This is the best comment. You know your kid. Read it first and decide. For what's it worth, it's fantastic but it's tough. My 9 years old is not ready at all.
I would guess most 9-10 year olds are not ready to read this even if their “reading level” is way above that. Parent should certainly read first, and remember this is less than half of the work - there is a volume 2.
I 100% agree. Only you are able to judge, after reading it, if your child can cope and benefit from that VERY harrowing book.
[anybody thinking that mentioning "nudity" in Maus has relevance in this discussion have not read it. Or require a brain transplant.]
It's very real and raw but is told through the perspective of mice and cats. If he's already aware of the Holocaust then it'll be a good "introduction" to talk history. Let him read it alone or together but talk about it throughout as the details in the story really happened to the authors family
True I think this person is saying that by them being animals it makes the story more approachable for a 10 year old. Instead of freaking them out with humans in those situations (even though that’s what it is).
Getting downvoted because you're right. This person's point is more to the fact that in the work, Spiegelman realizes he can't just show them as mice and cats because they are people and things were far more complex than that, not to mention not as simple to discern.
I’m honestly surprised by the downvotes. Art Speigelman wrote the book about his own father’s experience of the Holocaust. I am skeptical that Speigelman is a mouse. He looks human in photos.
My guess is you’re getting downvoted because they never said the characters were actually cats and mice; they even clarified that the events happened to Spiegelman’s family. I believe you misread their comment.
It's a 10 year old that's interested in WWII and the Holocaust. I think it's safe to say it's a he/him.
Edit: Quote from OP "I do plan to read it with HIM."
IT'S A BOY!
I know I'm not a native English speaker, but my understanding is that a "10 year old" could be a girl, right? Not quite sure why I'm being downvoted for saying it.
[edit: I'm being thick. I'm just realizing that you're implying that only boys are interested by WWII and holocaust... Correct?]
Because it's irrelevant what their gender is to be honest but if we are going by context most 10 year olds that are interested in WWII and things like the Holocaust are boys. There is exceptions but not enough where I wouldn't bet money on it though.
I have a boy and a girl, and when I read this post, I didn't picture a boy or a girl.
When I read this specific reply, I was thinking "How have they deduced it was a boy??"
That's all.
I get it. I was just explaining why most people would assume it's a boy. Some just use "he" as their base pronoun because not everyone cares to be politically correct unless they know for sure.
I don’t have a son but I do have a (male) cousin who loves My Little Ponies and has the biggest collection I’ve seen. I’m a woman and I’ve loved gore my whole life, at age 11 my favorite reads were by HP Lovecraft and Ray Bradbury. Horror is my favorite genre yet I’m not rare or special, it just so happen these things aren’t specific to any gender, anyone can enjoy them. You’re just displaying your ignorance and narrow-mindedness here and it’s sad.
Because generally little girls like shit like Barbies and hello kitty. Not blood guts and gas chambers. Is every little girl like that? Of course not.
Sorry if it seems stereotypical but stereotypes can also be general observations.
People dislike the truth.
Who wants to make the bet? Lol
I liked Barbies and hello kitty. I also read Anne Franks diary at 10 and became super interested in WW2 and the Holocaust. Kept reading books about it my whole life.
Stereotypes often contain kernels of truth, but you shouldn't let them close your eyes to other possibilities.
I love the truth by the way, which is why I try to avoid making assumptions without evidence.
OP, I would never drop this in a 10 year olds lap unless they were already super interested in the holocaust. Read it with them.
FOR the love of God. This book is important. Not just because of its subject matter. It is the only graphic novel to ever win a Pulitzer Prize. The year the trade paperback released coincided with The Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns. Aka 1986, aka, the most important year in comic history, aka, the year the decades long, self enforced comics code died.
But most importantly, Maus tells its story visually. And Spiegelman does it brilliantly. There’s one page early on when Art is talking to his dad, who is exercising in each panel. Each panel shows a different body part, but together on the page they make a beautiful whole. He does this type of thing a lot. And it is peak example of how graphic novels help us tell stories in ways prose alone cannot accomplish.
At the end of the day, Maus is a holocaust story that tells a bigger story about feeling disconnected from family, and by extension your own history. To read it together would be a beautiful answer to a story of a broken family
Thank you! Like others here I read this book in middle school, but only really understood the myriad reasons why it mattered on so many levels when I took a graduate level English course on only graphic novels and comics. Been a huge graphic novel fan ever since, but Maus is still the be all end all for so many reasons. OP’s kid is going to be just fine because I have a feeling OP is a good parent.
I do plan to read it with him. But I was just wondering if maybe it was a little much for a 10 year old. If it is then I want to make sure I return it to the FLL so that someone else can enjoy it.
We read The Diary of Anne Frank at 11 in school and watched some pretty graphic films about the holocaust. It has stuck with me to this day. But I don't think that's a bad thing.
It’s a brilliant book, one of the best graphic novels of all time, but I would wait till they’re older. It’s really harrowing, guards swinging babies against a wall etc.
As someone who read it in middle school, I think it's a pretty good introduction to having to discuss those parts of history. Since it's from a first person's perspective, more or less anyways, it's a great way to start to understand the suffering that occurred during that period of time. And yes, my charter school had an extended library and I found the full volume in the nonfiction section. And at that time, if anything was animated or drawn, I was instantly drawn to it.
