I read this book way too young as a child and it influenced how i thought about ww2 and the holocaust growing up. As you can guess from the description its heavy but very good. ( )

This memoir follows Piri, a young girl in a mid-to-lower class Jewish family living in Hungary during WWII, through hearing rumors of mistreatment of Jews in other areas, to being evacuated from their home and moved into a ghetto, and ends with them being packed into the train headed for Auschwitz. It's sad and moving and terrifying, and, I think, one of the more mature picks for the Newbery Honor list I've read (which are generally books aimed at middle grade readers - I'd put this one firmly in the YA category). Guardedly recommended - it's certainly not a happy read, but fairly well done for what it is. ( )

I've been putting off writing this review because I've been debating on whether to rate it a 2 or a 3. I had thought I had settled on a 3 until I wrote my review and realized that a 2 more accurately portrays my feelings.

I honestly was disappointed in, first, the execution of the story. I felt like it was bogged down with sooo many extraneous, and very unnecessary details (i.e. we learn all about when one of the characters start their period) yet its missing a lot of, what I thought, are the more important parts of their story (i.e. we aren't told anything about their time in Auschwitz?)

It left me wishing that the book had a good editor and wondering if it was dumbed down because it's meant to be a kids story or because certain periods of time were too difficult for the author to rehash??

I also felt like this story was very flat. Even though I do have sympathy for what they went through and endured, I felt like this book did nothing to envoke those emotions from me.

My son and I read this book together as one of his required 6th grade, Newberry Award and Honor reading books and he didn't enjoy it very much either. It's a difficult book to read, especially for kids, with the Hungarian names and the way the story is written. It's really not a good book to introduce your children to the German occupation and Holocaust. I want my son to really understand what happened and feel something when he learns about the Holocaust and this book just didn't do that for either of us. ( )

A 1982 Newbery honor book regarding the holocaust, this is written about events leading up to the deportation of the author's family to Auschwitz in 1944.

Happy and carefree, Piri spends summers with her grandmother in Beregszasz. During 1939 sudden changes occur as it appears the nation is in the debt of Adolf Hitler. Unable to return to Hungary because the borders are closed, we watch as increasingly the slovac nations are swallowed up by Germany.

When Peri is able to return to her family, she learns her father is now in the military and destined for the Russian front.

There is a slowness throughout the story as day by day, little by little, Germany's Hitler becomes increasingly bent on the destruction of the Jews.

Unlike some other holocaust books, this one focuses on events as they unfold, almost in a slow-motion fashion time stands still and then moves a little faster, faster, faster toward the enevitability of destruction.

Recommended. ( )

Upon the Head of the Goat is the memoir of a young Hungarian girl who grew up during the beginning of World War II. The story chronicles her life in three locations, which underscore the events in history. She begins in the Ukrainian countryside, where she is open and free with her grandmother, then moves with her mother to the more closed in city in Hungary as events and atrocities begin to intensify, and finally to the ghetto where all of the Jewish families are thrown into close quarters and squalor to await an unknown fate.

This book differs from many holocaust era memoirs in that it transpires entirely during the buildup of events, and does not describe the authors experiences in a concentration camp or similar situations. Because of this, it provides a more relatable story for the average reader who can never truly empathize with holocaust suffering.

This book does not standout as the most memorable of book I have read of the genre. Perhaps because the author does not seem concerned with time passing as a frame of reference, which makes it sometimes hard to keep in mind exactly how old the author is, or the other characters are in relation to her.

The reading level is not too advanced, and it does not aim to deliberately shock the sensibilities, making it an appropriate read for a younger, perhaps middle school level, audience. ( )

Upon the Head of a Goat is a gripping account of the trials of one Jewish family prior to life in the concentration camp. Whereas there are a plethora of books like Night and Maus, this tale did not focus on the horrors of the camp, which we see so very often depicted across every medium. Instead, we glimpse the slow unraveling of their world. As a history teacher, I knew the effects of WWII before, during, and after stretched wide across Europe. A perfect example of this is the television show Band of Brothers, which followed one platoon as they traversed through much of Europe. We can look at Saving Private Ryan, which occurred in France, or Miracle at St. Anna's, occurring in Italy. However, this is wonderful for students in an American History class, a World History class, or even a geography class, where they can get an in-depth look that goes beyond Auschwitz and Dachau. An entirely different perspective, and a fresh glimpse into a topic that should never be forgotten. ( )

