The Boy on the Wooden Box by Leon Leyson

Enter the world of the World War II Poland, and the life of Leon Leyson (born Leib Lejzon) as he shares this memoir of what it was like to be Jewish in Krakow, Poland during the time of the German Nazi occupation.  Leyson doesn't hold anything back as he tells his story of living in idyllic Narewka until his family moved to Krakow when he was eight, and then the changes in fortune his family encountered while living in the city in the late 1930s.  

The Boy on the Wooden Box (Lexile: 1000; Interest Level: Grades 5-8) is a true account of a young boy's survival of what will be known as the Holocaust, and it is also a tribute to the man who made his survival (and that of some 1200 other Jews) possible, Oskar Schindler.  Leyson's father was lucky enough to get work at Schindler's enamel factory early in the German occupation, and that may have made all of the difference.  Anyone interested in history, particularly the time of World War II, should read this book.  It gives great perspective on a dreadful period in world history, and it provides insight into the strength of human character. This is the only nonfiction book that is a 2015 Indian Paintbrush Nominee. (231 p.)

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