Maus I by Art Spiegelman

• ISBN: 978-0394541556
• Plot summary: Art Spiegelman decides to reconstruct his father's survival of the Holocaust. Through a series of visits to his father's house, he engages him to divulge information of his life before the war, such as how he met his mother. His mother comes from a fairly well connected and well off family and Art learns that this is how they stayed out of concentration camps so long. In the graphic novel, the Jews are portrayed as mice and the Nazis are portrayed as cats. His father Vladek is able to work among other Polish Jews secretly and uses most of his savings bartering to stay hidden in various people's houses. His brother gets taken by a family friend who says he can take him a way to be better hidden, but in the end, he ends up in a concentration camp and dies. Eventually, his mother and father also get taken to a concentration, and even though they are alive, life doesn't exactly end up so well for his mother and father. This is where the story ends, to be continued in the second graphic novel.
• Critical evaluation: It was interesting to see this kind of story told in a graphic novel format. Since the text is more brief, Spiegelman had to convey an incredible amount of information in a short period of time. On top of that, the Holocaust survivor tale has been told many times, but every experience was individual and Spiegelman had to convey the intimate experience his family went through. He is successful in unveiling the inklings of his parents relationship, but also the kind of life his father leads now with his new wife. Even though the story revolves around adults, most young people would have studied this time period in a historical context and it might be an interesting way to show them another story in a different format.
• Reader's annotation: Art sets out to tell the story of his father's experience of the Holocaust and learns a bit about his parents at the same time.
• About the author: Art Spiegelman is a comic artist who won the Pulitzer Prize for Maus.
• Genre: Adult/Cross over novel
• Curriculum ties, if any: History (Holocaust discussions)
• Booktalking ideas:
• What other historical stories would you like to see told in a comic format?
• Reading level/interest age: Adults but this would appeal to younger people.
• Challenge issues: Violence
• Why was this item included? This is frequently checked out at my library by teens.