This book is about the life of a little girl and her family and what she went through during the Holocaust. A girl named Piri tells you what happened when her family was first ostracized by her neighbors .Then later picked up from their home and sent to a concentration camp . The book details her emotions and how she as a child handled going through this horrible ordeal . I liked this book because it told me another story then what I'm used to hearing. I don't know if i would suggest this book but others like it tell the whole story of the Holocaust.. ( )

Upon the Head of a Goat" would be useful to show students that World War II involved more than Germany. This book focused on the time just before Germany invaded Hungary up to the point that the family is boarding a train to a concentration camp. It was interesting to see how life changed in small increments. In the beginning the Davidowitz's were like any other family in their town. However little by little their neighbors pulled away and eventually all of the Jews in the area were moved into a ghetto. There are numerous ways this book could be taught across the curriculum. In social studies students could create maps and timelines. They could also research some of the traditions that were in the book. For English I might compare it with Anne Frank, or In Between Shades of Gray (a story of a Lithuanian family deported by Stalin). The uber-organization of the Nazi's lends itself to numerous math lessons using the Nazi records available online. Students could also attempt to figure the interest on life insurance policies that are beginnig to pay, etc.

Upon the Head of a Goat" would be useful to show students the size of World War II. It is also a narrowly focused book This book concentrates on the author's family from the time just before Germany invaded Hungary up to the point that the family boards a train to a concentration camp. It was interesting to see how life changed in small increments. In the beginning the Davidowitz's were like any other family in their town. However little by little their neighbors pulled away and eventually all of the Jews in the area were moved into a ghetto. There are numerous ways this book could be taught across the curriculum. In social studies students could create maps and timelines. They could also research some of the traditions that were in the book. For English I might compare it with Anne Frank, or In Between Shades of Gray (a story of a Lithuanian family deported by Stalin). The uber-organization of the Nazi's lends itself to numerous math lessons using the Nazi records available online. Students could also attempt to figure the interest on peoples life insurance policies that have not yet been paid, etc. ( )

This book tells the story of a young jewish girls life during the outbreak of WWII. Where many books about the holocaust usally deal with the event inside the camps, this book takes a different approach. Over a 5 year period, we are drawn into her life. Not many of the holocaust books talk in any detail about the lives of the people experiencing this event. We see the author lose her childhood and grow up during this time of great tragedy.To see the day to day life reminds you that thes are people we are reading about, just like us. We are also seeing the point of view of people living in Hungry, a country that alied with and was latter occupied by the Germans. This is also different than many account of the Holocaust from those living in Germany and France, which is what is usally covered by many textbooks and history classes. I would use this book for any high school level course. This is a good way to have students learn about the significance of the holocaust to our modern history. We want our students to know that the things that happened in this book our still happening today in other parts of our world. ( )

“Upon the Head of the Goat” is Aranka Siegal’s first hand account of a young girl’s childhood in Hungary at the outbreak of Word War II. This story spans five years, starting from 1939 with a nine-year-old girl trying to enjoy a normal childhood. While she is visiting her grandmother, the war breaks out and she is unable to return to her family. When she is finally able to return, life in her hometown has changed a great deal. The struggles of her and her family in this period are described, including her mother’s failed attempt to send her to the United States. The book ends in 1944 when the family is forced to a concentration camp. Siegal’s story is gripping, fascinating, and heartbreaking. The book is a hard one to put down. Though it may have been written for a young audience, I find it a good read as an adult. Due to the content and presentation, I would find it most appropriate for a high school student.

