The Boy in the Striped Pajamas – John Boyne

The Boy in the striped Pajamas is about a little boy named Bruno who is forced to move from his only known home in Berlin to a new house he knows to be called “Out-With” for his father’s job with the military. As the months go by and Bruno has nothing to do and no friends to play with, he is left looking outside of his bedroom window wondering who all those people on the other side of the fence was in the distance and why they all got to wear striped pajamas all day when he had to get dressed. One day curiosity get’s the better of Bruno and he set’s out to the near end of the fence, where he meets a small boy named Shmuel. The story revolves around the growing friendship of the two boys and their life lessons learned together.

I have been meaning to read this book for about a year now and I am so glad that I did. I had already watched this movie and I absolutely loved this book. I would even say that the movie was nearly just as good. The content is innocent enough that an elementary schooler could read it and still get a story out of it, but still deep enough that an older audience would easily be able to take from the storyline just as well.