Theo Summary
Barbara Grizzuti Harrison

Everything you need to understand or teach Theo by Barbara Grizzuti Harrison.

  • Theo Summary & Study Guide

Theo Summary

When the Nazis announce that all orphans in Athens, Greece, are to be rounded up and sent to Germany, Theo and his older brother Socrates decide to escape from the capital city and travel to a small village where they can hide and join the resistance movement. But, when they reach their destination, Socrates is brutally executed by the Nazis, leaving the younger boy on his own. Theo's only true companion and confidante becomes his shadow puppet, Karagiozis, a beloved and heroic character in Greek puppet-shadow theater. By using his puppet as a means to express his feelings, young Theo struggles to understand the meaning of heroism and bravery, to make sense of what is happening in the world around him, and to survive.

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