J. Yolen's The Devil's Arithmetic

The Holocaust novel I read with my seventh graders this year is Jane Yolen's The Devil's Arithmetic.  Each grade level reads a book on this topic--to reinforce the social justice teachings at our school.

The students found this very powerful.  Many students had a difficult time trying to wrap their minds around such evil.  My principal popped in for an observation while we talked about the suicide of one of the concentration camp members.  I teach at a Catholic school, so this topic is a little trickier to address.  We basically came up with two conclusions:  God is the one and only judge of who enters the kingdom  &  in the end, it is all about God.

I loved this novel, and wished I could have spent another couple days discussing it with my students.