~We finished
Milkweed by Jerry
Spinelli today! We discovered that Uri died in the ghetto Uprising of 1943, and Janina did indeed go to the ovens at Treblinka. Uri had been secretly working with the Jewish Resistance. Misha survived on the streets of Poland for a few years, and then made it to America. He married after a few years here, but it did not last due to his problems created by what he had lived through. He lived for many years on the streets of Philadelphia. He was the man who appeared to be talking nonsense at all times, and acting crazy. He just wanted someone to listen to him. After many years on the streets as a homeless man, two old ladies who were also survivors finally listened. They told him it was OK, it was over. A few years later, the daughter he never knew about, Katherine, found him in Philadelphia. She gave him the opportunity to give his grandchild Wendy a middle name. He did not hesitate..... her middle name would be Janina.
~The bread ladies named him Stopthief
~Uri named him Misha
~The orphans named him Stupid
~The Germans named him Filthy Son of Abraham, Dirty Gypsy, and Jew Pig
~The Milgroms gave him a last name
~The man at Immigration named him Jack
~The people on the streets of America named him Crazy
~Wendy Janina named him Poppy..... or Poppynoodle and she is the one to tell him who he really is..... a human being who loves her. To Misha, Wendy is Janina.
I hope you all have enjoyed this book as much as Mrs. Peck and I have!
