Module 5 Book Review #4: Breaking Stalin’s Nose
*This book review was written for a MLS course at SHSU.*
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Yelchin, Eugene. (2011). BREAKING STALIN’S NOSE. New York, NY: Henry Holt and
Company. ISBN 9780805092165
PLOT SUMMARY
The time was finally near. Sasha Zaichik was going to soon officially be a part of the Soviet
Young Pioneers. However, things started to go wrong right before the big moment, including his
Communist father being arrested. He is confused of the events that follow because of this event,
for he thought that his leader, Stalin, was definitely going to help him out of his problems. Sasha
now has a choice to make. Is he going to continue on and still become a Soviet Young Pioneer,
or is he going to choose a different path instead?
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
In Breaking Stalin’s Nose, it is evident that children trust the system, especially Sasha. He is only a child, so of course he is going with the flow of how things are done. Communism is the only thing he has witnessed in life, so it becomes very shocking for him to learn about the dangers and terrors that happen around him.
Yelchin’s penciled illustrations are very cartoon-like, simply representing how innocent Sasha is within the story. So many unusual things have happened within the past twenty-fours for him; therefore, he feels that he is stuck in some upside down world. The illustrations also represent how uniformed that country was and how everyone looked up to Stalin. The broken nose illustration signifies the disappointment Sasha felt when he broke it. To him and everyone else, Stalin is a perfect person. His nose broke off of his statue, which is expressing the fact that his leader had other motives that some people probably don’t agree upon, making him seem not so perfect after all.
Lastly, everyone who did not follow through on orders or what was expected was seen as “the enemy”. Lots of accusations occurred without justice being in place or hearing what people had to say. By adding this, Yelchin stayed authentic to the setting while still having the novel remain as a fiction text.
REVIEW EXCERPTS
*Newbery Honor Book
*Starred Review from The Horn Book: “This brief novel gets at the heart of a society that asks its citizens, even its children, to report on relatives and friends.”
*Review from Kirkus Reviews: “Yelchin's graphite illustrations are an effective complement to his prose, which unfurls in Sasha's steady, first-person voice, and together they tell an important tale.”
In Breaking Stalin’s Nose, it is evident that children trust the system, especially Sasha. He is only a child, so of course he is going with the flow of how things are done. Communism is the only thing he has witnessed in life, so it becomes very shocking for him to learn about the dangers and terrors that happen around him.
Yelchin’s penciled illustrations are very cartoon-like, simply representing how innocent Sasha is within the story. So many unusual things have happened within the past twenty-fours for him; therefore, he feels that he is stuck in some upside down world. The illustrations also represent how uniformed that country was and how everyone looked up to Stalin. The broken nose illustration signifies the disappointment Sasha felt when he broke it. To him and everyone else, Stalin is a perfect person. His nose broke off of his statue, which is expressing the fact that his leader had other motives that some people probably don’t agree upon, making him seem not so perfect after all.
Lastly, everyone who did not follow through on orders or what was expected was seen as “the enemy”. Lots of accusations occurred without justice being in place or hearing what people had to say. By adding this, Yelchin stayed authentic to the setting while still having the novel remain as a fiction text.
REVIEW EXCERPTS
*Newbery Honor Book
*Starred Review from The Horn Book: “This brief novel gets at the heart of a society that asks its citizens, even its children, to report on relatives and friends.”
*Review from Kirkus Reviews: “Yelchin's graphite illustrations are an effective complement to his prose, which unfurls in Sasha's steady, first-person voice, and together they tell an important tale.”
*Review from Publishers Weekly: “Picture book author/illustrator Yelchin makes an impressive
middle-grade debut with this compact novel about a devoted young Communist in Stalin-era
Russia, illustrated with dramatically lit spot art.”
CONNECTIONS
*Teachers and librarians should review the time of Stalin’s ruling of the Soviet Union from1923-1953. Discussions about Communism would also be beneficial to go with this novel.
*The following website gives background information and authentic photographs about several events, settings, and characters that were mentioned in the novel:http://www.eugeneyelchinbooks.com/breakingstalinsnose/index.php
*Students can write an expository essay using only the novel and other research for evidence to explain the perspectives of various citizens of the Soviet Union during that time period.
PICTURE SOURCE
https://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Stalins-Nose-Eugene-Yelchin/dp/1250034108
*The following website gives background information and authentic photographs about several events, settings, and characters that were mentioned in the novel:http://www.eugeneyelchinbooks.com/breakingstalinsnose/index.php
*Students can write an expository essay using only the novel and other research for evidence to explain the perspectives of various citizens of the Soviet Union during that time period.
PICTURE SOURCE
https://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Stalins-Nose-Eugene-Yelchin/dp/1250034108
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