The Wall

A Caldecott Honor Book!
(Not to be confused with that movie by Pink Floyd).

Peter Sis loved to draw. He would draw the things he saw around him. Shapes like red stars and flags…people… When he went to school they told him what to draw. He didn't mind. He drew tanks, sickles, and famous political leaders. He never questioned any of it. That is, until they started banning art, books, and music…anything that wasn’t Socialist. But it didn’t stop the West from coming in. And it didn’t stop Sis from painting in secret.



Want to know more about what Sis painted? Read The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain. Use it with your students to teach them first-hand what life is like under a Communist government. Peter’s diary of drawings is sure to drum up interest!

Sis, P. (2007). The Wall: Growing up behind the Iron Curtain. New York: Francis Foster Books.

The Composition

Pedro has to write a composition during class about what his family does from the time he gets home to the time he goes to sleep. What a strange topic. It's even stranger that his regular teacher has been replaced by Captain Romo, a government soldier. When Pedro gets home, his parents react very strangely.
Will they get in trouble with the government and disappear just like Don Daniel, Pedro's best friend's dad?

Welcome to life in a dictatorship. What would your students do if they were in Pedro's place? How would their lives change if the government took over your school? Have your students write a composition like Pedro's, but don't tell them why until the end of class. Would they change what they wrote if they knew?

Teach your students about different types of governments by having them live through it. It's sure to be a lesson they won't forget!

Skarmata, A. & Ruano, A. (2000). The Composition. Berkeley, CA: Groundwood Books.