The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

Bruno is a 9yo German boy living during World War II who isn’t happy with his father’s new work assignment until he makes a friend who lives on the other side of the fence.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne. David Fickling Books, 2006.

• Reading Level: Middle Grades, Ages 12-15
• Recommended For: Teens and adults

Bruno doesn’t want to leave his friends and his wonderful house in Berlin, but his father is a high ranking German Commandant who just had the “Fury” come to dinner and received his new assignment. Now Bruno has no choice but to leave his friends and the grand house in Berlin and move to at “Out-With” where there isn’t much for Bruno to do but ask himself questions. Who are the people moving about in the fenced-in wasteland he can see outside his window? Why are the servants so nervous, and why is the elderly man who comes to peel the vegetables so knowledgeable when Bruno hurts his knee?

One afternoon Bruno goes exploring and meets a boy who wears the striped uniform that everyone on the other side of the fence is wearing. He and Shmuel seem to have much in common (including their birth dates), but he doesn’t understand why Shmuel is so sad, and why he isn’t happier about having playmates on his side. Although he’s happy to have a friend, Bruno recognizes that he has to keep Shmuel a secret from his family.

Analysis

This is an interesting portrayal of the Holocaust from the perspective of a complacent German boy, but it doesn’t ring authentic because the characters seem to be based on types rather than individuals and because the reader is left with many unanswered questions. Several times Bruno mentions “things he’d hidden [at the back of the wardrobe] that belonged to him and were nobody else’s business.” Is this repetition a subtle comparison with other families who were hiding Jews? Would a German boy really question his father and insist that moving was a mistake? Why isn’t Gretel, his twelve-year-old sister, one of Hitler’s Youth since her father is so devoted to the Fury’s cause? Why is she so interested in reading the newspaper and moving pins around on a map later in the story?

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas can be read at a fourth grade level, but the author himself doesn’t recommend it for nine-year-olds. I heartily agree. The story is technically clean: it lacks explicit content, instances of cruelty are not depicted in detail, and Bruno is oblivious to the implied infidelity that more mature readers would recognize. But thematically it addresses the idea of fences dividing people by race in any time or location in a context that would be better appreciated by older readers.

Overall Rating: 3.5

• Literary/Artistic Rating: 3.5
• Worldview Rating: 3.5

Read more about our ratings here.

Recommended Reading at Redeemed Reader

• Book Review: If you’re looking for a book that introduces the Holocaust to children, Memories of Survival is a much better fit for nine-year-olds.
• Resource: Janie has rounded some great titles describing of Jewish life, history, and culture in our Children of Israel book list.
• Reflection: Which version of The Diary of Anne Frank is the best? Betsy explores this challenging question.

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