The wall : growing up behind the Iron Curtain / Peter Sis. [print]

"Frances Foster books."

Art techniques used: detailed yet playful drawings in pen and ink. Limited use of color to heighten the story.

"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 Sis 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. Sis 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, Sis takes us on his extraordinary journey: from infant with paintbrush in hand to young man borne aloft by the wings of his art.--Publisher information.

Grade three Grade four Grade five https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/books/the-wall-by-peter-sis/

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PETER SÍS is an internationally acclaimed illustrator, filmmaker, painter and author. Born in 1949 in Brno, Czechoslovakia, and grew up in Prague. He studied painting and filmmaking at the Academy of Applied Arts in Prague and the Royal College of Art in London. His animated work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. He came to America in 1982, and now lives in New York's Hudson Valley with his family. Peter Sís is the first children's book artist to be named a MacArthur Fellow. In 2012 he won The Hans Christian Andersen Award. His many distinguished books include Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei, Tibet Through the Red Box, Madlenka, Rainbow Rhino, The Tree of Life: Charles Darwin, The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain, and The Conference of the Birds.https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8658.Peter_S_s

Caldecott Honor Book, 2008.

Children's Award winner

Notable Book for a Global Society award winner, 2008

Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People, 2008.

Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal, 2008.