Peter is having fun with his mates when his Mum, Dad and sister leave for a visit to the other side of Berlin. He stays the night with his beloved Opa and Oma and goes to bed thinking about all those who have moved to West Berlin to escape the troubled Communist life they live.

The very next morning his best friend Hubert is banging on their front door. Soldiers are rolling out barbed wire between East and West Berlin. Peter races to see for himself and discovers that he is trapped. Will he ever see his Mum, Dad and little sister Magrit again? Surely the soldiers will let him through.

But the government means business. No-one is to leave East Berlin, and if they try to escape they will be shot.

Peter meets others keen to get to loved ones in the West, but as they watch a new brick wall rapidly blocking them off, their hopes quickly fade.

Based on true stories from August 1961, A Great Escape portrays the fear and helplessness once again in Germany, against the government and their harsh policies.

Peter has incredibly hard choices to make and is forced to grow up in a very short space of time. Each chapter is labelled in German and English so simple words can be learnt in Peter’s language. A wonderful way to learn about this time in history.

Fans of Morris Gleitzman’s Once, Then & Now series will enjoy this story.

Author – Felice Arena

Age – 9+

(Historical, Action, Courage, Friendship, Family, Grandparents, Stroke, Government, Communism, Capitalism, Germany, Cold War, 1961, Berlin Wall, Secret)