The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain (Caldecott Honor Book)

The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain (Caldecott Honor Book)
by Peter Sis

The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain (Caldecott Honor Book)
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Book Summary Information

Author: Peter Sis
Edition: Hardcover
Published: 2007-08-21
ISBN: 0374347018
Number of pages: 56
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

Book Reviews of The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain (Caldecott Honor Book)

Book Review: life behind the curtain
Summary: 5 Stars

We in the West often cannot believe,or rufuse to believe what it must have been like to live behind 'The Iron Curtain'.Surely we are told,those tales of repression are merely 'Mc Carthyite propaganda' and 'cold war nonsense'.For some strange reason the idea of a socio political system that murdered more than one hundred million of it's own people while enslaving over a billion more is just too much to face.Leave it to a 'mere childrens book' to show us a slice of life behind the iron curtain.Peter Sis's book does more to open our eyes to life under communism than a spielberg movie ever could(or ever would).Using simple drawings he communicates the hopes and fears of those trapped on the other side of "the wall".Hope springs eternal and oppresion is ever present in a world where a young boy only wants to draw pictures and listen to music without the authorities telling him what to do and how to think and behave.Art and music were seen as powerfull tools and therefor powerfull weapons by soviet rulers.Play a guitar in the West and you were just like everyone else..maybe you could even make a living at it.In the East,a guitar or paintbrush or pen could get you imprisoned or even killed.The West was forbidden fruit.While the West tuned in turned on and dropped out in 1968,the people of Eastern Europe cowered against oppresion,while the West could'nt care less.Revollution was in the air,please dont confuse the issue by pointing out the results of said revollution.While we in the West fictionalsed socialism,it's victims turned to us and our freedom as if it were a drug.The Beachboys..the Beatles..Led Zeppelin.Powerful stuff.All the while the hopes and dreams of one little boy(and countless others)survived the brutallity of socialism and eventually survived to witness the collapse of the Iron Curtain.Sis survives and his artistic life continues.I dont know if this book can be compared to the likes of such works as "Maus" or other well known graphic books.It is a simple book,simply illustrated and simply told.But it is told well.But please dont think of it as a 'mere childrens book'.I can think of only too many grownups who could take a gander and maybe learn a thing or two.But that may be asking too much.Already i can hear some say "he's awfully tough on those poor socialists and way too easy on America".No...he is merely telling the truth...a small slice of life as it was.In fact,the reality was far more grim than even hinted at in this book.This is a simple book.An easy book.A good book for children (of all ages).This is a great book for a budding young artist or musician...or tenured proffessor or even Bay area resident.Liberals should love this book as much as conservatives(how many books can that be said of?).

Summary of The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain (Caldecott Honor Book)

“I was born at the beginning of it all, on the Red side—the Communist side—of the Iron Curtain.” Through annotated illustrations, journals, maps, and dreamscapes, Peter S?s shows what life was like for a child who loved to draw, proudly wore the red scarf of a Young Pioneer, stood guard at the giant statue of Stalin, and believed whatever he was told to believe. But adolescence brought questions. Cracks began to appear in the Iron Curtain, and news from the West slowly filtered into the country. S?s learned about beat poetry, rock ’n’ roll, blue jeans, and Coca-Cola. He let his hair grow long, secretly read banned books, and joined a rock band. Then came the Prague Spring of 1968, and for a teenager who wanted to see the world and meet the Beatles, this was a magical time. It was short-lived, however, brought to a sudden and brutal end by the Soviet-led invasion. But this brief flowering had provided a glimpse of new possibilities—creativity could be discouraged but not easily killed.

By joining memory and history, S?s takes us on his extraordinary journey: from infant with paintbrush in hand to young man borne aloft by the wings of his art.

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