Bittersweet: Based on the True Tale of the Berlin Candy Bombers

Gr 2-4–A work of narrative nonfiction that has the potential to evoke conversations about the power of empathy, care, and kindness in the wake of war. World War II had ended and for Hilda, a child in West Berlin, “the war raged on in her belly, a rumbling hunger that never seemed to go away.” In response to a blockade from the east, leaders in the west organized airdrop missions to bring food and necessities to the people of West Berlin. As a way to bring sweetness to a bitter moment, an American pilot named Gail organized a secret mission to drop candies for the children. Once his secret mission was made public the support for the candy drops spread, with people across the United States donating time and sweets to the operation. Based on a true story, the author’s note provides context and connects this piece of history to the current moment. Mandin (Millie Fleur’s Poison Garden) shares that Gail and his colleagues’ acts of kindness recognized that the children’s futures were worth fighting for regardless of their country’s past. She names current wars and crises around the world, including those across the Middle East and those in Yemen, Ukraine, Myanmar, and South Sudan, where children are caught in the middle of conflicts that they did not create. The author writes that “every kindness, no matter how small, has the potential to ripple across the world.”