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shighley's review
4.0
I had never heard of this book, but saw it on Pernille Ripp's best of 2020 list. Such an interesting story; I wish the picture book part had included more of the details, such as the earlier attempts, but then I realized that there were almost 50 pages to the narrative. I also wondered why there wasn't more about the Strelzyk family, but perhaps that was to focus the story. It was interesting to see from the map that to escape from East to West Germany, they actually flew to the southeast. I was bothered a bit by the explanation of the way a hot air balloon works; it's not so much that "heat" rises, but less dense air gets pushed up by cooler, dense air. (former science teacher)
elke_go_read's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
4.25
panda_incognito's review against another edition
4.0
This nonfiction picture book never actually names communism, which is a total cop-out, but it vividly portrays the differences between life in West Germany and East Germany after WWII, sharing the inspiring story of a family that escaped over the Berlin Wall in a hot air balloon. This is a fascinating, suspenseful story, and it deeply moved me to think about how hard the parents worked and how much fear they lived in to devise this plan and try to give their children a better life.
The illustrations are beautiful, intricate, and historically detailed. I enjoyed poring over the pages to look at all of the different period details represented, and would recommend this both for the story and the artistry. This is a very beautiful book, and the detailed, creative pictures visualize for children the contrast between the prosperity and peace in the West and the deprivation and fear in the East at that time.
At the end of the book, there are historical notes that provide additional context and background for the story. Personally, I think that some of this explanation should have preceded the story, since even adult Americans often lack this background knowledge and don't understand the social and political realities in postwar Germany. The additional content in the back helps to explain the story, but I believe that it would have been helpful for some of it to appear as context and set-up.
My one significant disappointment with this book is that the author never explicitly names or denounces communism. She refers to incredibly challenging political and economic realities, but she doesn't identify the ideology behind them. In recent years, people in the West have become increasingly enamored with communism, choosing not to recognize the death toll and the weight of human suffering that have always followed this ideology. Since so few Americans truly understand the realities of communism throughout history, I wish that this book had more explicitly addressed the subject for children and for unaware adult readers.
However, I am glad that this book accomplishes as much as it does, and I hope that it will make people more aware and more interested in this time period and topic. There are very few children's books that address the realities of postwar Germany and the Berlin Wall, and this book does so in a direct, accurate, personal, and inspiring way.
The illustrations are beautiful, intricate, and historically detailed. I enjoyed poring over the pages to look at all of the different period details represented, and would recommend this both for the story and the artistry. This is a very beautiful book, and the detailed, creative pictures visualize for children the contrast between the prosperity and peace in the West and the deprivation and fear in the East at that time.
At the end of the book, there are historical notes that provide additional context and background for the story. Personally, I think that some of this explanation should have preceded the story, since even adult Americans often lack this background knowledge and don't understand the social and political realities in postwar Germany. The additional content in the back helps to explain the story, but I believe that it would have been helpful for some of it to appear as context and set-up.
My one significant disappointment with this book is that the author never explicitly names or denounces communism. She refers to incredibly challenging political and economic realities, but she doesn't identify the ideology behind them. In recent years, people in the West have become increasingly enamored with communism, choosing not to recognize the death toll and the weight of human suffering that have always followed this ideology. Since so few Americans truly understand the realities of communism throughout history, I wish that this book had more explicitly addressed the subject for children and for unaware adult readers.
However, I am glad that this book accomplishes as much as it does, and I hope that it will make people more aware and more interested in this time period and topic. There are very few children's books that address the realities of postwar Germany and the Berlin Wall, and this book does so in a direct, accurate, personal, and inspiring way.
maidmarianlib's review against another edition
4.0
A great personal view of this point in history would pair well with a variety of fiction titles
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