School Library Journal-Rezension

Gr 5-7-Kalman tells the story of the Revolution from the perspective of the nine-year-old child she was at the time. She captures the exhilaration that buoyed the Hungarian people when they tried to oust the Soviets, the fear that gripped them when tanks rolled in to end the uprising, and her family's despair at leaving their beloved grandparents behind when they escaped to Vienna. She brings the story to the present with a discussion of her marriage and family and her career as a children's book author. An introduction provides background about Hungary, her family, and the difficulties of life under Communist rule, and a final chapter discusses the background of the 1956 Revolution and the liberation of Hungary in 1990. Family photos and color illustrations and maps supplement the text. Although Kalman's story is dramatic and frequently moving, there is an excessive use of exclamation points, and the context is not always integrated into the text. This book should be considered as a supplemental purchase to help students understand this often-overlooked part of history.-Mary Mueller, Rolla Junior High School, MO (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.