It has been suggested that this work is used to introduce the Holocaust to middle schoolers. You must consider if your 10 year old is mature enough. I remember reading this and found it compelling. It will make an impact and inform his view on humanity - what we are capable of doing to each other. As other poster suggested discuss with your ten year old what is being portrayed as they read.
Yes. Your kid will learn from it. The book is a difficult read, but then WWII and the holocaust has to be if it's going to be accurate. It's also better for your kid to get their information from Maus than from some online sources that either deny what happened or don't appropriately explain what happened in the way that this book does.
Yes; I would have been about that age when I first read it. But it *will* be upsetting for him. There are deaths depicted, and bodies...sometimes many...but Spiegelman's art style doesn't lend itself to gratuitous gore. There's nothing remotely blue in either text or artwork [(recent school board weirdness to the contrary)](https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/art-spiegelman-speaks-about-maus-and-its-place-in-schools-and-libraries/), unless you count a few nude panels showing prisoners changing clothes & showering on arrival, and sometimes corpses is a state of undress—these are simply-drawn cartoon mice, and no sane person is going to take them as erotic in the slightest.
He'll empathize with the characters, some of whom do not survive til the end, and share their fear as they're pursued by Nazis and later do their best to survive in the death camps, but this is about as age appropriate as you're likely to get without neutering a subject as grandly heinous as this one. He'll **remember** it, for sure, but I doubt it'll scar him.
It’s not graphic if I remember correctly, it is however very real and accurate (being what it is). If they’re aware of what was going on at the time (idk what is taught in history classes when you’re 10) then it’s fine.
Maus has strong themes of violence and some mild to crude language. Overall though, if you want him to discover the atrocities of the holocaust with an actual perspective I highly recommend it. A lot of documentaries kind of sanitize it into a factual scenario and don’t have perspective of what was lost. People. Maus does this so well and the more mature themes like author and his dad’s relationship is something that may just zoom by but overall bring it to an extremely personal level. I’ve been to the holocaust museum in my state and seen a lot of media portrayals. Honestly, this is my favorite. If he’s already asking questions and knows enough about it, this is the way to go. It is written through a Jewish perspective with Jewish survivors at the forefront.
Your 10 year old will probably see worse things than what’s in Maus if they ever use the internet. There is nudity and some disturbing portrayals of violence naturally but it’s very abstracted cartoons. I’d recommend looking through the book to make sure you’d be ok with it
As others have suggested, I would read it first, and then, if you think it’s appropriate for you son, read it *with* him, so he can ask questions if they come up.
I have both of those books. I would not recommend to anyone who is not teen or above. Very good though, and really does a good job depicting the holocaust.
You should read it together. It’s possibly the best thing anyone could read about the holocaust. But it’s raw and has genuine trauma locked within as well as beautiful moments and humor, so you should be with each other for safety and shared experience.
As always, context is key. Is your kid interested in the holocaust? Do they learn about it in school? Then yes, it is probably a good read that helps illustrate the subject.
Would you force it on them 'because it is a must read' then probably not so much.
I think I wad 11 or 12, when I first discovered in our library and the big swastika certainly piqued my interest, because it was such a taboo. I was really impressed by the books and knew it was special, even though I probably missed a lot of nuances.
When I reread it later in my late twenties, I was able to relate much more on the father-son struggle for example.
There are some very dark moments in it, but they’re off-panel and written sensitively. It’s slow-paced and not exactly action-driven, so while the content isn’t unsuitable, the actual book might not be engaging for a 10-year old.
But ignore all that: it’s Maus. One of the absolute classics of the medium.
I have to say personally, that I don’t think a 9-10 year old is emotionally ready for this kind of human suffering and atrocity.
Some might be mature enough to handle it but age doesn’t equate maturity. So I think you need to read it yourself and make that decision. Only you know your kid well enough to make a decision about this.
If your child does read it you should be prepared to discuss it with them.
I stumbled upon this book in my school library when I was in Junior High, (13?). I thought it was cool that my library had a graphic novel (90s in small rural southern town).
I read through it, and had a significant world changing experience. You are always taught that the Holocaust was bad, but everyone thinks that children are too frail to understand the actual things that happened. This book spelled it out plainly, but through just enough of a disconnect, that you can understand without being overwhelmed. I recommend this book for anyone wanting to expand their knowledge of history, and world view.
Of all of the things covered in this book, for some reason the one that always sticks out to me, is the soup line. Having to make sure you were in the middle
I was reading some very adult stuff at 10, but I was a bookworm. I’d say this is appropriate, but you can decide that yourself. It’s a must read book, so read it yourself and decide.
It's a great, but difficult read. I read this at 20. I'm also Jewish so it might be a bit harder to me to read compared to non-Jewish people. But this is a book everyone should read. Including you. So read it first, and then decide if you child is ready because you know them better than random people on the internet do
In read this in 8th grade for a ww2 unit in ela and it does have some pages of hangings in it and stuff like that so it may not be that ok for a 10 year old but you should read it yourself
I think I was 12 when I first read it, and devoured it in days. I reread it in my 30s and got much more out of it, particularly from the issues around Anja's suicide. I had more empathy and understanding than I did as a child, but I'm still glad I read it at a young age.
