Chernowitz!

by Fran Arrick

Book Overview

Ninth grade, that's when it all began for Bobby Cherno. He'd never minded school, and he'd always had friends to play soccer or go sailing with. Emmet Sundback changed that. Big, mean Emmet--nobody liked him, but everyone followed his lead. And Emmet, well, he just didn't like Jews, especially the one he called Chernowitz. What began with one bully soon became a terrifying, tormenting campaign of prejudice and hatred that saw Bobby's friends turning into enemies. He told himself he could live with it, that Emmet and the others were all talk. But then came the burning cross on the front lawn, the swastika on the family car. Suddenly Bobby couldn't deny what was happening, not to himself, not to his parents. The time for ignoring was over, now it was time to fight back!

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0451162536
• ISBN13: 9780451162533
• Release Date: May 1983
• Publisher: Berkley Books
• Length: 183 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 4.2" x 6.8"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

The Anatomy of Bullying

Chernowitz is scary because this is exactly how bullying starts. Cherno is the average kid who plays sports, takes guitar lessons, has friends, etc. Then along comes a big, angry kid from a broken home, who starts picking on Cherno with insults aimed at his name. Then the other kids join in, calling him "Christ-killer", "sheeny", "Jew-bastard", etc. Even his best friend turns on him. This isn't as much a book about anti-semitism as it is about the anatomy of bullying. You have an antisocial kid who is angry at the world, spots an easy target for his anger, and starts firing away. Other kids are attracted to his toughness (which in reality is just anger) and join in. One piece of advice for kids reading the book: Cherno makes a decision not to tell his parents or teachers and that's where he makes his mistake. By not telling his parents, he gets no advice on how to deal with it. This should be required reading for any teacher or parent who wants to understand how bullying works.

Hard to Stop Reading

Let me express my appreciation of this book by writing an ad for it--or as I would advertised it to my students: "Cherno" isn't good enough. If you're Jewish, you've got to sound it. Not Cherno--Chernowitz. Like Herowitz. That way everyone knows your're a "Jew bastard" and "Christ Killer." Who feels this way? Emmitt Sundback, a ninth-grade bully. Not too bright in most ways, but he's sure got it right--so he feels--about Jews. Every day Bobby Cherno dreads going to school. Not only does he have to face the sneering comments of Emmitt, but also his "gang"--students who used to be Bobby's friends. Finally, after over a year of torture, Bobby decides to fight back dirty--just like Emmett. He's going to get revenge. A powerful story. [You can see this and other such ads in the late 2005 edition of A NON-WORKBOOK, NON-TEXTBOOK APPROACH TO TEACHING LANGUAGE ARTS (GRADES 4-8 AND UP).]

A Good Multicultural Book

The book I read was chernowitz. It was about a boy in 9th grade named bobby. He is Jewish. Bobby was being picked on by another boy named Emmit Sundback because he was Jewish. Emmit and some former friends of bobby's do some bad and mean things to bobby. Then they go too far and bobby goes off the deep end. Bobby does something to get back at Emmit for all the pain he's caused. To find out the outcome of the story read this book. I really liked this book and it deals with prejudice only in modern times. I rate this book five out of five stars for a good multicultural book. This book is related to the other books I have read about discrimination, prejudice, and the holocaust. One of those books I read was Number the Stars. It was about a Jewish family's struggle during World War 2. The only difference between these two books is that one was a long time ago and the other is in modern times. for a good multicultural book. This book is related to the other books I have read about dicrimination, prejudice, and the holicost. One of those books I read was Number the Stars. it was about a jewish family's struggle during world war 2. The only difference between these two books is that one was a long time agao and the other is in modern times.

Amazing Real Life Story

I had to read this book as a school assignment and I was supposed to finish it in three weeks and finished it in two days. The details of how far these Anti-Semites will go is amazing.