The Other Side of the Wall

This is a great graphic novel about the divide between the powers of West and East Berlin through the eyes of a child. I have this book in German, but wanted to use it for classes here in the U.S.. My only issue with the book I received is the seller I bought it from cut out one of the pictures in the book; this particular image depicted the mother experiencing sexual assault. Of course this book is not for ALL ages, but an adult should know who to show this book to based on doing research ahead of time and knowing their audience. However, I’m not happy that this copy was ruined because someone was unhappy with the image; they should have left the decision up to the person purchasing the book if they wanted to allow others to see it or if they wanted to find a way to censor the image; I am now forced into this decision and if one of my students chooses to read this and finds this page, I have to explain to them why someone cut a piece out of the book, which I find even more troublesome. I now wasted money on this copy when I could’ve had a new copy for the same price. Please read the book before using it in a classroom or other setting where the situations depicted could upset others and also find a way to have a productive conversation about it.

The daily life of totalitarian regime country inhabitants is difficult to fathom for western people. This book illustrates very well the differences among generations and even inside generations, regarding their freedom status.The graphics bring some light to the story and the black & white choice adds to the seriousness of the situation. The little boy is given an interesting voice, as the narrator.This is a very good book that I would recommend to people interested in the eastern communist country life.

My granddaughter spent five weeks in Berlin this summer and loves graphic narratives. So this was the perfect book for her upon her return to the US. The story is told from a young person's perspective: life in the GDR, the communist sector of Berlin; the effort of the family to relocate to the West; and the consequences of those efforts. A fine book to introduce the history of Berlin in the post WWII era.

Being watched, being followed, never feeling free. How can you explain to a child? How can you reconcile with grandparents who are True Believers?Excellent book. My kids are high scho down to fifth grade. I highly recommend.Parent note: one instance of the secret police sexually groping the woman.

The books is fine... but it got here with the cover ripped 😒 Pretty annoying, but I don't have time to return it for a another one

The Schwartz family were strangers in a strange land. They had arrived from East Berlin with “just the things in [their] suitcases and the clothes on [their] backs. The road had been a long winding one and a strange one at that, but strangers smiled and welcomed them warmly, even giving them money. For his mother, this place they now found them in had once been a “strange, forbidden world,” one she’d always wanted to see. Simon’s parents had fallen in love at the University of Erfurt in 1974, where he would later teach. They were so different, but it didn’t seem to matter to them. Simon’s father’s family were “from a model socialist family” while his mother’s was not.Simon’s father was simply not prepared to head to the West, because when he was growing up, he loved his life. Frau Reidel, a teacher of the Pioneers would shout out to them to salute the flag. Simon’s father would shout back, “For peace and socialism! Be prepared!” Leaving behind his life would be difficult, but later things began to happen that would change his mind. By that time, Simon had been born and the changes convinced them that moving away from East Berlin in 1984 was best. The job at the University was gone and the Stasi stepped up the pace harassing them more and more each day.Living on the other side of the Berlin Wall worked well for the Schwartz family. Young Simon was blissfully unaware of the change and “hardly noticed the differences from my life in West Berlin” from that at his grandparent’s house. As he got older, he began to notice things. Simon had two sets of grandparents, but why couldn’t he go to both? It was very strange and he “realized at a young age that no everyone was as free to move around” as he was. His mother drew a map for him so he could see where everhyone lived. Grandma and grandpa were not in the little circle she drew around Berlin like they were, but why? Why couldn’t his grandma come to pick him up at kindergarten like the other boys grandmas did?This is a fascinating award-winning story of a family who emigrated from the DDR to West Berlin. This graphic novel, presented in black and white panels, is the autobiography of Simon Schwatz. He tells it from the vantage point of a young child trying to understand his place in the world. Simon’s world, of course, is a different one from either that of his parents or grandparents. In this memoir, we learn about the family’s life and what led them to emigrate. For young readers, it’s an opportunity to not only learn about Simon’s life, but also about the political situation at the time.This graphic novel makes it easy to understand the situation as his father and mother started out on opposite sides of the fence as it were. The black and white panels are indicative of thid dark time in history. This book would be an excellent stepping stone for students to learn about and research the time. First published as “drûben!,” it won the ICOM Independent Comic Price in the Outstanding Scenario category. In the back of the book is a map of Germany (1961-1989) with an inset of East and West Berlin, a Timeline of the Berlin Wall, and a glossary.This book courtesy of the publisher.

Not exactly a riveting story but a decent read nonetheless. A memoir of the author's parents and what life was like for them in East Germany, especially during the early 1980s after they had applied for permanent relocation to the West. This is not a subject written about in kidslit very often but such an important one today. We must not forget the history of Socialism and Communism, how the first is needed to turn into the other, the tragic loss of freedoms, and the persecutions people lived through during this era of the Cold War. I certainly enjoyed the art, which is in b/w, despite the cover illustration; it quite reminded me of Zeina Abirached's work.

Great book and very quick and easy to read. I enjoyed it very much! Highly recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more about the Cold War conflict.