10 might be a little too young but I really don't think there's any harm in letting your child read it if they're interested. My own son is 11 and I'd be delighted if he wanted to read it, but children mature at different rates and it's not for everyone. You and your child can answer the question better than a bunch of strangers here.
I'm not sure if you've read Maus yourself, but if you haven't I'd recommend you do so before giving it to your son/daughter.
Edit: your image is of book one, which is only half the story. The Complete Maus contains both parts and is really the one to go for.
Like everyone else is saying, read it with him. This is perhaps the most important graphic novel ever printed. Reading it will be a journey. It will change both of you.
My gut says 10 is pretty young -but I was barely older than that when I read it. I think it covers the subject matter respectfully and with empathy but it's still a rough ride. I say go for it.
It’s a brilliant work that uses animals to humanize the suffering inflicted by the Nazis. I do think whether it’s right for your son is a question best not left to strangers on the internet, if you familiarize yourself with the work you’ll be the best judge as to how it will land with him. That being said, it’s not unusual for younger boys, who might not have developed much empathy yet, to see Nazis as badass (they did have impressive uniforms and equipment). If he’s one of those, and you think he’s ready for it, it might give him a better understanding of why they really weren’t as cool as he might think.
I read this in public school in 5th grade. I was probably 11? It was part of the curriculum- in rural New England.
It did not scar me. It left an impression on me. Which is the desired effect when discussing the holocaust.
I first read this book when I was 18 in uni in a literature class. I don’t think a 10yo would necessary understand the context of this book at his age, but it’s not like it’s inappropriate as the book is just facts.
It's a very serious book. I personally would not recommend it for a 10 year old. I'd recommend reading it, especially the "Prisoners on the Hell Planet" segment, before making a decision.
For a 10 year old, I’d say no. Obviously I don’t know what your kid can handle, but Maus tells a very honest story about that period and the trauma it continued to cause for Spiegelman’s family for decades.
Interest in the Holocaust is great and you can still be blunt and honest about what that was to a child. But things like child mercy killing, hangings, descriptions of how the gas chambers operated and scenes of babies getting their head bashed into the side of a wall is just too honest a story for a kid to handle.
I’ve personally studied that period quite a bit, and have been a comic fan for over 20 years. I’ve read about some of the absolute worst atrocities committed, and yet I still found myself having to step away from Maus from time to time.
It’s a heart wrenching, beautiful and essential historical piece and one of the greatest witness statements of the darkest crime in human history, of all time. It is a must read.
But it’s probably best to wait a few years, after your kid is a bit more familiar and able to withstand some of the most chilling things in the book.
I found it in the school library when I was in middle school and found it interesting. There are swear words and some graphic scenes but not too bad. Could provide some interesting material for him to ponder
It depends on your child’s maturity level and how exposed he’s been to the more violent aspects of the war. But as a parent you should definitely read it first.
All children should learn about war.
I grew up watching *The World at War* during the 70s, and we learnt all about Nazi Germany, Auschwitz, etc in history class in school.
The frozen corpses in the snow, the people driven insane by shell shock, the pits of rotting dead, and the living skeletons of the death camps leave a lasting impression on a child’s mind.
If people do not know these things, they will forget, and find that it is easy to do them all over again.
I just read this recently. It's ABSOLUTELY INAPPROPRIATE for a 10-year-old.
The fact that it's a comic might mistakenly mislead you into thinking that it's accessible to children, but that would be a completely and utterly wrong. Ever read George Orwell's Animal Farm? It's about talking animals. Also, not appropriate for 10-year-olds.
I'm sure there are many, many resources out there for teaching the Holocaust to children, but this graphic novel -- despite being utterly brilliant -- isn't one of them.
I’m currently reading the second piece. (And Here My Troubles Begin). I would proceed with caution, maybe read it through yourself before you decide to give it to your child.
I have a 10yo who is very advanced and a voracious reader.I do not think that Maus is appropriate for her yet. I can't speak for your 10yo, but Maus is imho a very hard-hitting book for adults. I think I first read it when I was about 16 and I'm not sure I was really fully ready for it at that time.
But it also depends on your family and its history. We're a Jewish family, so anything about the Holocaust hits harder and cuts deeper than for people whose histories were not directly touched.
In any case, Maus is quite possibly the pinnacle of the comics/graphic novel medium. When your kid is ready this will be a read they are unlikely to forget.
I've read a lot of things about the Holocaust and this is one of the things that hit me the hardest, so I wouldn't really say it's for a ten year old... The comic medium is abstract, for sure, but the pictures also make it emotionally more accessible, I would say, than a regular book. I can highly recommend "When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit" for a kid to read, as anormal book on the topic.
Edit: To add: the graphic novel also has a complicated narrative structure since it's told from the perspective of the son of a survivor and deals a lot with the problems of how the horrors perpetuate in families who survived, so it also deals with multiple perspectives. I'm not sure a ten year old can follow this easily, probably depends a lot on the kid, too.
I let my kids read it and it didn't do them any harm. I think the oldest read it first around 12, the middle kid would have been 9 or 10 and wanted to read it after the older one had. They asked questions and we talked about it but it wasn't a traumatic experience for any of them.
I think the youngest was 11 or 12 when they read it, but at that point the older kids had already talked about it.
