Synopses & Reviews
Life was grim in 1948 West Berlin, Germany. Josef Stalin blockaded all ground routes coming in and out of Berlin to cut off West Berliners from all food and essential supplies. Without outside help, over 2.2 million people would die.
Thus began the Berlin Airlift, a humanitarian rescue mission that utilized British and American airplanes and pilots to fly in needed supplies. As one of the American pilots participating in the Airlift mission, Lt. Gail S. Halvorsen helped to provide not only nourishment to the children but also gave them a reason to hope for a better world. From one thoughtful, generous act came a lifelong relationship between Lt. Gail and the children of Berlin.
This is the true story of a seven-year-old girl named Mercedes who lived in West Berlin during the Airlift and of the American who came to be known as the Chocolate Pilot.
Artist Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzens evocative paintings illuminate Margot Theis Ravens powerful story of hope, friendship and remembrance.
Review
"The close-up portraits may be static, but the artist's lifelike depictions of the devastated city are chilling; bullet and shrapnel holes mar even the girl's garden walls. Despite the cumbersome text, a sketch of an uncommonly giving man and a rare friendship emerges." Publishers Weekly
Review
"This outstanding picture book depicts one of the lesser-known aspects of the Berlin Airlift following World War II as seen through the eyes of a seven-year-old girl....Although the text is slightly wordy at times, it shows, in part, how the Cold War impacted children, and how one child struggled to find hope amid the ruins of postwar Germany." School Library Journal
Review
"The pictures are handsome and naturalistically rendered; the prose is a bit overwrought, but the story comes through. Although the book is designed as a picture book for older readers, good beginning readers may be able to handle this on their own." Booklist
Synopsis
A True Story of the Berlin Airlift and the Candy that Dropped from the Sky. Life was grim in 1948 West Berlin, Germany. Josef Stalin blockaded all ground routes coming in and out of Berlin to cut off West Berliners from all food and essential supplies. Without outside help, over 2.2 million people would die. Thus began the Berlin Airlift, a humanitarian rescue mission that utilized British and American airplanes and pilots to fly in needed supplies. As one of the American pilots participating in the Airlift mission, Lt. Gail S. Halvorsen helped to provide not only nourishment to the children but also gave them a reason to hope for a better world. From one thoughtful, generous act came a lifelong relationship between Lt. Gail and the children of Berlin. This is the true story of a seven-year-old girl named Mercedes who lived in West Berlin during the Airlift and of the American who came to be known as the Chocolate Pilot. Artist Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen's evocative paintings illuminate Margot Theis Raven's powerful story of hope, friendship and remembrance. About the Author: Margot Theis Raven has been a professional writer working in the fields of radio, television, magazines, newspapers, and children's books for thirty years. She has won five national awards, including an IRA Teacher's Choice award. Ms. Raven earned her degree in English from Rosemont College and attended Villanova University for theater study, and Kent State University for German language. About the Illustrator: Born in the Netherlands, Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen studied at the Royal Academy of Arts in Holland. He immigrated to the United States in 1976, and years later he became a children's book illustrator. Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot is Nick's ninth children's book with Sleeping Bear Press.
Synopsis
After serving as a pilot for the Berlin Airlift of 1948-49, Lt. Gail Halvorsen settled back to Utah. Not long after, having felt the lessons his father taught about how the little things you do in life will make big things happen, Gail decided to make candy drops via airplanes. By 1949, he and his squadron had dropped over 250,000 candy-loaded parachutes and twenty tons of chocolate and gum to West Berlin's 100,000 children. He received thousands of letters from children, and only the most important were translated and given to him for his personal reply. This is the true story of a little girl named Mercedes, who waited anxiously for candy drops from Lt. Gail, known as the Chocolate Pilot.
About the Author
Margot Theis Raven has been a professional writer working in the fields of radio, television, magazines, newspapers, and childrens books for thirty years. She has won five national awards, including an IRA Teachers Choice award. Ms. Raven earned her degree in English from Rosemont College and attended Villanova University for theater study, and Kent State University for German language. Ms. Raven splits her time living in Concord, MA, Charleston, SC and West Chesterfield, NH.
Born in the Netherlands, Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen studied at the Royal Academy of Arts in Holland. He immigrated to the United States in 1976, and years later he became a childrens book illustrator. Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot is Nicks ninth childrens book with Sleeping Bear Press. His other books include The Legend of Sleeping Bear, The Legend of the Loon, and most recently, Adopted by an Owl. He lives in Bath, Michigan.