The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain

Author: Peter Sis
Illustrator: Peter Sis
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Date: 2007
Awards: ALA Notable Book, Caldecott Honor Book (2008)
Ages: All ages
Topics: picture book, nonfiction, iron curtain, cold war, autobiography, Czechoslovakia, graphic novel, comic
Summary: The book traces the life story of Peter Sis as he grows up behind the Iron Curtain. Through comic illustrations, drawing, diary entries, and brief text, he describes what life was like from the 1940s through the 1980s living under Communist rule.

Book Connections

• The Wall from Peter Sis's website
• 'The Wall' Brings a Grim World Back to Life from National Public Radio

Topic Connections

 

Cold War

• Cold War from Wikipedia
• Cold War Portal from Wikipedia
• Cold War from CBC
• Cold War from CNN
• Revelations from the Russian Archives from the Library of Congress

Iron Curtain

• The Iron Curtain from Wikipedia

Learning Connections

• Graphic Novel. Use Comic Life to create a graphic novel of your own life.
• Historical Events and the Iron Curtain. Select a page in the book and learn more about the history of the time period. What was going on around the world at this time?
• Oral History. Conduct an interview with someone who was living during the 1930s through the 1980s. Ask them about their memories of the Iron Curtain.
• Timeline. Create a timeline for Peter's life. Then create a timeline for your own life. Compare them. Create a timeline for Czchoslovakia and the United States for the 1900s. Compare them.

Teaching Connections

• Resources for Teachers
  • Teacher's Guide (PDF) from Farrar Straus Giroux

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