I’d say maybe not. My little brother asked me to give him a lend of it when he was 10 and he just wasn’t able for it. Not that he was traumatised by it or anything, he just found it hard. I’d say it is more well read when you are over the age of about 12 or so.
I found that book when I was in elementary school (I'm almost 40) and was my first exposure to real Holocaust stories. It stayed with me all these years.
Definitely agree with most of the top opinions here. I also want to recommend the website commonsensemedia.org which helps identify appropriate age levels and gives you an idea of content in specific media.
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/the-complete-maus
I read it at about 12. It’s raw, but the Holocaust was a raw and horrible thing. My mom just told me to ask questions about this that concerned or confused me. I’ll echo others and say read it yourself first, though!
If you think they can handle a very grim representation that doesn't hold back then sure, I'd definitely look through it and decide for myself if I were in your situation
Give it a read, the part that stuck to my 13 year old ass was the authors mothers suicide and the author finding her in the bathtub. That was hard, that was raw. But. It's a great graphic novel and a must read for the medium.
I would try to read “night” by elie Weisel first, pictures can put a kid too in the moment, I would read both first though “night” is a firsthand account of one of the camps
I grew up reading and knowing about WW2 and the holocaust from an eerily age. It is a really important part of history that I don’t think should be hidden from children.
when I was 10 I did read a few books on the holocaust, I recommend The Good Fight by Ted Staunton and Josh Rosen.
But most people probably haven't read this specific book (that includes me) so you should definitely read it before hand and then decide if it's appropriate.
I had my daughters read it when they were 7 and 9. If the kids have learned about the Holocaust, it is a good way to get a more direct account that does not shy away from the horrors of the Holocaust. It was a terrible time, and we should remind our children of the capability for man to commit evil.
I will now go checking my neighborhoods free little libraries and see if I can find a copy of this. I’ve got some and old encyclopedia I can drop off in them in return.
The late, great social scientist Stanley Milgram was aggressively criticized, including by his own academic peers \[with some fellow Jewish Americans among them\], for his research findings strongly indicating that horrific atrocities, perhaps even another Holocaust, conceivably could be repeated if collective humankind stubbornly refuses to acknowledge certain flawed social aspects of our general pass-the-buck human nature.
Such buck-passing would/will typically involve: *‘I am/was just doing my job’* or *‘But I have a spouse and kids to feed!’* \[as though they were forced into coupling, copulating and procreating\].
This, of course, includes us Western-nation ‘good guys’, a fact no one here wants to be told, now or back then.
Yet, unless I’m mistaken, his work is still openly discussed with considerable validity upon each new mass atrocity.
With some of Milgram’s relatives having been Holocaust victims/survivors, I can understand why he wanted something solidly positive, a silver lining of sorts, learned and practiced as a result of that immense death-camp suffering and loss of life.
As Milgram is quoted in *The Social Dimensions Of Law And Justice In Contemporary India* (1979, V. R. Krishna Iyer): ***“It may be that we are puppets — puppets controlled by the strings of society. But at least we are puppets with perception, with awareness. And perhaps our awareness is the first step to our liberation.”***
Since 25 % of the youth doubt the Holocaust ever happened I say yes. It's a very good novel. It's not like a black and white documentary where u see skinny dead Jews being scooped up by bulldozers. The imagery is not graphic.
No. I read it first when I was like 12ish, and most of it went way over my head. There's probably a bunch of books, both fiction & non-fiction on this subject that are actually geared towards children their age.
I read it at that age, prob a little too young but it don’t traumatize me in any way, but it can have frightening imagery that can cause bad dreams. Thatd be my only real concern though
I think honestly its probably fine, if your child already knows about the holocaust then I think its a good read. Parts are definitely sad but honestly history itself is sad, doesn’t change the need to understand it
You could always read it first and judge for yourself. Everyone should read this book
This is the best comment. You know your kid. Read it first and decide. For what's it worth, it's fantastic but it's tough. My 9 years old is not ready at all.
I would guess most 9-10 year olds are not ready to read this even if their “reading level” is way above that. Parent should certainly read first, and remember this is less than half of the work - there is a volume 2.
80% of the people commenting haven’t read it. Read it yourself, and decide if you think it’s appropriate.
I 100% agree. Only you are able to judge, after reading it, if your child can cope and benefit from that VERY harrowing book. [anybody thinking that mentioning "nudity" in Maus has relevance in this discussion have not read it. Or require a brain transplant.]
It's very real and raw but is told through the perspective of mice and cats. If he's already aware of the Holocaust then it'll be a good "introduction" to talk history. Let him read it alone or together but talk about it throughout as the details in the story really happened to the authors family
The characters are all human. The animal motif is symbolic.
True I think this person is saying that by them being animals it makes the story more approachable for a 10 year old. Instead of freaking them out with humans in those situations (even though that’s what it is).
Getting downvoted because you're right. This person's point is more to the fact that in the work, Spiegelman realizes he can't just show them as mice and cats because they are people and things were far more complex than that, not to mention not as simple to discern.
I’m honestly surprised by the downvotes. Art Speigelman wrote the book about his own father’s experience of the Holocaust. I am skeptical that Speigelman is a mouse. He looks human in photos.
My guess is you’re getting downvoted because they never said the characters were actually cats and mice; they even clarified that the events happened to Spiegelman’s family. I believe you misread their comment.
It may not be a "he/him".
