The Dog in the Wood

November 16, 2009
Ten-year-old Fritz lives in a small village in eastern Germany toward the end of WWII. His father died years earlier in the war, leaving Fritz with his younger sister, mother, a Polish farmhand, and his paternal grandparents (his Grandpa Karl is a Nazi sympathizer). When news reaches the family that the Germans have lost, Fritz's grandparents hang themselves, and sensitive Fritz takes solace in tending to the vegetables in his family's garden until Russian soldiers arrive. Fritz struggles with his identity and what to believe—are the Russians truly the enemies his grandfather believed them to be?—when he befriends Mikhail, a Russian commander stationed at his farm. Things take a turn for the worse when the family is forced to move in with Fritz's maternal grandmother in another village after their farmland is redistricted, and his mother is arrested for purported weapon possession. With nuanced characters (Russian and German alike) and a cautiously hopeful ending, Schröder's well-crafted debut, inspired by her father's childhood in Germany, is especially attuned to her protagonist's internal conflicts and worries, and reveals alarming truths about the far-reaching effects of war. Ages 10–14.

January 1, 2010
Gr 4-6-It is 1945; Fritz, 10, lives with his mother, sister, and father's parents in Soviet-occupied Germany. War has stolen Fritz's father from the family, while every day refugees travel the main road, heading west ahead of the Russian troops. As word arrives of Hitler's death, Fritz's Nazi-sympathizer grandparents hang themselves, and loss blankets the family again. Hope for a better future proves harder and harder to find with each upheaval. First-time novelist Schröder pulls readers through a harrowing period in the life of a young boy, engaging them in episodes taut with danger and uncertainty. This specific transition in historyfrom the chaos of World War II to the oppression of Communist occupationis not often covered in children's fiction, making this book an asset to most collections. Its pace, emotion, and eventual hope also make it a powerful, inspiring read."Bethany Isaacson, Wheaton Regional Library, Silver Spring, MD"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2009
Grades 6-9 Based on the childhood of the authors father at the end of World War II, this action-packed, spare first novel, told through the eyes of a young boy, makes personal the Soviet occupation of what later became East Germany. Ten-year-old Fritzs father perished early in the war, and Fritz lives with his mama, sister, and grandparents in Schwartz, Germany. Together they anxiously await the Russians arrival toward the end of the war. When the inevitable occupation occurs, Fritzs grandmother and grandfather, who was head of the local Nazi party, both hang themselves. Then the Russians take Mama away at gunpoint, and Fritz wonders if he will see her again. Narrated in clipped prose and told through short chapters, the novel is brutal; interspersed between the harrowing experiences are descriptions of difficult farm work, from growing vegetables to slaughtering a pig. The authors note fills in the history and her familys background. The action in this important addition to WWII literature will grab readers, and Schrders story is an excellent, authentic portrait of children in war.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)