The Holocaust is a difficult and sensitive topic; it is impossible to talk about with discussing horror, tragedy, and cruelty. It is also an important topic. For one, it is an important lesson in history, one that seems to be repeating itself in the horrific acts of dictators in remote parts of the world. Also, it is a series of events that continues to impact our world. The difficulty comes in how to teach it. Siegal’s story is a first hand account and gives students an idea of what their life would have been like growing up in similar circumstances. Of course, in order to understand the book to its fullest, it would be best for students to have background knowledge on WWII and the Holocaust. I think this would be a very useful resource in a classroom for teaching the impact that the Holocaust had on regularly individuals and families at the most basic level. ( )

This is a very graphic and detailed account of life in a Jewish community during the Nazis take over of Hungary. It is a great book to teach children about family and how important it is to stick together, no matter what. This would be an excellent book to read in a high school history class. As a math teacher the statistics needed for math problems would be time consuming to look up for a lesson. It could be done, but other books are easier to use for math. I have previously read other holocaust books such as Ann Frank, but this book I had never heard of and I am glad I have been exposed to it. ( )

An interesting memoir about a young girl's childhood in Hungary during World War II. I truly loved this book, and would use it in either middle or high school classrooms. The author, Aranka Siegal, is highly qualified to write this book because she wrote about her own experiences.
Meant for middle or high school students, this book is an easy, engaging book that gives an alternative view on what life was like surrounding World War II in Europe. Rather than writing a book that primarily took place in a concentration camp, Siegal's memoir focuses on life before Hitler got to Hungary and before concentration camps. It pictured every day life in rural and suburban/urban Hungarian and Ukrainian life. Even the reader can feel the suspense of Hungary's inevitable capture.
The format of the book, which is broken into three sections, worked well for the atmosphere of the text because each section was about where Piri, the narrator, was. The book was largely based on the localities of the narrator's family members and friends, tying the importance of each of the book's sections to location.
As with other memoirs, there was no glossary, notes, or bibliography was included in this text. ( )

This memoir by Aranka Siegal covers the five years of life from the perspective of a pre-teen Jewish girl up to being delivered to the gates of Auschwitz in the spring of 1944. She and her family lived in Hungary and near-by Ukraine. The unusual focus of this book by a Holocaust survivor is her life prior to being imprisoned by the Nazis. Jews in Hungary managed to stay out of Hitler's clutches, but not his influence, until the May 1944, when the war in Europe had less than a year to continue. Hungary's leader Horthy resisted Hitler's final solution until he was forced out. The Jews in Hungary remained free from round-up, but not from escalating racism and deprivation. Piri's tale of how she and fellow Jews incrementally lost their rights, property, and many lives could be an interesting focus for young readers in discussion groups. Her tale is one of the systematic progressive "dehumanizing" of a group of people. High levels of Nazi officials did actually meet for conferences about how to accomplish the task of making a previously completely integrated segment of their population this group of others who could be despised and robbed of everything. They came up with the plan to do everything in small stages. Piri shared this story from the victim side. It was slow and gradual, with every step seeming survivable. Even at the end at the Brick factory, each family wrapped up their belongings and labeled them carefully so they would be reunited with them in Germany. By May 1944 the Germans knew that most of these Jews who had small children or were too feeble to work would be gassed probably right away. But the Germans set up the ruse about the belongings, because they knew it would keep the Jews hoping for a future and therefore, more controllable. The details of the author's life will be interesting to most young readers and the discussions of how and why her life changed will be mind-opening. ( )

Wow, this book from Aranka Siegal will have you page-turning from the get-go. I have never heard of this book but once I started reading it I was very impressed. It tells the story of a young Hungarian girl, Piri, growing up in Hungary and the Ukraine, where her grandmother Babi lives. She learns the realities of war and anti-Semitism at a very young age, and she is torn in a harsh world that she has no choice but to be in. Her mother tries everything to get her out (even sending to America), but was of no avail. They tried to make do in Hungary but it became too much. She eventually ends up in Auschwitz.

I would certainly use this book with discussing the Holocaust to students. I found it much better than the Dairy of Anne Frank. However, I do not know if I’d replace it with Night, which changed my life. Upon the Head of the Goat will do really well with 8th grade, while Night might be more suitable for high school students. Either way, this book is shows an inside glimpse of life in Hungary under Nazi occupation through the eyes of a young and confused girl. ( )

An interesting but slow moving book describing the discrimination of Jews in Hungry. I enjoyed the relating of the family story of how the protagonist coped with her family struggles of capture and death of close family and friends. This book would serve teachers well as a substitute for the diary of Ann Frank which has been used so much that students seem to be immune to the story. ( )