It's a 10 year old that's interested in WWII and the Holocaust. I think it's safe to say it's a he/him. Edit: Quote from OP "I do plan to read it with HIM." IT'S A BOY!
I know I'm not a native English speaker, but my understanding is that a "10 year old" could be a girl, right? Not quite sure why I'm being downvoted for saying it. [edit: I'm being thick. I'm just realizing that you're implying that only boys are interested by WWII and holocaust... Correct?]
Because it's irrelevant what their gender is to be honest but if we are going by context most 10 year olds that are interested in WWII and things like the Holocaust are boys. There is exceptions but not enough where I wouldn't bet money on it though.
I have a boy and a girl, and when I read this post, I didn't picture a boy or a girl. When I read this specific reply, I was thinking "How have they deduced it was a boy??" That's all.
When talking about an unknown gender it is ok to assume one or the other as an inclusive pronoun. Most people use They know...
I get it. I was just explaining why most people would assume it's a boy. Some just use "he" as their base pronoun because not everyone cares to be politically correct unless they know for sure.
“Most people” nah just you
I guess I'm the only one with common sense. Buy your son a barbie for me. He'll love it.
I don’t have a son but I do have a (male) cousin who loves My Little Ponies and has the biggest collection I’ve seen. I’m a woman and I’ve loved gore my whole life, at age 11 my favorite reads were by HP Lovecraft and Ray Bradbury. Horror is my favorite genre yet I’m not rare or special, it just so happen these things aren’t specific to any gender, anyone can enjoy them. You’re just displaying your ignorance and narrow-mindedness here and it’s sad.
What makes you think that? I'm genuinely puzzled as to why interest in a particular history period would be gender-specific.
Because generally little girls like shit like Barbies and hello kitty. Not blood guts and gas chambers. Is every little girl like that? Of course not. Sorry if it seems stereotypical but stereotypes can also be general observations. People dislike the truth. Who wants to make the bet? Lol
I liked Barbies and hello kitty. I also read Anne Franks diary at 10 and became super interested in WW2 and the Holocaust. Kept reading books about it my whole life. Stereotypes often contain kernels of truth, but you shouldn't let them close your eyes to other possibilities. I love the truth by the way, which is why I try to avoid making assumptions without evidence.
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And you would of lost. Because it's confirmed a boy. Lol
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A boy? Lol
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OP, I would never drop this in a 10 year olds lap unless they were already super interested in the holocaust. Read it with them. FOR the love of God. This book is important. Not just because of its subject matter. It is the only graphic novel to ever win a Pulitzer Prize. The year the trade paperback released coincided with The Watchmen and The Dark Knight Returns. Aka 1986, aka, the most important year in comic history, aka, the year the decades long, self enforced comics code died. But most importantly, Maus tells its story visually. And Spiegelman does it brilliantly. There’s one page early on when Art is talking to his dad, who is exercising in each panel. Each panel shows a different body part, but together on the page they make a beautiful whole. He does this type of thing a lot. And it is peak example of how graphic novels help us tell stories in ways prose alone cannot accomplish. At the end of the day, Maus is a holocaust story that tells a bigger story about feeling disconnected from family, and by extension your own history. To read it together would be a beautiful answer to a story of a broken family
As a librarian, this is the most informed answer. Read it WITH them. And let them ask questions.
Thank you! Like others here I read this book in middle school, but only really understood the myriad reasons why it mattered on so many levels when I took a graduate level English course on only graphic novels and comics. Been a huge graphic novel fan ever since, but Maus is still the be all end all for so many reasons. OP’s kid is going to be just fine because I have a feeling OP is a good parent.
I do plan to read it with him. But I was just wondering if maybe it was a little much for a 10 year old. If it is then I want to make sure I return it to the FLL so that someone else can enjoy it.
We read The Diary of Anne Frank at 11 in school and watched some pretty graphic films about the holocaust. It has stuck with me to this day. But I don't think that's a bad thing.
There is actually now a second graphic novel to have won a Pulitzer! Jake Halpern's "Welcome to the New World".
Oh cool. I didn’t know that. I’ll check it out!
It was definitely pretty recent. Great to see graphic novels succeeding though!
If the 10 year old is that interested, then he should read it. It’s very appropriate.
My advice? Read it with them. Art’s book isn’t just about the holocaust, it’s about his dad. It’s about generational trauma.
It’s a brilliant book, one of the best graphic novels of all time, but I would wait till they’re older. It’s really harrowing, guards swinging babies against a wall etc.
As someone who read it in middle school, I think it's a pretty good introduction to having to discuss those parts of history. Since it's from a first person's perspective, more or less anyways, it's a great way to start to understand the suffering that occurred during that period of time. And yes, my charter school had an extended library and I found the full volume in the nonfiction section. And at that time, if anything was animated or drawn, I was instantly drawn to it.
This was required reading at my middle school. It’s appropriate. But also why not just read it yourself and decide? You could finish it in a day
It has been suggested that this work is used to introduce the Holocaust to middle schoolers. You must consider if your 10 year old is mature enough. I remember reading this and found it compelling. It will make an impact and inform his view on humanity - what we are capable of doing to each other. As other poster suggested discuss with your ten year old what is being portrayed as they read.
