In Breaking Stalin’s
Nose, Sasha Zaichik is a child who is a communist. He respects and agrees with the views of the
communist party and idolizes Stalin.
That is until his world, as he knew it starts crumbling down. Right before he is to join the Soviet Young Pioneers,
Sasha’s father, a member of the secret police, is arrested. From this point on, Sasha’s viewpoint shifts.
Specific events happen, like accidently breaking the nose off of the Stalin
statue at school and lessons taught by he teacher, that put think into
perspective for Sasha. Though the story only takes place over the course of a
couple of days, it is well worth reading.
When I read
this story I was very interested. I
thought the plot was interesting, but I absolutely loved learning about this
part of history. I thought the fact that
the story was told from Sasha’s perspective really made the difference. Though some events seemed unfathomable, this story is a great way to present this
historical information to a younger group of individuals.
This book would be the perfect book to read when
learning about World War II because it presents such a different perspective of
that era. The book provides information
about the war, but also about Russian history and communism. Students could complete reader response
journals when reading this book. This
way they would be able to reflect and analyze major events of the story and of
history. I feel that it would be
important for the students to try and understand Sasha’s perspective to truly
understand the effects communism had on all members of society.
In addition to reader
response journals, students could create presentations on major events and
characters. One of my favorite
activities is called the “Trash Can.”
This is where students make a poster containing all the things that
would be in a specific characters trash bin.
All items would represent the character based on what was read in the
story or known about the person throughout history.
Check out this clip of the author, Eugine Yelchin! Very interesting stuff!
Thanks for stopping by!
Jamie
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