Flight for Freedom: The Wetzel Family’s Daring Escape from East Germany by Kristen Fulton, Torben Kuhlmann
ISBN: 1452149607
Genres: Historical Fiction
Format: Picture Book Nonfiction
Goodreads

Quick. Make a list of all the ways someone might escape from East Germany during the Cold War… 

Did you have ‘balloon flight’ on your list? I didn’t either, until I read this incredible account of not only one, but two families who made their escape in a home-made hot-air balloon!

This event is made accessible to middle elementary readers as historical fiction with clear but informative sentences and limited text on each page. The reader is introduced to young Peter Wetzel and how he lives with the differences between life in the East and West. The events leading up to the final escape attempt and the escape are told through Peter’s eyes. Upper elementary readers would find this an easy to understand account of a dramatic true event.

Realistic photos, some double-pages spreads and some single, with dark, shadowed tones appropriate to the confinement and night time escape. A map of their route from East Germany to West appears on the end pages. Back matter includes information on how their balloon was made and functioned, author notes, photos of the actual balloon and landing site sign, and the Cold War and the Berlin Wall. 

Highly recommended for all post-WWII collections and historical fiction shelves. This could be used with middle to upper elementary readers as an introduction to the Cold War, personal narrative writing lessons, or historical fiction examples.

Reviewed by Lynn Mayer, Retired Librarian, Old Town Elementary School, Old Town