Brothers is the story of two young German boys growing up in pre-WWII Germany. The year is 1937 during Hitler's reign of Germany. It is a time of great turbulence and strife. The brothers, Hans and Danny, develop opposing ideologies about the Nazi Reich as a result of their different life experiences and temperaments. The older brother, Hans, is coerced into becoming an SS officer, while his younger brother, Danny, joins a covert resistance movement. This is the story of how the boys learn how to handle this dichotomy. It is a story of love, loyalty, and courage. Finally, this is a story about Fritz, one remarkable dog, who is the personification of all of those characteristics.
Brothers is an historical fiction story that can be enjoyed by anyone from age 13 on up. Due to its rich vocabulary and content it was not designed for younger readers. The story covers many themes, including The Power of One, Bullying, Brotherhood, and True Courage.
TEACHERS - USE THIS BOOK IN YOUR LESSON PLANS!
From the Author:
My goal in writing this book was to teach about the Holocaust as well as to create a tool to be used to improve reading comprehension. A Teachers' Guide, which contains vocabulary, higher order thinking questions by chapter (i.e., inferencing, foreshadowing, deductive reasoning, character analysis), as well as final projects, is available. Instructions on how to request a copy are in the book.