02516cam a2200361 4500 1163411214 TxAuBib 20080225120000.0 060728s2007||||||||||||||||||||||||eng|u 2006049149 9780374347017 hc. 0374347018 hc. 9780374347017 51800 TxAuBib Sis, Peter, 1949- The wall : growing up behind the Iron Curtain / Peter Sís. 1st ed. New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2007. 1 v. (unpaged) : col. ill., maps ; 32 cm. Map on lining papers. 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. Si;s 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. Annotated illustrations, maps, and dreamscapes explore how the artist-author's life was shaped while growing up in Czechoslovakia during the Cold War, in a powerful graphic memoir. 20080225. Sís, Peter 1949- Childhood and youth Juvenile literature. Illustrators United States Biography Juvenile literature. Authors, American 20th century Biography Juvenile literature. Czech Americans Biography Juvenile literature. Picture books for children. Czechoslovakia Social conditions 1945-1992 Juvenile literature. Czechoslovakia History 1945-1992 Juvenile literature. Caldecott Honor 2008. TXKIP