Breaking Stalin's Nose

Breaking Stalin’s Nose, by Eugene Yelchin, 2011

Yelchin, Eugene. Breaking Stalin’s Nose. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2011. ISBN13: 978-0805092165

Cover art by Eugene Yelchin,
image from goodreads.com

Ages 9 and up

On the first page of Breaking Stalin’s Nose by Eugene Yelchin, 10-year-old Sasha Zaichik is writing a letter to his hero, Joseph Stalin. More than anything else, Sasha wants to be a Young Pioneer to help Comrade Stalin bring true communism to Russia. But before he is to be inducted into the elite group of young communists, Sasha’s world is turned upside down. In the dead of night, Sasha’s father, who works for State Security, is taken away by guards from the agency, for reasons unknown. With his father gone and his mother long dead, he leaves his communal apartment (komunalka) in Moscow and seeks out his aunt, only to be rejected by her out of fear for the lives of her family. Sasha finds himself alone. The next day at school, as he anticipates the induction ceremony to become a Young Pioneer, he daydreams and causes an accident that has dire consequences for himself and others. Will Sasha become a Young Pioneer? Will he be reunited with his father? The harsh realities of Stalin’s Great Purge (1936-1939) are revealed in this riveting story about a boy whose faith in his leader and commitment to his country are challenged in the face of adversity.

This brief novel, which covers two dramatic days in the life of a Soviet boy, is gripping and intense. It is a Newbery Honor book for 2012, and is sure to keep the attention of upper elementary, middle school, and even high school students interested in history, good storytelling, and the drama of children trying to cope with crisis. Yelchin also illustrates the book with black and white drawings that portray the severity of Soviet life during that time. In his Author's Note at the end of the book, Yelchin reveals his own harrowing experiences with the communist government in Russia while he was still living there as a young man in the 1960's, and what he has in common with the main character of his book, Sasha Zaichik.

Reading/writing/history connections:

·      For World History class, research on Stalin’s Great Purge could compliment the reading of this book of historical fiction.

·      History and Government classes could read this book as an example of what life was like under the harsh communist regime ruled by Joseph Stalin.

·      The psychology of fear that prevailed among the Soviet people during this time in their history is a topic that students could reflect on and write about – what do they think life in America would be like if we were all under the constant threat of being turned in by neighbors, friends, and relatives for “un-American” behavior?

·      Based on what they learned from reading the book, upper elementary students could reflect on and write about what life was like in Sasha’s Soviet Union.

Awards:

Newbery Honor Book, American Library Association (2012)

Junior Library Guild Selection (2012)

Distinguished Work of Historical Fiction Award, Children's Literature Council of Southern California (2012)

Women’s National Book Association’s Judy Lopez Memorial Award (2012)

Capitol Choices Book, Noteworthy Books for Children (2012)

Top Ten Historical Fiction for Youth by Booklist (2012)

The Best Children’s Books of 2011 by the Horn Book Magazine

The Best Children’s Books of 2011 by Washington Post

Reviews:

“Mr. Yelchin has compressed into two days of events an entire epoch, giving young readers a glimpse of the precariousness of life in a capricious yet ever-watchful totalitarian state.” –Wall Street Journal

“A miracle of brevity, this affecting novel zeroes in on two days and one boy to personalize Stalin's killing machine of the '30s. …black-and-white drawings march across the pages to juxtapose hope and fear, truth and tyranny, small moments and historical forces, innocence and evil. This Newbery Honor book offers timeless lessons about dictatorship, disillusionment and personal choice.” – San Francisco Chronicle

"Picture book author/illustrator Yelchin (Won Ton) makes an impressive middle-grade debut with this compact novel about a devoted young Communist in Stalin-era Russia, illustrated with dramatically lit spot art." – Publishers Weekly

“…this brief novel gets at the heart of a society that asks its citizens, even its children, to report on relatives and friends. Appropriately menacing illustrations by first-time novelist Yelchin add a sinister tone.” – Horn Book, starred review

“Yelchin’s graphite illustrations are an effective complement to his prose, which unfurls in Sasha’s steady, first-person voice, and together they tell an important tale.” – Kirkus Reviews

"Yelchin skillfully combines narrative with dramatic black-and-white illustrations to tell the story of life in the Soviet Union under Stalin.” – School Library Journal

If you want to learn more about author Eugene Yelchin, here is a link to his website:

http://www.eugeneyelchinbooks.com/index.html

For teachers and students who want to learn more about Stalinist Russia during the period the book is set in, Eugene Yelchin created a separate website for Breaking Stalin’s Nose that provides a lot of good background on that period:

http://www.eugeneyelchinbooks.com/breakingstalinsnose/index.php

Here’s the publisher’s book trailer for Breaking Stalin’s Nose:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nV6gghKDuWY