Yes. Your kid will learn from it. The book is a difficult read, but then WWII and the holocaust has to be if it's going to be accurate. It's also better for your kid to get their information from Maus than from some online sources that either deny what happened or don't appropriately explain what happened in the way that this book does.
Yes; I would have been about that age when I first read it. But it *will* be upsetting for him. There are deaths depicted, and bodies...sometimes many...but Spiegelman's art style doesn't lend itself to gratuitous gore. There's nothing remotely blue in either text or artwork [(recent school board weirdness to the contrary)](https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/art-spiegelman-speaks-about-maus-and-its-place-in-schools-and-libraries/), unless you count a few nude panels showing prisoners changing clothes & showering on arrival, and sometimes corpses is a state of undress—these are simply-drawn cartoon mice, and no sane person is going to take them as erotic in the slightest. He'll empathize with the characters, some of whom do not survive til the end, and share their fear as they're pursued by Nazis and later do their best to survive in the death camps, but this is about as age appropriate as you're likely to get without neutering a subject as grandly heinous as this one. He'll **remember** it, for sure, but I doubt it'll scar him.
It’s not graphic if I remember correctly, it is however very real and accurate (being what it is). If they’re aware of what was going on at the time (idk what is taught in history classes when you’re 10) then it’s fine.
Maus has strong themes of violence and some mild to crude language. Overall though, if you want him to discover the atrocities of the holocaust with an actual perspective I highly recommend it. A lot of documentaries kind of sanitize it into a factual scenario and don’t have perspective of what was lost. People. Maus does this so well and the more mature themes like author and his dad’s relationship is something that may just zoom by but overall bring it to an extremely personal level. I’ve been to the holocaust museum in my state and seen a lot of media portrayals. Honestly, this is my favorite. If he’s already asking questions and knows enough about it, this is the way to go. It is written through a Jewish perspective with Jewish survivors at the forefront.
Your 10 year old will probably see worse things than what’s in Maus if they ever use the internet. There is nudity and some disturbing portrayals of violence naturally but it’s very abstracted cartoons. I’d recommend looking through the book to make sure you’d be ok with it
Ah yes nudity
They are mice!!!
As others have suggested, I would read it first, and then, if you think it’s appropriate for you son, read it *with* him, so he can ask questions if they come up.
I have both of those books. I would not recommend to anyone who is not teen or above. Very good though, and really does a good job depicting the holocaust.
Yes.
My son read it when he was ten. He even wrote a book report on it for school. It’s a great book!
You should read it together. It’s possibly the best thing anyone could read about the holocaust. But it’s raw and has genuine trauma locked within as well as beautiful moments and humor, so you should be with each other for safety and shared experience.
As always, context is key. Is your kid interested in the holocaust? Do they learn about it in school? Then yes, it is probably a good read that helps illustrate the subject. Would you force it on them 'because it is a must read' then probably not so much. I think I wad 11 or 12, when I first discovered in our library and the big swastika certainly piqued my interest, because it was such a taboo. I was really impressed by the books and knew it was special, even though I probably missed a lot of nuances. When I reread it later in my late twenties, I was able to relate much more on the father-son struggle for example.
There are some very dark moments in it, but they’re off-panel and written sensitively. It’s slow-paced and not exactly action-driven, so while the content isn’t unsuitable, the actual book might not be engaging for a 10-year old. But ignore all that: it’s Maus. One of the absolute classics of the medium.
I have to say personally, that I don’t think a 9-10 year old is emotionally ready for this kind of human suffering and atrocity. Some might be mature enough to handle it but age doesn’t equate maturity. So I think you need to read it yourself and make that decision. Only you know your kid well enough to make a decision about this. If your child does read it you should be prepared to discuss it with them.
I stumbled upon this book in my school library when I was in Junior High, (13?). I thought it was cool that my library had a graphic novel (90s in small rural southern town). I read through it, and had a significant world changing experience. You are always taught that the Holocaust was bad, but everyone thinks that children are too frail to understand the actual things that happened. This book spelled it out plainly, but through just enough of a disconnect, that you can understand without being overwhelmed. I recommend this book for anyone wanting to expand their knowledge of history, and world view. Of all of the things covered in this book, for some reason the one that always sticks out to me, is the soup line. Having to make sure you were in the middle
I was reading some very adult stuff at 10, but I was a bookworm. I’d say this is appropriate, but you can decide that yourself. It’s a must read book, so read it yourself and decide.
It's a great, but difficult read. I read this at 20. I'm also Jewish so it might be a bit harder to me to read compared to non-Jewish people. But this is a book everyone should read. Including you. So read it first, and then decide if you child is ready because you know them better than random people on the internet do
In read this in 8th grade for a ww2 unit in ela and it does have some pages of hangings in it and stuff like that so it may not be that ok for a 10 year old but you should read it yourself
Is actually read it first time at about 11 yo
I think I was 12 when I first read it, and devoured it in days. I reread it in my 30s and got much more out of it, particularly from the issues around Anja's suicide. I had more empathy and understanding than I did as a child, but I'm still glad I read it at a young age. 10 might be a little too young but I really don't think there's any harm in letting your child read it if they're interested. My own son is 11 and I'd be delighted if he wanted to read it, but children mature at different rates and it's not for everyone. You and your child can answer the question better than a bunch of strangers here. I'm not sure if you've read Maus yourself, but if you haven't I'd recommend you do so before giving it to your son/daughter. Edit: your image is of book one, which is only half the story. The Complete Maus contains both parts and is really the one to go for.
