Grade 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.
