Books Like The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Morris Gleitzman

Like Bruno, the narrator is a child who cannot fully grasp the adult world around him. Once follows a young boy hiding from the Nazis in occupied Poland, with the same mix of innocence and quiet horror that makes Boyne's novel so affecting.

Judith Kerr

Kerr's semi-autobiographical story follows a young girl whose family flees Berlin in 1933. Its gentle, observant voice shows the rise of the Nazis through a child's eyes, much as Boyne does through Bruno.

Michelle Magorian

A evacuated boy arrives in a quiet English village during the Second World War and slowly learns to trust again. Its emotional story of a child and an unexpected friend will appeal to readers moved by Bruno's bond with Shmuel.

R. J. Palacio

August, a boy with a severe facial difference, enters mainstream school and must find friends. Like The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, it asks young readers to look past appearances and consider what kindness and fairness really require.

Lois Lowry

Set in Nazi-occupied Denmark, this short novel follows a young girl who helps her Jewish best friend's family escape. Its focus on courage and loyalty between children, under the shadow of the Nazis, echoes the central friendship in Boyne's story.

Ian Serraillier

Four children travel across war-torn Europe in search of their parents after the Second World War begins. It is a classic of children's literature with a strong sense of the bonds formed between young strangers, much like Bruno and Shmuel.

Markus Zusak

Narrated by Death, this novel follows a young girl in Nazi Germany who steals books and shares them with neighbours. Its unusual narrator and tender, tragic tone will appeal to readers who valued the moral clarity of Boyne's story.

Ruta Sepetys

Told through a fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl sent to a labour camp by Soviet forces, this novel shows the cruelty of wartime history through a young narrator. Its emotional weight and clear, accessible prose suit readers of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas.

Alan Gratz

Three children from different decades and countries flee persecution, and their stories gradually intertwine. Gratz's clear, fast-moving chapters make the human cost of war feel immediate, appealing to readers who want Boyne's emotional impact with a wider scope.

Anne Frank

Anne Frank's diary records her life in hiding in Amsterdam during the Nazi occupation. Readers who found The Boy in the Striped Pajamas a powerful introduction to the Holocaust will find here the real voice of a young person living through it.

Graham Salisbury

Set in Hawaii during the Second World War, this novel follows a Japanese American boy whose family is treated with suspicion after Pearl Harbor. It offers another young narrator facing injustice, with a similar focus on prejudice and loyalty.

Elie Wiesel

Wiesel's short memoir describes his teenage years in Auschwitz and Buchenwald. It is a direct and sober account of the Holocaust, and readers who were moved by Boyne's novel are likely to find its testimony even more harrowing and important.