The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by Irish writer, John Boyne, is a wonderfully poignant and powerful story about two nine-year-old boys named Bruno and Shmuel, and a barbed-wire fence that initially separates the boys, whose lives are worlds apart. Set during the Holocaust, the book describes the evolution of their unlikely, and ultimately, tragic friendship. My Uncle Joe gave it to me when Jerry and I were in Dublin in August. It is a beautifully written book that Uncle Joe loves and so do I. I would strongly recommend this book to teachers and their students.