John Boyne:

The boy
in the
Striped
Pyjamas
 The summary
The
German story takeswith
family place during
father, the sister
mother, SecondandWorld
son Bruno.War. It describes a
When Brunopacking
in his room comeshis home from school
belongings one daycrates.
into wooden he sees the maid Maria
The
of mother
his father‘s explains
job – to him
he that they
becomes the have to move out
commandant of of Berlin
the because
concentration
camp.
middle Their
of new house
nowhere, so called
Bruno »Out-With«
and his is far
sister awaydofrom
Gretel not Berlin,
like it in
at the
all.
Next
withoutto the house
greeneryAt there
with is a
a Bruno garden
wire fence and
around,on the
where other side
strange a large
people liveplacein
striped
is pyjamas.
not starts
any house first
nearby with and Gretel
children are
to play very lonely
with. andA fewbecause there
dayspeople
later,
Bruno
in striped to explore
pyjamasalong the
because area around
he isfence the
interested wire
what fence
they aresees watch
doing thereboy at
all.
aboutHe is walking
hisAfter
age asitting the wire
cross-legged when he suddenly
behind inseparable
the fence. The boy‘sa little
name is
Shmuel.
visits him every few weeks
afternoon they become
after school. Nodecides
one in Bruno‘s friends
family and
doesBruno
not
know
will this.
moveShe A year
backis to later,
Berlin Bruno‘s
because mother
shechildren
thinks there that
is notGretel and Bruno
a concentration
nice place for
children.
camp andhewhat not happy
is his
happening that her
to theand Jews. live near
Bruno does the
not like thisfriend
idea
because
Shmuel. likes new home especially his new best
One
puts day,
on Bruno
a stripeddecides
pyjamasto play
and with
goes Shmuel
throughon his
a side of
hole in the
the fence.
fence He
to
Shmuel.
people Soon
in striped after they
pyjamas are in
to nextthe
go into camp together,
a big room. Among the soldiers force
theseinpeople all
are
also
dark Bruno and
roomanymore. Shmuel. The moment they are all locked
and suddenly they hear a metallic sound… After that, Bruno is the long,
not seen
Gretel

Gretel is Bruno‘s elder sister. She is three years older than Bruno, that is 12 years
old, but sometimes she pretends to be older than she really is. Bruno calls her »the
hopeless case«, because she is not very nice and friendly sister – she is often cruel,
spoiled and very annoying. She often even humiliates Bruno in front of other people
and calls him stupid.
I think she experienced karma because she was rude and cruel to Bruno. When he
died, she cried every day and was so sad and lonely without him.
Bruno

Bruno is Gretel‘s yonger brother, who is 9 years old. He was born on April 15, 1934.
Bruno is quite small for a nine-year-old boy. He is a happy, playful, friendly, polite
and foolish boy because he believes everything his parents tell him. He loves
explorations and likes to read books about them, so he also wants to be an explorer
when he grows up. Bruno also asks a lot of questions all the time because he is very
cerious and interested in everything that is happening around him.
I think Bruno was a really good friend because he visited Shmuel every day and
brought him food and in the end Bruno also had Shmuel as his best friend forever
which made Shmuel very happy.
Shmuel

Shmuel is a nine-year-old boy from Krakow, Poland, who lives in a concentration

camp called »Out-With«. He is a Jew. He was born on the same day and in the same
year as Bruno. Shmuel is sad and dirty boy. He is hungry, consequently he is very
thin, weak and his skin is a little bit grey. Shmuel is bald and has big, caramel eyes.
He likes animals and loves to spend his afternoons with his friend Bruno.
I think he was very brave because he trusted Bruno and had him as a friend, even
though he was not behind the fence and survived all terrible conditions in the camp.
And I think he did not realise what was going on in the camp. He liked to do what
the children his age do - play.
John Boyne – the author
John Boyne is an Irish novelist born in 1971 in Dublin,
where he still lives. He studied at Trinity College and at
University of East England. John Boyne is best known
for his works for young readers and is considered the
greatest living writer in the world. Some of his famous
works are: The Boy at the Top of the Mountain, Stay
Where You Are and Then Leave, The Tief of Time, Next
of Kin and The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas which won
two Irish Book Awards.
 The message of the story

I think that everyone should read this book because it describes what used to happen
to the Jews and how hard and horrible life was for them in the concentration camps.
This story also shows us that both sides suffer in a war. Besides that, the reader
experiences the friendship between a Jew and a son of a Nazi, who are inseparable
friends despite the high wire fence.

And from this story we can learn that it does not matter what religion and nationality
you belong to that you can have a friend. For children it does not matter who they are
or where they come from, but they just need a friend to play with.
 New words
A maid (služabnica) – a person who works as a servant in a hotel or in someone‘s home

Overpaid (preplačan) – it means that you are paid too much or more than usual

Belongings (osebne stvari) – the things that a person owns

A nap (počitek) – a short sleep, especially during the day

A hallway (hodnik) – a passage inside a building with doors to other rooms or apartments along its sides

An armband (trak za na roko) – a piece of material that a person wears around the arm as a sign ar a symbol of something

A hut (koča, koliba) – a small, simple building, usually consisting of one room

A stall (stojnica) - a large table or a small shop with an open front from which goods are sold in a public place

A crate (gajba, zaboj) - an open box made of wood, plastic or metal, divided into parts to hold something

A plaque (plošča) - a flat piece usually made of metal or stone with writing on it that is attached to a wall or door
 • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Boyne
• https://www.miszalozba.com/avtorji/john-boyne/
• https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=
web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwj_uI6FypH2AhUUD-
Sources wKHd6hCUoQFnoECA0QAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fjohnboyne.
com%2F&usg=AOvVaw3rkFFuVnVZAPj8G0fvyr1_
• https://sl.wikipedia.org/wiki/De%C4%8Dek_v_%C4%8Drtasti_
pi%C5%BEami
• https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/crate
• John Boyne; The boy in the Striped Pyjamas; Random House
Children‘s Publishers UK; 2006; London; Great Britain