Do You Dare?

I must admit I misjudged this book.  I committed the big book sin-I judged a book by it's cover.  I completely ignored the subtitle and pushed this book to the bottom of the list based solely on it's cover and title.  I here admit that I was wrong.

Susan Campbell Bartoletti's The Boy Who Dared is a remarkable read.  It humanizes the Germans during WWII.  I think often we read about the atrocities committed by the Nazi's and group all the Germans together.  We just believe in WWII the Germans were bad.

But history, just like literature, is not black and white-there are not good countries and bad countries.  Helmuth's story is a representation of all German's who stood up against the Nazi regime.  Though technically a work of fiction, Bartoletti sticks to the story of Helmuth Hubener a young German who does everything he can to fight against the Nazi's.  The story is set during Helmuth's time in prison awaiting his punishment and you learn about his actions through a series of flashbacks.

I am a huge supporter of using literature to supplement history classes.  This book should become part of every unit on WWII.  It's important to study history from all perspectives.  Literature is a tool that allows us to do that.

Standing up for what's right...that's kids stuff.