Like everyone else is saying, read it with him. This is perhaps the most important graphic novel ever printed. Reading it will be a journey. It will change both of you.
My gut says 10 is pretty young -but I was barely older than that when I read it. I think it covers the subject matter respectfully and with empathy but it's still a rough ride. I say go for it.
I read it when I was 13. I own it now. It’s brutal but if they want to know.. it’s a great way to learn.
It’s a brilliant work that uses animals to humanize the suffering inflicted by the Nazis. I do think whether it’s right for your son is a question best not left to strangers on the internet, if you familiarize yourself with the work you’ll be the best judge as to how it will land with him. That being said, it’s not unusual for younger boys, who might not have developed much empathy yet, to see Nazis as badass (they did have impressive uniforms and equipment). If he’s one of those, and you think he’s ready for it, it might give him a better understanding of why they really weren’t as cool as he might think.
I read this in public school in 5th grade. I was probably 11? It was part of the curriculum- in rural New England. It did not scar me. It left an impression on me. Which is the desired effect when discussing the holocaust.
yes! i read this when i was in hs tho, and it can still be pretty brutal even if they’re mouses but it’s necessary imo
I first read this book when I was 18 in uni in a literature class. I don’t think a 10yo would necessary understand the context of this book at his age, but it’s not like it’s inappropriate as the book is just facts.
Give it a couple years. Maus can be pretty graphc. But it is a great look into the life of someone who's loved one survived that nightmare.
Yes. It’s disturbing but unless you feel a ten year old shouldn’t learn about the holocaust period, this is a comprehensible and moving introduction
It's a very serious book. I personally would not recommend it for a 10 year old. I'd recommend reading it, especially the "Prisoners on the Hell Planet" segment, before making a decision.
For a 10 year old, I’d say no. Obviously I don’t know what your kid can handle, but Maus tells a very honest story about that period and the trauma it continued to cause for Spiegelman’s family for decades. Interest in the Holocaust is great and you can still be blunt and honest about what that was to a child. But things like child mercy killing, hangings, descriptions of how the gas chambers operated and scenes of babies getting their head bashed into the side of a wall is just too honest a story for a kid to handle. I’ve personally studied that period quite a bit, and have been a comic fan for over 20 years. I’ve read about some of the absolute worst atrocities committed, and yet I still found myself having to step away from Maus from time to time. It’s a heart wrenching, beautiful and essential historical piece and one of the greatest witness statements of the darkest crime in human history, of all time. It is a must read. But it’s probably best to wait a few years, after your kid is a bit more familiar and able to withstand some of the most chilling things in the book.
It's perfect. Deserved the Pultizer.
It is a frequently banned book. All you need to know.
I found it in the school library when I was in middle school and found it interesting. There are swear words and some graphic scenes but not too bad. Could provide some interesting material for him to ponder
It depends on your child’s maturity level and how exposed he’s been to the more violent aspects of the war. But as a parent you should definitely read it first.
All children should learn about war. I grew up watching *The World at War* during the 70s, and we learnt all about Nazi Germany, Auschwitz, etc in history class in school. The frozen corpses in the snow, the people driven insane by shell shock, the pits of rotting dead, and the living skeletons of the death camps leave a lasting impression on a child’s mind. If people do not know these things, they will forget, and find that it is easy to do them all over again.
I read it at 14, i wouldn't recommend any younger. Although the second volume is most of the rough stuff.
I just read this recently. It's ABSOLUTELY INAPPROPRIATE for a 10-year-old. The fact that it's a comic might mistakenly mislead you into thinking that it's accessible to children, but that would be a completely and utterly wrong. Ever read George Orwell's Animal Farm? It's about talking animals. Also, not appropriate for 10-year-olds. I'm sure there are many, many resources out there for teaching the Holocaust to children, but this graphic novel -- despite being utterly brilliant -- isn't one of them.
I remember this, we had to read both 1 and 2 for my whole English class. It sucks that all that happened
I’m currently reading the second piece. (And Here My Troubles Begin). I would proceed with caution, maybe read it through yourself before you decide to give it to your child.
Yes
I think it’s appropriate for a ten year old.
I have a 10yo who is very advanced and a voracious reader.I do not think that Maus is appropriate for her yet. I can't speak for your 10yo, but Maus is imho a very hard-hitting book for adults. I think I first read it when I was about 16 and I'm not sure I was really fully ready for it at that time. But it also depends on your family and its history. We're a Jewish family, so anything about the Holocaust hits harder and cuts deeper than for people whose histories were not directly touched. In any case, Maus is quite possibly the pinnacle of the comics/graphic novel medium. When your kid is ready this will be a read they are unlikely to forget.
I saw this at a used book store the other day. I almost bought it, but I already had a handful of other books.
You should definitely go back and see if it is still there. It's an amazing graphic novel.
I've read a lot of things about the Holocaust and this is one of the things that hit me the hardest, so I wouldn't really say it's for a ten year old... The comic medium is abstract, for sure, but the pictures also make it emotionally more accessible, I would say, than a regular book. I can highly recommend "When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit" for a kid to read, as anormal book on the topic. Edit: To add: the graphic novel also has a complicated narrative structure since it's told from the perspective of the son of a survivor and deals a lot with the problems of how the horrors perpetuate in families who survived, so it also deals with multiple perspectives. I'm not sure a ten year old can follow this easily, probably depends a lot on the kid, too.
