I was recommended this book from my sister as we had been studying World War 2.
We read this aloud and the children listening were between ages 12 and 7. It is a gripping read and rather emotionally upsetting in parts.
This book is told in through the voice of a child - Bruno (age 9). His father is a soldier (Nazi) who works for Hitler and moves Bruno and his family to Auschwitz where he has been posted in 1943. It is written in a way that hooks you and is understandable even for children.
Bruno's innocence is demonstrated through the book as he has lack of understanding what his father does and what is happening to the people behind the camp. The book led to many discussion while we were reading about the behaviour of humans and the atrocities of what happened in the concentration camps.
A big theme of the book is the friendship that Bruno makes after moving to Auschwitz with a Jewish boy that is behind the fence. Bruno does not understand about the camp his new friend is in and what his dad is involved in.
He tries to learn more throughout the book but is often conflicted when believing his father is a bad person. The book takes a twist that none of us expected at the end (Be aware this is upsetting and my children were very emotional when we finished).
I would recommend this book as we all enjoyed the read and learnt more about the holocaust and the atrocities that happened. I would definitely say it is for late ks2 age children + (ages 10years +) for reading alone. My 7 year old enjoyed the book as we read it but needed the discussions we had about it as we went to allow her to understand more.
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