The Island on Bird Street by Uri Orlev
"The Island on Bird Street" by Uri Orlev is a poignant historical fiction novel that tells the story of Alex, an eleven-year-old boy navigating survival in the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II. As he awaits rescue from his father amid the devastation and chaos of Nazi occupation, Alex's experiences reflect both the harsh realities of life in the ghetto and the resilience of the human spirit. The narrative, drawing from Orlev's own childhood experiences, emphasizes themes of loss, survival, and the moral complexities faced by individuals in dire circumstances.
The novel utilizes a mix of simple yet compelling prose that is accessible to young readers, enriched by a map of the ghetto to provide geographical context. Alex's solitary existence is marked by his companionship with a pet mouse and his books, while he learns survival skills and encounters both danger and moments of human connection outside his makeshift home. The story not only highlights the trauma of the Holocaust but also serves as a reminder of the broader themes of persecution and the fight for dignity.
Recognized for its literary merit, "The Island on Bird Street" is a significant work in Holocaust literature for young audiences, having received accolades such as the Mordechai Bernstein Award in Israel. The book is frequently included in educational curricula, fostering discussions about history, empathy, and the importance of remembering the past.
Subject Terms
The Island on Bird Street by Uri Orlev
First published:Ha-I bi-Rehov ha-tsiporim, 1981 (English translation, 1984)
Subjects: Coming-of-age and war
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Adventure tale and historical fiction
Time of work: 1943-1944
Recommended Ages: 10-13
Locale: Warsaw, Poland
Principal Characters:
Alex , an eleven-year-old who must learn to survive on his own when he is separated from his fatherFather , Alex’s surviving parent, who desperately seeks to save himBoruch , an old Jewish worker who saves Alex’s lifeStashya , a young Jewish girl with whom Alex falls in loveBolek , a Polish resistance worker who helps the Jews
Form and Content
Uri Orlev’s The Island on Bird Street is the inspiring story of an eleven-year-old boy’s fight to survive alone in the devastated Warsaw Ghetto while he waits to be rescued by his father. Through the eyes of the narrator-protagonist, young readers experience the best and the worst of human behavior in this realistic work of historical fiction. The novel’s authenticity is genuine since it is partially based on the author’s own experiences during World War II. Orlev spent the years from 1939 to 1941 hiding in the Warsaw Ghetto with his mother and younger brother. The Nazis killed his mother and imprisoned him and his brother at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
In a moving introduction, Orlev asks readers to pretend that they live in a place where they are persecuted because they are different in some way from others. He reminds his readers, “It doesn’t have to be the Warsaw Ghetto, because there are other ghettos, too.” A map of the ghetto provides a visual aid in identifying the major points of action. Chapter headings, each with the imprint of a bird, effectively summarize each chapter. A table of contents is included.
Hillel Halkin has provided a smooth, seamless English translation of the original novel in Hebrew. The novel is easy to read, literate, and full of believable dialogue. Orlev’s tone is neutral, almost dispassionate at times.
Alex, the protagonist, learns his father’s secret: Father has a gun to use against the Germans. His mother has been missing for a week, and Father is determined to save his son’s life. Life is hard for those few who remain in the ghetto. Alex’s only friends are his books and his pet white mouse. Unexpectedly, the Nazis begin rounding up the remaining workers at the rope factory for shipment to a concentration camp. Boruch, an old man, manages to slip Alex a gun and hurriedly instructs him to hide in the ruins at 78 Bird Street until his father finds him—whether it takes a week, a month, or a whole year.
With only his mouse for company, Alex learns survival skills. Through a combination of luck and ingenuity, he avoids Nazis and Polish looters while searching out food, water, and other survival needs. He makes his home, which he calls his “island,” in the remains of a second-floor apartment that is accessible only by ladder. From this vantage point, the lonely boy watches the day-to-day routines of Poles who live outside the walls. Despite his fears, he instinctively helps Jewish resistance fighters who are fleeing from the soldiers and is forced to kill in their defense. He leaves the ghetto for the first time to find a doctor to help a wounded man.
As he becomes more confident, Alex increasingly leaves the ghetto to shop and play with other young people outside the walls. He is befriended by Bolek, a member of the Polish resistance, but refuses to leave 78 Bird Street. He meets Stashya, his first love. Alex is heartbroken when her family moves away. His existence becomes precarious, however, as Polish families move into the now-deserted ghetto. He is caught outside and hides from intruders, only to recognize his father’s voice. He has waited five months.
Critical Context
For Uri Orlev, survivor of the Belsen-Bergen death camp, the Holocaust was his childhood. Through his writings for young people, he re-creates the past as a warning to future generations. The Island on Bird Street is an excellent addition to Holocaust literature for young people. When originally published in Israel, the novel received the 1981 Mordechai Bernstein Award, the highest award for children’s literature given by the University of Haifa. It was also cited as a 1982 International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) Honor List Book for Israel. The novel has been widely used in the Holocaust curricula in middle and secondary schools.
Another work written by Orlev and translated by Hillel Halkin is Lydia, Queen of Palestine (1995), a novel based on the life of the Israeli poet Arianna Haran. Ten-year-old Lydia describes her childhood misadventures, her distress over her parents’ divorce during World War II, and her life after the war in Palestine. In Orlev’s The Lady with the Hat (1995), seventeen-year-old Yulek, the only member of his immediate family to survive the German concentration camps, joins a group of Jews going to live on a kibbutz in Israel; unbeknownst to Yulek, his aunt living in London is looking for him. In The Man from the Other Side (1991), fourteen-year-old Mark Marek and his grandparents, who live on the outskirts of the Warsaw Ghetto in World War II, shelter a Jewish man just before the Jewish uprising.