interest. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Mimi
5.0 out of 5 stars Heartfelt
I think this story was great and it was very heartfelt I would definitely recommend this book to others it sends out a very good heartfelt message and I really enjoyed reading it.
Published 3 months ago by it's super fun I like it a lot!
5.0 out of 5 stars The First Book about Stalinism for children
Евгений Ельчин, признанный американский детский писатель и художник-иллюстратор с русскими корнями, рассказывает короткую историю от лица десятилетнего Саши. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Velikanova Olga
5.0 out of 5 stars great
Great! This will work well with our school. It will meet the needs of our students and faculty as required.
Published 4 months ago by Comanche ISD - Comanche ISD District Libraries
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book for understanding communist culture
I read this with my 13 yr. old son. It was a real page turner and gave my son a good understanding of how communism affected the people of Russia. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Margery
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