Jerry+Spinelli

AUTHOR: Jerry Spinelli

BOOK SUMMARY:

In the book wringer that grew up ion a town that shoots pigeons has to live with the fact that he’s going to be the only boy in town that wont be at the annual Pigeon Day wringing the necks of the pigeons. His buddies soon discover Palmer is hiding a pet pigeon in his room. He finds friendship with Dorothy, the girl across the street. Palmer finds it is hard not to go along with the crowd. . Palmer eventually defies the gang by shouting: "No nothing! No Treatment! No wringer! No Snots! My name is Palmer!" By refusing to take the abusive Treatment, refusing to be a wringer, and finally, by reclaiming his own name.

Book Review Title: Milkweed Author: Jerry Spinelli Stop Thief is doing everything he can to survive, stealing from bakeries, grocery stores , and pick pocketing wealthy people throughout the streets or Warsaw. He runs into a red-haired boy named Uri, an orphaned Jew who is living in the basement of an abandoned barbershop. Uri tells the boy that he must not run into trouble, especially with the German troops patrolling the streets. He creates a false identity for him, naming him Misha Pilsudski, and telling him that he is a Gypsy from a large family originally from Russia. Many Jews in the city were taken to all-Jew ghettos. The living conditions in the city were also very bad, especially for the many orphans wandering the street. Misha, being very skinny and small, manages to find a 2 brick wide hole in the wall and is able to squeeze through it in order to go into the streets of Warsaw and smuggle. In the ghetto, Misha meets up with a girl named Janina Milgrom. Her father takes Misha in as his son. Misha changes his name from Misha Pilsudski to Misha Milgrom. In the ghetto, Janina's mother dies of starvation. Soon the Germans begin to "resettle" everyone in the ghettos when they are actually deporting them. Many people believe they are taking them somewhere else to live in peace. While out smuggling, Misha sees Uri, who is not residing in the ghetto because he had red hair and did not seem to be a Jew. Uri warns Misha not to go on the deportation trains, or he will get killed. Misha tells Janina's father this and is told to bring Janina and run away. They disobey and are scolded repeatedly, but still don't leave. One night, on their way back, they find that the wall has been covered up and they can no longer get inside. They manage to rush in through the station, where Janina runs off again to go to "Candy Mountain". Misha tries to keep up with her, but the last time he sees Janina is when a Jackboot, or Nazi soldier, throws her into one of the boxcars to be taken to the prison camps. He turns to see another Jackboot pointing a gun at his face. Misha realizes it is Uri, and he is shot. Misha wakes up in a bomb crater, wondering why he wasn't dead. He touches his ear, and realizes that Uri shot his ear off instead. After wandering around he is taken in by a farmer and lives with him for three years. When the war ends, he leaves, coming and going, and stealing what he can to sell to people. When Misha gets enough money, he buys a ticket to America. There, he stands on street corners and talks nonsense, getting him fired from the few jobs he finds. On the corners, he meets his future wife. Because his behavior gets to her after awhile, she ends it the marriage didn't even last a year.