The Boy on the Wooden Box

Title: The Boy on the Wooden Box

Bibliographic information:

Author: Leon Leyson

• Print Length: 241 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1442497815
• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (August 27, 2013)
• Publication Date: August 27, 2013
• Language: English

Reader's Annotation:

The Holocaust memoir of the youngest person on Schindler’s List .

Interest Level: Ages 8-18

Lexile level: 1000L

Awards, if applicable:

Sidney Taylor Honor Book, Younger Readers

Plot summary:  Leon Leyson had a very happy childhood in Poland, until 1939.  When Leon was ten, the Nazis invaded Poland and forced his family into the Krakow ghetto.  Soon, they found themselves in the power of Amon Goeth, the sadistic commandant of one of the most notorious concentration camps - Plaszow.  With perseverance, and a little luck, Leon, as well as his parents and two of his siblings survived - on Schindler’s list.

Critical review:  The story - a young boy who is forced to grow up rapidly due to historical evil - is remarkable on its own.  But what makes it exceptional is the tone - while the speaker is candid about the atrocities he witnessed, but he isn’t bitter about them.  Instead, he talks about the power of perseverance and faith in a way that is highly relatable.  

Why include it?

It’s hard to talk about the holocaust - but this compelling memoir is one of the few that bridges the gap between a book that is honest and a book that can be read by children.