Living in a Jewish ghetto in Poland during World War II, 11-year-old Alex watches as he loses friends and family unti1 he is the only one left in the area. He hides in an abandoned building, waiting for his father to return, only venturing out to look for necessities such as food and water. Like Robinson Crusoe living on a desert island, he must be resourceful and clever to survive on his own. Although he is constantly aware of the danger that surrounds him, Alex never realizes how great it really is. His innocence of the horrifying reality outside enables him to cling to the hope that his father will return and to survive against all odds. The 1984 ALA Batchelder Award winner is a hauntingly beautiful novel based in part on childhood experiences of the author, who hid in the Warsaw ghetto from 1939-41. (Age 11 and older)

During World War II a Jewish boy is left on his own for months in a ruined house in the Warsaw Ghetto, where he must learn all the tricks of survival under constantly life-threatening conditions.