The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

Bruno has a happy life in Berlin, so is shocked when he learns his family are moving to 'Out-With'. One day Bruno is out exploring the bleak surroundings of his new home and befriends a boy of his own age: Shmuel, who lives on the other side of a fence which surrounds a large camp in the grounds.

Shmuel and the other inmates of the camp are all under-nourished and wear a uniform of striped pyjamas. Bruno is not sure why they are there or why he is forbidden to mix with them but the boys friendship grows.

Their friendship sustains them both but ultimately ends in tragedy when Bruno crawls underneath the fence to help Shmuel search for his missing father. Suitable for readers older than the book's nine-year-old protagonist, the story serves as a compelling and shocking symbol of the futility and horror of the holocaust.