Lukehart, W. (2007). [The Wall]. School Library Journal, 53(8), 139-40. Retrieved December 1, 2009, from Article Citation database.

Sutton, R. (2007). [The Wall]. The Horn Book, 83(5), 599. Retrieved December 1, 2009, from Article Citation database.

 

The Wall is a fantastic picture book for older students. It is a fantastic source for learning about the Cold War. The author uses his life and experiences to give the reader access to Czechoslovokia during the Cold War. The artwork is amazing, and conveys as much of the story as the words do. ( )

This book was about Peter Sis's experience growing up in Czechoslovakia when it was controlled by the Soviets in the mid- 1900s. The Cold War & his schooling under the Soviet rule shaped everything about Sis, but couldn't take away his love of drawing. (He did get really good at drawing tanks and pro-Soviet propaganda though.) These wonderful drawings that are mostly black and white, with the accent of communist Red throughout, (although there are some illustrations with more color - like the Beatles/1960s page!) retell an incredible time in history through the sensitive eyes of one person. There is plenty of straightforward factual & historical information, but it is all kept short, sweet & to the point, so that it effortlessly fits in with what the reader is seeing in illustrations. I love his rebellious nature too: 'Every one of us in the academy has to create a piece of art celebrating the Soviet Army. I'm glad I;m in the animation department! I'' just paint the backgrounds and explain that the tanks are coming later'. And I love this story: Sis's first professional assignment in 1975 was to paint a little airport for an album cover. The art director asked him which way his red-and-white wind sock was blowing in the painting. When Sis thought he was joking, he replied that 'if the wind is blowing from west to east, it could be read as coming from West Germany to the Soviet Union', which would get Sis in trouble. What a fantastic piece of artwork this book is!

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) ( )