Peter Sis uses drawing and sparse text in this memoir about his childhood and teen years in Czechoslovakia. There is a really Interesting juxtaposition about what was happening politically and what was happening with him and his art personally. Excerpts of his childhood journals are included throughout. It was interesting to read about the freedoms and controlled placed on the country by the government and to see the ramifications of those policies on the lives of individual people, like Sis.
This quick read was interesting. The artwork definitely helped drive the tale. ( )

Merideth says: Artistic from an early age, Sis's unnamed, yet autobiographical narrator, draws what he likes. However, in the tightly controlled and suspicious climate of 1950's Czechoslovakia, he is seamlessly indronated into Soviet ideals. Compulsory displays of patriotism and loyalty are the norm. It is not until the young narrator is exposed to Western rock music that he discovers what he has not been told by his government. Finally, after a all too brief period of freedom (the Prague Spring of 1968) and resultant crackdown, the narrartor flees, on wings of his art.

An interesting book that bears close examination. I don't respond well to Sis' art -- the heavy crosshatching and intricate shading looks busy to my eye -- but there is no denying that is is a technical masterpiece. The entire narrative has an air of tarnished innocence, as the young narrator ages and discovers thought beyond the party line. I'm not entirely sure who this book is intended for, but it is a masterful piece of graphic storytelling. (cross-posted from MeriJenBen) ( )

The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain is a dense and fascinating graphic memoir. Peter Sis recounts his childhood in Prague, Czechoslovakia in the 1960's through elaborate illustrations and carefully chosen words. There are two two-page spreads that include excerpts from his boyhood diary. Although it is a memoir, Sis tells a more universal story of life in Prague and the Eastern bloc during this time as well. It's a fascinating and riveting look into the historical period. This book is dense with historical information, and Sis deftly uses pictures to tell the story of his boyhood. The illustrations in this book use color in a highly emotive way to enhance the story. Because the book is so honest, the depictions of this complex time may not be understandable to very young children. ( )

I really like this book because of how it is presented. It appears to be a picture book, but it is so much more. It provides the reader with an opportunity to learn about Czechoslovakian history, an American author, pop culture of the '60's, life under communism, and so much more. The artwork and the symbolism are worth discussing. This book would make for a great group discussion for students in 6-12th grade. ( )

“He didn’t question what he was being told…This was the time of brainwashing”

There may have been a time when Peter Sis did not question what he was being told, but The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain stands as a testament to the fact that today Peter Sis is an independent thinker (as well as a talented artist). By sharing his story, Sis gives us a textual and pictorial front seat view into communism in Czechoslovakia from the beginning of the Cold War to its end.

Throughout The Wall, Sis is shown trying to make sense out of the life and the culture that lies before him. He knows he wants to be an artist, but self-expression and personal identity are frowned upon in favor of complete conformity and communal identity. He struggles with what he is being taught versus what he feels in his heart, “He stopped drawing and was left with only his dreams. But he had to draw. Sharing the dreams gave him hope.”

Sis makes the atmosphere of fear, suspicion, and lies relevant to children by telling about the Czech government’s policy that encouraged young children to inform on family and friends. Limited freedoms and limited choice is reflected in Sis’ stark text and illustrations. His black and white pen and ink illustrations fill most each page; when color is used, it is largely communist red. With 56 pages (more than the traditional 32 pages found in most picture books) and cartoon like panels, The Wall amalgamates the best of the picture book and graphic novel formats.

While it contains only a mere five paragraphs, Sis’ introduction provides a lucid synopses of the Cold war and sets the stage for his memoir. He writes, “The Soviet Union and the Western nations managed their territories in different ways. The Western Bloc countries were all independent democracies, while the Eastern Bloc was tightly controlled by the Soviet Union.” He notes that Europe was divided “symbolically, ideologically, and physically…I was born at the beginning of it all, on the Red side–the Communist side–of the Iron Curtain.” The story then opens with the Soviet’s closing of the Czech borders in 1948; it ends with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and Sis’ explanation of how difficult it is to put into words the Cold War. Sis has overcome this difficulty by putting his story and the story of these years in world history it into words and pictures while also incorporating other elements such as a historical timeline and excerpts from his journals.

Sis’ book deals with a complex and politically-charged time in world history. On the one hand, adults may need to help younger readers navigate the timeline and make it relevant to life today; on the other hand, the complexity encourages discourse and questioning of different value systems and ways of being. The Wall takes readers outside personal circumstances into recognition that other individuals and people’s of the world have hopes, dreams, and realities as real as their own. The Wall also enhances appreciation of freedom–freedom to draw, freedom to be, freedom to choose.

Sis has won awards for other works (e.g., Starry Messenger as winner of the 1997 Caldecott Honor). The Wall has earned him a couple of additional distinctions, recently winning the Robert F. Sibert Medal and a Caldecott Honor. So my final take on The Wall: Growing up Behind the Iron Curtain:

Reading this book
COMPULSORY
Failing to read this book
PROHIBITED

(Not that I’m advocating conformity or coercion…but, I’m SUGGESTING this will be popular among students of history and with those who enjoy non-traditional book formats. It will also come in handy for teachers and students facing Cold War era curricula.) ( )