Eugene Yelchin

This has been in my pile of to reads for a while and I kept putting it off due to the war in Ukraine -- with Russia in the news I just didn't want to revisit the Soviet era. This was a fantastic and important read! Simple enough for kids to understand, but with some grown-up themes.

For young readers who only learn about the Soviet Union in history class, Yelchin gives a funny, sobering, and accurate depiction of what life was like in late 1950s-early 1960s in the Soviet Union. Also, the description of Soviet state-sponsored anti-Semitism is a big focus in this book. Such views are evident today in Russia and in looking at this through the eyes of a boy -- it is terrifying and outrageous.

The Genius Under the Table is a wonderfully illustrated memoir for young readers, but make no mistake, this is a book for adults as well.… (more)

This Newbery Honor book is similar in some ways to Lois Lowry's [b:The Giver|3636|The Giver (The Giver, #1)|Lois Lowry|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1266448651s/3636.jpg|2543234]. Both books feature a young boy who has been taught to believe the world is a certain way, but by the end of both books, his worldview has been turned upside down.

There's a huge difference between The Giver and Stalin's Nose, though. One is science fiction and the other is historical fiction. I worry that, while the sci-fi setting of The Giver succeeds with kids, the historical fiction might be a little too dense for readers as young at the main character, Sasha, who's 10. Most American schools don't exactly teach Russian history to 4th graders, nor have they probably broached subjects like Communism or Stalin.

If a kid has either curricular support or some intrinsic motivation to research the actual history, this is a very good book. I'm just not sure how well it stands on its own for a young audience.… (more)