Shadow of the Wall [Library Binding]

Christa Laird (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1990

Living with his mother and two sisters in the Warsaw Ghetto, Misha is befriended by the director of the orphanage, Dr. Korczak, and finds a purpose to his life when he joins a resistance organization.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ever since the death of their father, Misha and his sister Rachel have lived in the orphanage run by Dr. Janusz Korczak. Conditions in the Warsaw ghetto have grown steadily worse, forcing Misha to become a smuggler and black marketeer. Recruited by an underground resistance group, Misha leaves the ghetto in time to escape the deadly journey to Treblinka. Though Misha and his family are fictional characters, Korczak did actually live and work in the ghetto, and his deeds certainly merit recounting. This, however, is a frustrating book, for the author's storytelling ability does not equal her grasp of the sordid details of ghetto life. The narrative also suffers from numerous, apparently arbitrary shifts in point of view. Misha's story seems tacked on in order to make the heartbreaking subject matter more accessible to young readers. Ironically, the novel's most powerful moments occur when the sad, ugly truth seeps out through the weak story line--on these occasions, the claustrophobia of doomed lives in the ghetto becomes almost tangible. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up-- The inhumanity forced upon the Jews in Warsaw during World War II is wrenchingly told through the fictional family of 13-year-old Misha Edelman, who, following his father's death, feels responsible for his ailing mother and two younger sisters, Rachel and Elena. Living in the Orphans' Home operated by the heroic "Mister Doctor" Korczak, Misha risks his life by smuggling to support those he loves. Death becomes a daily occurrence as the Nazis deport thousands to the concentration camp at Treblinka. After his mother's death and having smuggled Elena to the Aryan side of the wall, he increasingly seeks action, some way to contribute to the growing resistance movement. In a scene that is appropriately stomach-churning, Misha conquers his fears to escape through the sewers to the Aryan side where he enters training with the resistance. Strong emotions are evoked, particularly when Dr. Korczak and the orphans, including Rachel, are deported past the shop window in which Misha works with the underground. While lacking the machine-gun impact of violent death and horror that characterizes Aaron's Gideon (Lippincott, 1982), this book has a pathos about it that will make it memorable to those readers sensitive enough to pursue its descriptions of deprivation, hunger, and hope. A postscript details the facts upon which the book was based, including information about the characters in the story who are based on real people. --Joel Shoemaker, Tilford Middle School, Vinton, IA
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Library Binding: 144 pages
• Publisher: Greenwillow; 1st edition (May 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688093361
• ISBN-13: 978-0688093365
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,023,114 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Shadow of the Wall is a terrific book!, March 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Shadow of the Wall (Library Binding)

I AM A 6TH GRADE STUDENT AND I JUST FINISHED READING SHADOW OF THE WALL. IT IS A FANTASTIC BOOK. IT IS CONFUSING AT THE BEGINNING BUT WHEN YOU GET TOWARD THE MIDDLE IT GETS REALLY GOOD. I WOULD RECOMEND IT TO ANYONE. IT IS ABOUT A 13-YEAR-OLD JEWISH BOY THAT LIVED IN A GHETTO DURING THE HOLOCAUST. HE GOES ON A VERY IMPORTANT MISSION (SMUGGLE HIS BABY SISTER OUT OG THE GHETTO TO LIVE WITH A NON-JEWISH FAMILY). IT ALSO TELLS ABOUT HIS OTHER ADVENTURES.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Risking Life to Preserve Life - A Book That Deserves Greater Recognition, June 1, 2009

By 

Daniel L. Berek (Flanders, NJ, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shadow of the Wall (Paperback)

To keep his ailing mother alive, Misha Edelstein must risk his life to smuggle what bits of food he can find into the Warsaw Ghetto during the Nazi occupation of the city in World War II. Later on, he must risk his life to smuggle his baby sister out of the Ghetto, into the hands of kind strangers, in the hope that she may survive. Adding to the theme of the meaning of life in the face of death is that much of the story takes place in Janusz Korczak's orphanage in the Ghetto. Dr. Korczak, along with Mrs. Stefa and Miss Eszterka and several of the orphans were all real people. Throughout his life, "Mister Doctor" (as Korczak often was called) cared for orphans, providing Warsaw's unwanted children with nurturing and comfort. When the Nazis invaded Poland in 1939, Warsaw was under seige; the following year, the city's significant Jewish population was rounded up and imprisoned in a Ghetto the Nazis encircled with an eight-foot wall (hence the title of this book). Though Janusz Korczak was offered false papers for safe passage to the Aryan side on several occasions, he steadfastly refused, saying that one must never abandon children in a time of need. To the end, with solemn dignity, Janusz Korczak accompanied his children to the cattle cars that would take them to Treblinka, never to be seen or heard again.

The theme of this Young Adult novel fits very well with the life of Janusz Korczak, an important figure more children should know about. Ms. Laird drew upon her own research to ensure the book's historical accuracy. Although Betty Jean Lifton's superb biography had not yet been published when this book was written, Ms. Laird did consult Hanna Olczak's "Mister Doctor" and Joseph Hyams's "A Field of Buttercups," the former being a translation from the Polish of an account written by someone who actually knew the Doctor, the latter being the first original English-language biography of Korczak. Young readers who wish to know more about this kind, gentle champion of children would do well to read Mark Bernheim's "Father of the Orphans."

Christa Laird's beautifully told book has been translated into several languages and deserves to be reprinted again in English. Moreover, it deserves to be read by a new generation of young adults.

3.0 out of 5 stars Shadow of the Wall, March 27, 2011

By 

Mary E. Young "JanaRose1" (Covington, Georgia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shadow of the Wall (Paperback)

Thirteen year old Misha and his sister Rachel live in the Warsaw ghetto orphanage ran by Dr. Korczak. Although Misha and his sister are fictional, other characters in the book are not. In order to survive, Misha smuggles goods out of the ghetto, returning with much needed food and provisions. At the age of 16, Misha leaves the orphanage and joins the underground resistance group. A decision which saves his life from the liquidation of the orphanage.

Overall, the book was only so-so. The author struggles to find words to adequately describe the horrors of the ghetto. The characters are weekly written, and it is hard to imagine them as real people. Although this wasn't my favorite book, it may be a good introduction to the plight of Jews during WWII for a younger reader.