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ENCHANTED STORIES: Flight for freedom : the Wetzel family's daring escape from East Germany


Written by: Kristen Fulton
Illustrated by: Torben Kuhlmann
Chronicle Books LLC, 2020. Informational.

Flight for freedom is the true story of two families, the Wetzels and Strelzyks and their escape from East Germany in the 1970's. Told from six year old Peter's perspective is the story of how his family endured long lines, early curfews, and scratchy uniforms as well as other hardships living in Eastern Germany. Peter's family had an illegal picture of a hot air balloon and it gave them the inspiration to make a balloon and fly over the Berlin Wall. For more than a year Peter and his family slowly acquired the supplies they needed to construct a balloon, buying what they needed a little at a time. After a few failed attempts they finally made their escape.

The author has done a great job in telling the story in a straightforward manner with plenty of drama and tension. The illustrations are stunning and help create the tension of the experience since the escape happened at night by using lots of  light. At the end of the story are some notes about the construction of the balloon and information about the Cold War and the Berlin Wall which I found very interesting. This is a perfect picture book to teach young children about the Cold War, the Iron Curtain, and East Germany.

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