The book of Aron / Jim Shepard.

This is a beautifully written book about a tragic time in
history. Although Jews are brutally treated in Nazi-occupied Warsaw, there
is an optimism and brightness conveyed by the spunky and resourceful character
of young Aron. He and other young
Jews take great risks in bartering and stealing food and other supplies for
their families. They are sometimes
overpowered by other children who are also trying to survive in these
conditions. Aron and his group learned that
it would benefit them to negotiate with and bribe the police: “All three police forces had their sentry
posts, German and Polish on one side and Jewish on the other. We called the Jews the yellow police because
of their armbands and the Poles and Germans the blue and green police because
of their uniforms. …It’s just a matter
of everyone getting their taste. Yellow
took five, blue took ten, and green took twenty zlotys per parcel.” Aron is cared for by the head of an orphanage at the end of his short life, but there is no happy ending. Wonderfully told, but sad.

Booklist
Review: *Starred Review* Aron is a
hopelessly inept Jewish village boy who despairs over his inability to learn
the most basic things. Yet he discovers hidden strengths and talents when his
family moves to Warsaw, and the Nazis erect the walls that formed the Jewish
ghetto, hell on earth for hundreds of thousands of brutally confined, starving
people. Newly enterprising and courageous Aron helps his family, whose
hilarious argumentativeness keenly captures the resiliency of the Jewish
spirit, by scrounging, stealing, lying, and smuggling as corruption and
coercion become the order of the day. With other brave, crafty, and hungry
children, he forms a band of intrepid looters, only to become entangled with a
treacherously venal policeman. As life grows impossibly dangerous and
terrifying, and families are taken away to be gassed, Aron finds refuge with
the real-life Warsaw Ghetto hero, Janusz Korczak, a Jewish pediatrician and
children's advocate who founded an orphanage and refused to abandon those in
his care. Shepard (You Think That's Bad, 2011), a writer of extraordinary
historical vision, psychological acuity, and searing irony, presents a
profoundly moving portrait of Korczak; explores, with awe, our instinct to
adapt and survive; and through the evolving consciousness of his phenomenally
commanding young narrator, exposes the catastrophic impact of war and genocide
on children. Shepard's magnificent tour de force will hold a prominent place in
the literature of compassionate outrage.