The Devil's Arithmetic

i did not like it it was boring

Thirteen-year-old Hannah Stern is a modern Jewish girl living in New York, who doesn't understand the importance of her heritage and is embarrassed by her grandfather's reaction to any mention of the Holocaust. There aren't any concentration camps now, she tells her mother, so what's the point of remembering? During the Seder, Hannah is invited to open the apartment door for the prophet Elijah...and is whisked back in time to Poland, circa 1942. When the Nazis descend upon the Jewish village where she finds herself, Hannah knows what they're up to but no one will listen. Hannah is forced to endure life in a concentration camp. Throughout her journey, Hannah learns valuable lessons about her heritage, appearance vs. reality, memory, and more. Her growth and maturity will inspire readers, especially near the end of the book. Other characters mentor Hannah along the way, showing great courage and sacrifice. The village's rabbi reminds his congregants they are in God's hands. Hannah makes a commitment to remember the Holocaust once she returns from time travel. Of course, the major issue here lies in the Nazis' treatment of Jewish inmates. It's actually far less graphic than it could be, but abuse is still quite prevalent. Readers get a full picture of dehumanizing procedures such as forced stripping, tattooing, and hair-shaving. Prisoners are continually physically abused, and some are hung as the result of a failed escape attempt. A guard carries a child into gas chambers. Other prisoners, including a three-year-old, die from malnutrition and disease. If your children are ready to navigate these, consider holding a discussion after they read the book. You will find plenty of great fodder.

I thought that both the book and the movie were excellent individually but better as companion pieces together. I am a student of holocaust literature and I thought that in many ways the Devil's Arithmetic gave me a better sense of the experience than most of the "adult" materials I have read or watched. I used the book and the movie with my own children and thought that the learning experience was that good that I keep a couple of copies of the book and the movie in my personal library to lend out to others. The kids who have borrowed them have to supplement the Illinois required Holocaust education have asked me to lend them more and discuss their further questions.

My 5th grader is reading this book in school, so I decided to read along. I found it to be a riveting, deeply moving story on many levels. At the most obvious level, it allows the reader to identify with the horrors of the holocaust from a relatable individual's perspective, and, as a result, to wrestle with humanity's capacity for such inhumane behavior. However, the book also offers a useful platform for learning about writing and story-telling. Yolen elegantly weaves important cultural themes like the value of story-telling and the responsibility of remembering into many layers of the narrative. She also effectively captures typical adolescent ingratitude and self-centeredness in Hannah's character, just to transform those qualities through her virtual experience as Chaya. Overall, the book serves as a wonderful teaching tool for history, morality, cultural resilience and personal growth.

Great story for older children to help children understand what other's can do.

It was ok. It didn't amaze me but I cant say i didn't like it.

i think this is good because it teaches you alot about the past and how people left at the time