Renowned author and illustrator Peter Sís' brilliant autobiographical exploration of the creative spirit offers his trademark blend of intricate visual images and narrative. Sís was born in Communist-controlled Brno, Czechoslovakia, in 1949 and displayed artistic interests from very early on. His talents were indulged and encouraged within his home. At the same time, creativity and freedom of thought were being repressed in his school and throughout his homeland as the Iron Curtain rose and the Cold War escalated. Sís beautifully outlines the tension between socio-political repression and creativity through journal excerpts, actual drawings from his developing years as an artist, and hauntingly complex images outlining the historical context of turbulent times in Eastern Europe. Each image underscores how he questioned the world around him as a developing child and adolescent, especially as news of Western popular culture filtered through the curtain. Creative expression and opportunity exploded for the author in the spring of 1968, only to be crushed quickly by the totalitarian strong arm. Sís was able to hold on to his dreams, however, fueled by his indomitable spirit and the force of his own imagination. (Age 9 and older)

Between Sís’s one-page introduction and his afterword, the author/illustrator paints a personal and poignant portrait of his birthplace, Czechoslo- vakia, under the control of the Soviet Union until the Iron Curtain fell. Interspersed with his illustrations and brief captions are a sampling of his own journal entries from 1954 to 1977. Most of the illustrations are black-and- white and are punctuated by the symbolic red of Communism and the Soviet regime. Endpapers offer a map of the world with an inset of Czechoslovakia.