Pistes d'exploration

“Children make what sense they can of the life they are given.” (Leonard S. Markus, NY Times 2007). What do you notice about the drawings and story of the character’s early life? How do these elements contribute to his attempt to make sense of the events in his life?

This multimodal graphic memoir conveys information through image and text. The narrative, informational and reflective texts work together with the illustrations. Consider the first illustration (page 2): how do image and text combine to situate the reader within the world of the text?

How do political and social movements contribute to the formation of identity in graphic memoirs? Explore other graphic or historical memoirs in order to identify the common elements and devices they use to engage the reader.

Using teacher-selected resources, listen to a music playlist of the history leading up to the falling of the Berlin Wall. Create a mind map with keywords from the songs.

Despite the negative aspects of life under a reign of tight communist control, the author shares glimpses of his ever-present joy and sense of humour throughout the book. Find examples and provide reasons for your choices.

Analyze the illustrations and think back to the songs. Write a poem or the lyrics of a song that would capture the author’s story. Be creative.

The Stamp Collector, Symphony for the City of the Dead: Dmitri Shostakovich and the Siege of Leningrad, I Remember Beirut, Dare to Disappoint: Growing Up in Turkey

Mots-clés

Memoir , childhood , Communism , Czech Republic , dictatorship , freedom , growing up , illustrations (ink) , Peter Sís

Commentaire descriptif

This sophisticated picture book is a biographical account of the author’s childhood in communist Czechoslovakia. A brief introduction explains how most Eastern European countries fell under the control of Communist Russia at the end of World War II and how the construction of the Berlin Wall created a metaphorical “Iron Curtain” between the democratic West and the communist East. Although the book tackles complex ideas, the author makes them easy to understand by focusing on his own experience and using a variety of storytelling methods to explain what life was like during this period. Comic-strip style scenes, full-page murals and even journal entries make the story come alive. Most of the illustrations are in black and white, punctuated with thoughtful uses of colour to convey how art and culture can bring life and optimism, even changing how people think. Beginning with his early childhood, the author shows the limitations that were placed on citizens and the many ways in which the Communist regime exerted control over society. The love of drawing is a thread woven throughout the story to emphasize that art and creativity, as means of expression, can inspire hope and even liberation.