Upon the Head of a Goat is a plainly told memoir of a 9 year-old Jewish girl, Piri, growign up during WWII. The book is broken up into three sections: Komjaty, a Ukranian village, Beregszasz, her Hungarian home, and The Ghetto where her and her family are forced after their city is evacuated. The tone is matter-of-fact. It is not didactic or preachy; it is the tale of a survivor. The memoir spans the years 1939-1944. The book is Aranka Siegal's tale, yet the main character is named Piri. In the photo at the beginning of the book, she identifies all of the family members, however, she lables herself 'Piri.' Why did she change her name? Was it a nickname or term of endearment given to her by her family? Or, perhaps it provides some distance between author and character when writing? Was using her own name too traumatizing, or,in contrast, by using a personal, private family name, was a more personal ora invoked?
The story has various themes throughout. One is information or the lack thereof. In the beginning of the book Piri is shielded from truth by her grandmother. Newspapers are hidden from her. When Piri sees dead bodies of soldiers in a river, she inquires about the scene. Her grandmother stalls as long as she can until finally she asserts "They're at peace now." The matter is not discussed further. The complication of sending and recieving letters also plagues the families, and they live in a state of constant uncertainity. The Jewish community relies on itself for news of what is to come, though there isn't much. Whenever a new family enters the ghetto, they are prodded for information. Presently, with a 24-hour news cycle and internet access, it is so very difficult for students to imagine what it is to live starved for information. The characters in the book are so desperate for news of their world and yet, they are denied access.
The end of the book is rather abrupt. For readers versed in history, the final page of the memoir is heart-wrenching. There, upon the page, is a word with such unfathomably horrid connotations and images that anyone associated with it is bound to have experienced suffering. In the last paragraph the readers learn that Piri and her family are going to 'Auschwitz.' And while that is basically the end of the book, it is by no means the end of the tale. There is an Afterword that relays what actually becomes of Piri and her family. While I appreciate the firmness with which the Aranka Siegal sticks to the genre of memoir, I grew fond of and concerned about the character and her family. I would have like to know more. ( )

Aranka Siegal’s memoir Upon the Head of the Goat: A Childhood in Hungary 1939-1944 is a depiction of her life as a young girl during the World War II era. Known as Piri, Siegal introduces the audience to her experiences of being a Jew living in Europe and having to face the ravages of the Holocaust.

She enlightens the reader by providing a full context of the increasing perils which climaxed into the mass killing of Jews during this period. Siegal begins with her time spent with her grandmother and leads in to the beginning processes of war. At this point, few of life’s daily activities were disturb, but such events as the bodies floating down river foreshadowed the coming perils not realized by her and her family at the time. This keeps the reader engaged and wondering if the family will be out of the reach of the German forces. Siegal transitions more and more into the dangers of the time and struggles many felt as a consequence of war. In a brilliant way, the context of this work builds the reader a vivid image of living life in an atmosphere of the unknown and unexpected. It infers that no one could have known or anticipated the severe totality of destruction which would befall upon them.

As a resource to teach about the Holocaust, this memoir would be ideal for the reasons stated above. Students would be engaged and enjoy how Siegal narrative would help provide a fully developed perspective of events. One shortcoming would be that the book does not offer leads to other resources that would further expand upon her work and other events of the Holocaust. ( )

I really liked this book. At first I was bored with it. But as I read on I became increasing interested in it. This book, like the one on Marian Anderson, I happen to have auditory stimuli while reading it. I was substituting a U.S. history class and the students were watching a WWII film. So while I read about the Germans and Piri’s story I also was hearing about the Germans and listening to war stories and battle noises. I became more involved in the story. Once they were in the ghetto the story became the most interesting. I was a little disappointment that I didn’t get to know what happened to her in Auschwitz. I would have like to had heard more. I feel a little empty after reading the afterword.
I don’t know if I would use this book in any of my classes. I don’t think I would use it for talking about the Holocaust. It could be helpful for showing how people were treated but I don’t know about using the whole book. ( )

