Maus I

Written by Art Spiegleman. Published by Pantheon Books in 1991.

This graphic novel is a story within a story: the plot revolves around a writer and cartoonist (Spiegleman himself in his younger years) questioning his father about his experiences as a Jew during Jewish persecution both before and during World War II (the next Maus novel  picks up while he is at Auschwitz). The lion's share of the book revolves around Art's father Vladek, and the ingenious ways in which he evaded the Nazis while in Poland. There is an abundance of close calls, great action sequences, and sincerity in Spiegleman's writing. It makes the horrors of the Holocaust seem more real than any ordinary textbook could, and does so in a much more engaging way.


Maus is not only fantastic for English teachers, but also for social studies teachers who are interested in teaching students about the Holocaust in a creative way. There is not a lot of required background knowledge, so students can easily pick it up and go. It is riveting all throughout; I had trouble putting it down. I can't wait for the summer so I can read the rest of them. Good for 8th graders and throughout high school