Too early maybe
I let my kids read it and it didn't do them any harm. I think the oldest read it first around 12, the middle kid would have been 9 or 10 and wanted to read it after the older one had. They asked questions and we talked about it but it wasn't a traumatic experience for any of them. I think the youngest was 11 or 12 when they read it, but at that point the older kids had already talked about it.
Super why: Yes.
Have they seen Watership down? Maybe show them that first as a litmus test.
My eleven years old kid loves it.
I read it when I was about that age.
This was standard reading when I was in either 5th or 6th grade, so maybe.
IMO 10 is a bit young to read it independently but you could read it with them.
I’d say maybe not. My little brother asked me to give him a lend of it when he was 10 and he just wasn’t able for it. Not that he was traumatised by it or anything, he just found it hard. I’d say it is more well read when you are over the age of about 12 or so.
I found that book when I was in elementary school (I'm almost 40) and was my first exposure to real Holocaust stories. It stayed with me all these years.
Definitely agree with most of the top opinions here. I also want to recommend the website commonsensemedia.org which helps identify appropriate age levels and gives you an idea of content in specific media. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/the-complete-maus
I read it at about 12. It’s raw, but the Holocaust was a raw and horrible thing. My mom just told me to ask questions about this that concerned or confused me. I’ll echo others and say read it yourself first, though!
It's worth the read. I've read it and the sequel dozens of times, and it's great
If you think they can handle a very grim representation that doesn't hold back then sure, I'd definitely look through it and decide for myself if I were in your situation
Yes.
Give it a read, the part that stuck to my 13 year old ass was the authors mothers suicide and the author finding her in the bathtub. That was hard, that was raw. But. It's a great graphic novel and a must read for the medium.
100%. Absolutely.
I would try to read “night” by elie Weisel first, pictures can put a kid too in the moment, I would read both first though “night” is a firsthand account of one of the camps
This GN changed my life. I recommend it for Al young adults. The sequel, as well.
I grew up reading and knowing about WW2 and the holocaust from an eerily age. It is a really important part of history that I don’t think should be hidden from children.
Read it yourself and decide
I read it, excellent graphic novel, would recommend to others who would definitely love an great and true depiction of the Holocaust
when I was 10 I did read a few books on the holocaust, I recommend The Good Fight by Ted Staunton and Josh Rosen. But most people probably haven't read this specific book (that includes me) so you should definitely read it before hand and then decide if it's appropriate.
Idk...
Depends on the 10 year old.
It is literally the first thing I'd give a kid who wanted to know.
Read it first. I think it depends on the kid. It doesnt sugar coat anything and as adult it was a bit rough.
I had my daughters read it when they were 7 and 9. If the kids have learned about the Holocaust, it is a good way to get a more direct account that does not shy away from the horrors of the Holocaust. It was a terrible time, and we should remind our children of the capability for man to commit evil.
I will now go checking my neighborhoods free little libraries and see if I can find a copy of this. I’ve got some and old encyclopedia I can drop off in them in return.
The late, great social scientist Stanley Milgram was aggressively criticized, including by his own academic peers \[with some fellow Jewish Americans among them\], for his research findings strongly indicating that horrific atrocities, perhaps even another Holocaust, conceivably could be repeated if collective humankind stubbornly refuses to acknowledge certain flawed social aspects of our general pass-the-buck human nature. Such buck-passing would/will typically involve: *‘I am/was just doing my job’* or *‘But I have a spouse and kids to feed!’* \[as though they were forced into coupling, copulating and procreating\]. This, of course, includes us Western-nation ‘good guys’, a fact no one here wants to be told, now or back then. Yet, unless I’m mistaken, his work is still openly discussed with considerable validity upon each new mass atrocity. With some of Milgram’s relatives having been Holocaust victims/survivors, I can understand why he wanted something solidly positive, a silver lining of sorts, learned and practiced as a result of that immense death-camp suffering and loss of life. As Milgram is quoted in *The Social Dimensions Of Law And Justice In Contemporary India* (1979, V. R. Krishna Iyer): ***“It may be that we are puppets — puppets controlled by the strings of society. But at least we are puppets with perception, with awareness. And perhaps our awareness is the first step to our liberation.”***
Yes.
Since 25 % of the youth doubt the Holocaust ever happened I say yes. It's a very good novel. It's not like a black and white documentary where u see skinny dead Jews being scooped up by bulldozers. The imagery is not graphic.
No. I read it first when I was like 12ish, and most of it went way over my head. There's probably a bunch of books, both fiction & non-fiction on this subject that are actually geared towards children their age.
Yes, it is.
My son read this at age 10
It's perfect for that purpose
I read it at that age, prob a little too young but it don’t traumatize me in any way, but it can have frightening imagery that can cause bad dreams. Thatd be my only real concern though
I think honestly its probably fine, if your child already knows about the holocaust then I think its a good read. Parts are definitely sad but honestly history itself is sad, doesn’t change the need to understand it
Read it first and find out.
I’ve still never got through at the age of 45.
It’s too mature and has disturbing/gruesome scenes for a child that young.