Upon the Head of the Goat tells the story of a young Jewish girl, Piri, as she and her family are experiencing World War II in Hungary. Beginning when Piri is nine years old and ending as she is turning fourteen. It begins with Piri in Komjaty visiting her grandmother, Babi. Komjaty is a small farming village in the Ukraine. Piri was sent to help care for her aging grandmother, but was to return to Hungary to begin school, but due to the war, all trains were shut down. Once the trains started running again and after a visit from her family, Piri returned to Hungary. As the war progressed, the story tells of how food began to be rationed, Jewish children were no longer allowed to attend public school, curfews were put into place for Jews, Jews had to wear a yellow Star of David and on until, the Jews were taken from their homes and put into a concentration camp at the edge of town. From there, they waited for weeks in extremely poor conditions for trains, which ultimately took them to Auschwitz. It is here that Piri and her sister Iboya are separated from the rest of their family (her mother and two young siblings) to work in the kitchen and never sees them again. I would recommend for an older group of students. It is a gripping story and a page turner. ( )

Upon the Head of the Goat is the story of Aranka Siegal's childhood in Hungary before and during the Holocaust. Before the German invasion, Piri(Siegal) and eventually her family spent time with her grandmother in a small farming village in the Ukraine. After returning home to Hungary, the family continued living as normal even though Piri's father had been shipped off to war in Russia. Piri and her family begin to realize the changes happening in Beregszasz, and as the Germans occupied Hungary, the family continued to rely on each other. The mother was a true source of inspiration for her children and for others; refusing to sit and wallow in pity for more than a brief moment. The family is eventuall forced to leave their home and stay at an improvised encampment with all the other Jewish families removed from Beregszasz. This ghetto is the final setting of the story as the family waits for the trains to arrive to take them to Germany.
This story is very detailed, and Siegal paints a picture of strength and resilience within the Jewish community and even within her own family. Mrs. Davidowitz, like her daughters, is steadfast in her convitions and does all within her power to provide for those who are in need; Iboya and her work with Mr. Shwartz secretly transporting refugees is another example. The last few chapters can be difficult to read due to the reader's knowledge of the events to come; the Germans instructing people in the ghetto to pack and address their belongings because they would arrive on a separate train stood my hairs on end.
This memoir a beautiful account of a childhood interrupted by savagery yet plagued by confusion. The commom theme throughout the book is Piri (not unlike the protaganist in Persopolis) does not quite understand what is happening around her and how serious it all is. High school history classes could use the book as an account of the Holocaust and events preceding it, or an English class could read and reflect on the family members, their differences, and their similarities. ( )

This book is an autobiography depicting the childhood and adolescence of Aranka Siegal during World War II. Siegal begins at nine years old, visiting her grandmother’s Ukranian village of Komjaty in 1939 and ends at fourteen en route to Auschwitz. Between these times she spends her days in the urban city Beregszász while time goes by and Hitler advances in power and military presence.
The book is more a memoir than autobiography because it does document her life so much as give her impression of it. The reader wonders if certain events actually occurred the way they are presented or if they were rewritten for dramatic effect. While the story is told chronologically, one quickly realizes the difference between its reflective pace versus the in-the-moment autobiographical tone of The Diary of Anne Frank.
In general, I felt as though Siegal accurately presented what life was like for a Jewish adolescent whose world was caving in as war and ethnic cleansing overtook her homeland. However, the book does present events entirely from her perspective at the time of the war and the reader might be stimied by her child-like view of what is going on. Unless one was familiar with the history of the war, this book may provide an overly simple chronology of events, telling the reader only of political developments through newspaper headlines and brief adult conversations overheard by Aranka. This makes this book less useful as a substitute for a textbook, but reinforces the first person tone and conveys the shock of escalating repression to the reader.
I enjoyed the book's casual usage of Hungarian, Yiddish, and German. Siegal’s presentation of the vocabulary was contextual, and I believe an adolescent reader would have little difficulty understanding what each word meant, though footnotes or a glossary might have been helpful. The overall dialogue flows well within Siegal’s recollection of events, making the memoir an easy read throughout.
While most of the story is chronological, Siegal intersperses memories of her earlier childhood in beautifully written fragments whose imagery brings the reader back in time with the author. She uses all five senses to convey an impression of her childhood that is accessible to the reader, from the smell of the refugee-assisting fishmonger Mr. Schwartz, to the less pleasant memory of the sound of the cattle-car door slamming shut as Aranka and her family are leaving for Auschwitz.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and felt Siegal’s charming depiction of her family’s city survival until deportation was an accurate description of what life was like for many children of the war. Unfortunately, as I mentioned before I do not believe enough historical information is given to make this book as useful as a history text as it could be. A naive reader may not understand the implications of the escalating persecution and thus miss some of the import of the narrative. Additionally, there are very few positive roles portrayed by Gentiles in this book and in particular by Germans. If Aranka did not encounter these in her life, then of course she should not put them in her memoir, but this does present a rather one-sided view of Europeans at the time that I think would obligate the teacher to more actively counterbalance. As a plus, the memoir does communicate a lot that might not be clear from a traditional lesson, such as the porous and jumbled ethnic configuration of central Europe, or what it might be like to grow up in a family that is rather normal to an early Twenty-first Century American student except for generations of experience with pogroms. If presented within a unit, the maturity of an adolescent reader’s ability to comprehend the surrounding elements of the situation would allow for a more accurate understanding of events and circumstance.
I would most likely use this book in a unit on the holocaust for high school students, as a reader any younger may have trouble grasping the impact of the narrative. It is possible that a male student may not appreciate some of the book’s sentiments (the meaning of a ball of yeast, or the significance of Iboya's feminine products being cast out on the floor) as much as a female, though the story as a whole solidly elicits empathy from a reader of either sex. ( )

