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The Boy on the Wooden Box  By  cover art

The Boy on the Wooden Box

By: Leon Leyson, Marilyn J. Harran - contributor
Narrated by: Danny Burstein
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Publisher's summary

Leon Leyson (born Leib Lezjon) was only 10 years old when the Nazis invaded Poland and his family was forced to relocate to the Krakow ghetto. With incredible luck, perseverance and grit, Leyson was able to survive the sadism of the Nazis, including that of the demonic Amon Goeth, commandant of Plaszow, the concentration camp outside Krakow. Ultimately, it was the generosity and cunning of one man, a man named Oskar Schindler, who saved Leon Leyson's life, and the lives of his mother, his father, and two of his four siblings, by adding their names to his list of workers in his factory - a list that became world renowned: Schindler's List.

This, the only memoir published by a former Schindler's List child, perfectly captures the innocence of a small boy who goes through the unthinkable. Most notable is the lack of rancour, the lack of venom, and the abundance of dignity in Mr Leyson's telling. The Boy on the Wooden Box is a legacy of hope, a memoir unlike anything you've ever read.

©2013 Leon Leyson (P)2013 Simon & Schuster
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

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What listeners say about The Boy on the Wooden Box

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Schindler's List though a child's eyes

Leon Leyson, the youngest child on Schindler's list, has shared the story of his survival in this simple, heartbreaking and uplifting autobiography. His pluck and determination are amazing as he moves through the Krakow ghetto, Plazow work camp and then on to the work camp in Brněnec, Czechoslovakia under Schindler's protection. I read and loved Schindler's Ark, but this being non-fiction and though Leon's eyes was even more touching to me. It appears in the children's and YA sections... probably too intense for under middle school would be my guess... but as an adult I couldn't stop listening and it didn't feel like a children's book. My only complaint was I didn't want it to end.

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7 people found this helpful

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Audio doesn't match book!

While listening to this audio book with my students I noticed that some of the sentences and words are not matching. There are words thrown into some of the sentences and the information doesn't match the wording.

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5 people found this helpful

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A boy in the concentration camp

This book is the only memoir published by a former Schindler's list child. Leon Leyson (Leib Lezjon) a Polish-Jew was 10 years old when the Nazi attacked Poland. His family was placed inside the Krakow ghetto. Part of the book goes into detail of his life in the ghetto. The plant his father worked for was taken over by Oskar Schindler but the papers provided by Schindler did not protect the family for long and they were placed into the Plaszow concentration camp on the out skirts of Krakow. Leyson goes into detail about his life in the camp his fear of Captain Amon Goeth and his guards. The story does tell of fear, hunger, and death but also of hope and the goodness of people even in horrid conditions. Some claim the Amon Goeth(commandant of the concentration camp) should be counted as a savior of Jews because he took bribes from Jews and Schindler to send certain Jews to labor camps instead of death camps, Leyson primarily paints him as a cruel bully. He describes how Schindler managed to get his family and 1200 Jews out of the Camp. The ending of the book reveals Leyson life in California his education and become a teacher. Many years later he had newspaper and T.V. interviews and found that people were very interested in his life as a teenager in the concentration camps. When he first came to the USA people were not ready to hear his story. This is a must read book for everyone but teenager would benefit greatly from the message in the book. This book would make a great selection for a school book report. Danny Burstein did a great job narrating the book with all the Polish and German words.

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5 people found this helpful

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Great but skipped sentences in the story

I loved the book but the audible skipped over and added sentences to the story. It was sort of hard to keep up.

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Different than nook

I tried
To use the audible with a reading group I am working with and it was so different from the book I couldn’t use it. Very disappointing.

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Doesn't follow the text of the book!

I bought this for my classroom for students who need audio accommodations.

This doesn't match up with the same text my students have in front of them. We have a published book, and neither are marked as being a separate edition. The narrator often reads phrases or sentences that aren't printed on the page in the physical books.

While the meaning is the same, it's frustrating to me and my students to hear completely different paragraphs than what is printed, and there are many instances of synonyms being swapped out and phrases and sentences that aren't the same-espeically with readers who are lower performing or students who don't speak English as their first language. It defeats the entire purpose of purchasing this book for myself and for my students.

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Loved the boy!

The audio did not match the book. I had my 7th grade classes listened and follow along with the book. It was confusing when the text did not match up.

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Always amazed

I have read hundreds of books about the Holocaust and the survivors. I am always amazed at the incredible human spirit of the survivors and those who helped them. This was a fascinating book and I too am glad that Mr Leyson survived.

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  • AF
  • 05-27-22

Audio doesn't match text

Not only does the audiobook not match the text, there are text repetitions, and added material not found in the book. I wish I could get my money back, but I would prefer if the publisher would fix the audio because as a teacher I would like to be able to use this again. I feel like I have wasted (my own) money on something that I won't even be able to use again.

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1 person found this helpful

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Audible doesn’t match the text

Love this book! My only complaint is that audible doesn’t match the words of the book. I wish that they would match the words of the ACTUAL book.

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1 person found this helpful