Yelchin, Eugene. Breaking Stalin’s Nose. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company.2011.
ISBN 978-0-8050-9216-5

Plot Summary:
This historical fiction book tells the story a of young boy growing up in the Soviet Union when it is under the reign of Joseph Stalin. Ten year old Sasha Zaichik is excited to join the Stalin’s youth organization, the Young Pioneers. It is an event he has been dreaming of as long as he can remember but when his father is arrested at their home, Sasha begins to question the political ideals that he has always believed. His father’s arrest sets off a chain of events that alters the young boy’s entire belief system about the Communist Party in the Soviet Union. In just 2 days, Sasha's live changes dramatically and all his believes are altered.

Critical Analysis:

Born and educated in Russia, Eugene Yelchin creates a wonderfully believable character in young, naive Sasha. Young Sasha narrates the story while telling the reader about Communistic Society and the living conditions people had to endure in this society. Sasha grew up in this society where people were thankful for even the poorest conditions while not even realizing how bad the conditions in Russia were under Stalin. Sasha lets the reader feel the type of control the Communistic party had over the all of the people. When Sasha is eating a carrot given to him by a neighbor, he states,

"I take small bites of carrot to make it last; the carrot is delicious. I wonder what it's like in a capitalist country. I wouldn't be surprised if children there had never even tasted a carrot".

This shows that Sasha has no idea how other countries live or how bad his living conditions actually are. The plot of this story is fast paced and keeps the reader wondering what has become of Sasha's dad or what is to become of him. The plot begins with Sasha waiting for his dad to come home while he describes all the people that live in the house with him. Then the plot moves quickly in two days from his dad being arrested to a snowball fight at school and the breaking of Stalin's nose. This plot is appropriate for children around the age 9-14 which would consist of upper elementary and middle school age. The details are easily stated and understood. There are only a few historical parts that might be confusing for children if they have no background knowledge about Stalin or Russia. The story would still be enjoyable for the reader even if every detail is not completely understood and might ignite some research or more reading on the subject. The setting is Russia 1950's  where Yelchin describes the scene to the reader with statues of Stalin are all over the area, crowded streets, and lining up for food rations. The black and white illustrations by Yelchin are extremely helpful to the reader to visualize and understand the setting. 

The theme of this story is independence and of course, the struggle of right and wrong. Sasha learns in several days that all he has known is a lie and he will do anything for his father. At the end of the book, the author's note  provides some background on Stalin's reign of terror, and how few people of Yelchin's generation were not aware of the scale of Stalin's crimes, which were carried out in secrecy.  There is a website for the book and it goes in much detail of events and characters in the story.  In his author's note, Yelchin states "Like my main character, I wanted be a Young Pioneer. My family shared a communal apartment, My father was a devoted Communist" which gave Yelchin the ablility to write honestly about Russia because he lived there and had experienced many similar hardships like Sasha. There are quite a few books about Communist Russia which focus on the Holocaust and Hitler but few about Russia during Stalin's reign. This  book is a needed subject in literature to expose reader to an important time period in Russia.


Connections:
Read:
A Bag of Marbles by Joseph Joffo
Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepety
*Other books illustrated by Eugene Yelchin:
The Next Door Bear.
Heart of a Snowman.

Ghost Files: The Haunting Truth.

Website: http://www.eugeneyelchinbooks.com/breakingstalinsnose/

Awards/Reviews:

• 2012 Newbery Honor Book
• 2012 Junior Library Guild Selection
• 2012 Distinguished Work of Historical Fiction Award - Children’s Literature Council of Southern California
• 2012 Women’s National Book Association’s Judy Lopez Memorial Award
• 2013 KS William Allen White Award 
• The Best Children’s Books of 2011 by Hornbook
• The Best Children’s Books of 2011 by Washington Post
• 2012 Capitol Choices Book, Noteworthy Books for Children

Starred Review in Hornbook: ““…this brief novel gets at the heart of a society that asks its citizens, even its children, to report on relatives and friends. Appropriately menacing illustrations by first-time novelist Yelchin add a sinister tone.”

San Francisco Chronicle: “A miracle of brevity, this affecting novel zeroes in on two days and one boy to personalize Stalin's killing machine of the '30s. …black-and-white drawings march across the pages to juxtapose hope and fear, truth and tyranny, small moments and historical forces, innocence and evil.”

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books:  "The cat-and-mouse chase that pits Sasha’s whole world against him will rivet middle-grade readers, but this title will hold special appeal for older students whose grasp of content outstrips their reading proficiency."

Wall Street Journal:  “Mr. Yelchin has compressed into two days of events an entire epoch, giving young readers a glimpse of the precariousness of life in a capricious yet ever-watchful totalitarian state.”