Piri is a young girl growing up during the time of the German invasion in Hungary. She lives with her mother, older sister, younger brother and younger sister. Her father is a prisoner of war and her mother is doing everything in her power to keep the family together with their spirits up. I really enjoyed reading about Piri and things taking place from her young point of view. I especially liked reading about when the family is taken to the ghetto and how her mother sets up a tent to give them privacy and does little things to make the day to day life more normal and less like an imprisonment. Her mother was a truly inspirational character. I also liked how the book was a snapshot of the events that took place before they were sent to the concentration camps. You rarely hear about the ghettos or what their life was like before the invasion. I really enjoyed this book and think it would be a great addition to any library. ( )

Upon the Head of a Goat tells the story of a young girl growing up in Hungary during the Holocaust. Much of this book takes place before Hungary is invaded by the Germans. As a result we learn a lot about Hungary during this time period before the Holocaust. We learn about the main character, Piri's, family life, interests and her relationship to her religion and her society. Through her travels and stories about place, we get a great sense of physical, and cultural geography of this region. Further, we learn about the terror of the Holocaust through the perspective of the eyes of a character who we have grown to know over a hundred and fifty pages. When entering the second half of the book, titled "The Ghetto" the reader feels a sense of dread. I have read a few books about the Holocaust but this is the first one I have read with such strong character development.
I think this would be a great book to use when teaching the Holocaust, but also know that a lot of additional information would need to supplement this book. When I thought about the possibility of teaching this book I thought it might be interesting to teach this book in two different classes. It would be ideal to teach the first section of the book in a Geography course and the second half in a world history or American History class that covers the Holocaust. This would require a lot of planning to remind students of this character and to stay invested in her story. However, I feel that carrying a story through multiple classes allows a personal reference for kids which makes them feel more a part of history and the world. ( )

Aranka Siegal was awarded the NewBerry Honor award for Upn the Hed o The Goat. Aranka tells the story of her childhood as a Jewish girl in Hungary during World War II. In the story, Aranka goes by her Yiddish name Piri. She describes the daily life of herself and her family of how they lived in fear and of her determined mother to protect her family. The front cover includes a picture of Siegal and her family with the dates that the story takes place. A page is dedicated to the victims and the survivors of the holocost. The title comes from Leviticus 16 which is included on one of the first pages. There is not table of contents, index or glossary. The book ends when the family gets on the train to Auschwitz. There is an Afterword that tells the outcome of the family. The book is comparable to Ann Frank's diary. English teachers could compare the two and how they are written. History teachers could make a timeline of both girls and compare where they were and when did they enter the concentration camps. Investigate could their paths have crossed? Reading classes could compare the differences in how each girl lived. I think that the book was very interesting and would have it in my library if I serviced middle or high school students. ( )