Gr 6-9-In 1948 Europe, former American bomber pilot Freddie Birch is making a precarious living as a ventriloquist when he encounters young Avrom Amos. The boy is a dybbuk, the spirit of a Jewish youth murdered by the Nazis. He was one of the resistance fighters who helped Freddie escape from a POW camp. The ghost has "unfinished business" with the SS colonel who killed him, and he needs a living body-Freddie's-to accomplish it. With Avrom's spirit sharing his space, The Great Freddie finds that his act improves. The dybbuk's snappy commentary is wildly popular with audiences, and the two begin to get bookings in fancier clubs. However, the spirit refuses to work on shabbes, and he insists that Freddie stand in for him at his bar mitzvah ceremony. Then Avrom begins to change the script, inserting information about his murder and the man who killed him. Since he is incorporeal, his character is revealed almost exclusively through dialogue-a remarkable juxtaposition of sharp, sometimes bitter humor with graphic descriptions of appalling wartime atrocities. Fleischman explores the sensitive topic of anti-Semitism-not just the overt evil of the Nazi system, but also the casual, pervasive bigotry of the period. Even Freddie has to deal with his own deep-seated prejudice. There is a strong emphasis on friendship and justice, and an ultimate affirmation of life and hope. This exciting and thought-provoking book belongs in every collection.-Elaine E. Knight, Lincoln Elementary Schools, IL Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

Motivated, as he explains in his afterword, to create a personal remembrance of the 1.5 million Jewish children killed in the Holocaust, Fleischman pairs Freddie, a struggling, ex-GI ventriloquist, with Avrom, the ghost of one such victim, in a short, provocative tale that leavens the tears with laughter. Freddie's career isn't exactly taking off as he wanders postwar Europe til he opens a closet and discovers smart-mouthed Avrom, who offers to put a better line of patter into Freddie's mouth in exchange for help finding a certain murderous SS officer. Countering Freddie's understandable reluctance with both gags and gut-wrenching war stories, Avrom moves in, and Freddie begins to display stunning vocal tricks to ever-larger audiences. Avrom then cajoles his host into keeping kosher, and even undergoing an ersatz (or is it?) bar mitzvah. Ultimately, the search takes the two to America, where in a satisfying (if credulity-straining) climax, they find their quarry standing trial for a new crime, and Avrom exacts a triumphant revenge for the old ones. The narrative voice here sounds adult, but the talented Fleischman is still both entertaining and thoughtful. Avrom's wisecracking will counterbalance matter-of-fact accounts of Nazi cruelty for young readers, but it's likely to be older ones who will best appreciate the novel's eloquent "inner voice" of conscience, which takes on a definite symbolic cast, and the way in which Freddie's public and private identities shift as the story progresses.

Amidst the plethora of mostly depressing Holocaust children's and YA literature, Fleischman introduces an ingenious approach to the topic and issues. In post-WWII Europe, The Great Freddie, an American gentile who is a mediocre ventriloquist, performs in clubs around the continent. Freddie becomes possessed by a dybbuk (the Jewish ghost of a boy, Avrom Amos, with an unfinished mission). Avrom, not yet 13, was brutally murdered by a Nazi bounty hunter. Sweet revenge is the mission and Avrom intends on achieving it through Freddie's body and voice as he takes over the puppet act in order to publicly search for his murderer in each new city they play. Freddie's refusal, then reluctance, soon turns to dependence as the dybbuk's voices for the act make Freddie appear as a magical ventriloquist, never moving his lips and even drinking water during the act. Great success leads to better clubs and eventually back to America, where both Freddie and the dybbuk come to a mutual understanding upon finding the ex-Nazi in question. While the story incorporates a continual humorous banter between Freddie and the dybbuk, it is precisely their relationship that brings out themes of the Holocaust, anti-Semitism and, in particular, the senseless methodical killing of children in hiding by bounty hunters for the price of a few coins each. Quick, creative, clever and thoroughly entertaining. (author's note) (Fiction. 10-15)

Traveling into territory more commonly associated with Isaac Bashevis Singer, Newbery Medalist Fleischman (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">The Whipping Boy) draws attention to the especially cruel treatment of Jewish children during the Holocaust. The “Great Freddie” is a decorated GI, an orphan who has stayed in Europe and, by 1948, has found a toehold as a ventriloquist. And then Avrom Amos Poliakov shows up—rather, takes over. Avrom Amos is a dybbuk, a wandering soul or ghost, and, by demonstrating how he might speak for Freddie's wooden dummy, Avrom Amos convinces Freddie to let him lodge within Freddie. The dybbuk makes good on his promise, and Freddie's act becomes the toast of Paris. But Avrom Amos has his own agenda, as Freddie knows. He wants to track down the infamous SS colonel who not only killed him but also tortured children, including his sister, and before long, the dybbuk co-opts Freddie's act and his interviews to spread the word about the SS colonel. The dybbuk's voice will shock some readers; he speaks in embittered, Yiddish-inflected English that drives home his point. Here is Avrom Amos giving Freddie a history lesson: “You didn't hear [that Hitler] told his Nazi <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">meshuggeners, those lunatics, 'Soldiers of Germany, have some fun and go murder a million and a half Jewish kids? All ages! Babies, fine. Girls with ribbons in their hair, why not?' ” Fleischman inserts horrific factual details of Nazi brutality, and yet his message about bearing witness may be submerged beneath the sensational story line. Ages 9-14. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Sept.)

Fleischman writes in his afterword, "It has taken me a long lifetime of novel writing to feel prepared to grapple with the Holocaust." Now, twenty years after he won a Newbery, this book is worth the wait. Freddie the Great is a not-so-great ventriloquist, a former American soldier traveling around Europe in the wake of World War II with his wooden dummy as stage partner. One night in Vienna, he finds a boy in his room who introduces himself as "Avrom Amos Poliakov . . . a dybbuk in short pants, not yet thirteen but older'n God." Freddie and the reader soon learn that a dybbuk is a Jewish spirit. Avrom enters Freddie's body and becomes his partner on stage, speaking for the dummy while Freddie tapes his mouth, drinks Perrier, and performs other remarkable tricks. But the dybbuk has unfinished business that he needs Freddie to help him complete-coming of age and achieving revenge. This short, beautiful book is a unique take on just one of the horrible aspects of war, the hunting of children. It is brutally honest, and yet the reader feels at least one soul is vindicated. In the end, Avrom gets his revenge in a surprisingly humorous chapter. As the dybbuk leaves, Freddie is left richer in money, career, and experience. It is a quick read that will remain in the reader's consciousness. It will enthrall historical fiction readers, Fleischman fans, and anyone else who picks it up.-Beth Karpas.