Maus: A Survivor’s Tale
Art Spiegelman
1993
Published by Pantheon
If I was still a teacher (and thank god I’m not), we’d so be reading this book in my class. Maus is the perfect teaching tool. It’s in a format that kids can relate to (graphic novel), it’s full of history (it tells of one family’s experiences during the Holocaust, and the psychological effects on both the survivors and their son), it’s full of symbolism (Jews are represented by mice, Germans as cats), and I think it’s the perfect example of how un-boring history can be when it’s presented in an interesting and creative manner.
P.S. for Trish: No, it didn’t make me cry. Surprisingly, it’s been awhile since I’ve cried over a book.
I’m afraid I didn’t enjoy this one, and I’m so glad we never read it in school…
I love the way you reviewed this one.
I wish, too, that teachers I had were creative and did things like this to teach. Would have made things more interesting for me probably!
I haven’t read this in a long time, but I remember not liking it so much. But I think what I didn’t like was the use of mice for the graphic format! I should try it again.
Ever since I first heard of this I’ve wanted to read it but my library never has it!
I love the super-quick, super-positive review. I thought Maus was quite excellent as well; although I would have preferred more Holocaust less father-son stuff. That is clearly a personal preference for me though since I had the same problem with The Film Club.
Maus I and II are so powerful and so accessible for students. I am glad you liked it
I have heard that this book is really amazing and I hope to read it sometime soon. I also think that it’s neat that they use cats and mice to represent the Nazis and the Jews, it does seem fitting, and very, very creative.
I have a friend who teaches high school, and he always uses this one in his class. Rocketgirl started reading it this weekend and quickly put it back down claiming, “Maybe I’ll appreciate this when I’m older.” She’s not a huge fan of graphic novels, though. Holocaust, yets, graphic novels, no.
This definitely sounds interesting — I might have to check this out to give as a gift to my nephew and niece!
I really want to read this one!
It’s been awhile since I’ve read this but I still remember it vividly.
I’m definitely going to use this book one day in my teaching.
I’m been pondering introducing this one to my 11 y/o homeschooled son. He is interested in World War II (lots of big guns and tanks you know
), but I’ve avoided delving into the Holocaust too much with him. This sounds like a fairly gentle but intelligent introduction. Just curious, if you were teaching, which grade level would you choose this for?
I am wondering how long it took you to formulate and write this review as I know you have had some angst about how to talk about it. I think you did really well in briefly saying why you recommend it!
I’m so glad you loved it! Everytime someone hates Maus I die a little inside
Humm. I’m not sure how I’d react to the Jews as mice and Nazis as cats…. I have gone back and forth about reading this and I guess I’m just going to have to give it a try one of these days.
I doubt I’ll ever read this one, but whenever I see a post about it I just think of Fieval! The little Russian Jewish mouse…did you see those movies?
I’ve been meaning to read this for ages. I really must get around to it.
I’ve heard a lot of good things about this one, and it does sound like it could be a creative teaching tool. I hope it’s okay to link to this post on War Through the Generations.
Honestly I don’t remember if I cried or not. Probably–because I’m a baby like that.
Did you read II also? I had the complete volume so I read them together. Definitely one to teach in school!
You figured out how to review it!
All I have to say is that a) I agree with the teaching stuff completely and b) you NEED to read Maus II. It gets even better, if you can believe that.
I really must read this one day.