Candy Bomber (Orbis Pictus Honor for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children)

I'm a big fan of learning about history from the stories of individuals and this book is a great way of learning about the Berlin Airlift. It's also a humorous and touching story about small kindnesses leading to great acts of generosity between former enemies. The first chapter (which gives the

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historical background) is a bit dry, but I'd say that the rest of the book could be enjoyed even by young children. (It doesn't hurt that the story is largely about Lt. Halvorsen's interactions with children.)

Highly recommended.

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After defeating Germany in World War II, the Allies divided the nation into four zones. The capital city, Berlin, was in the Soviet Union's zone, and the city was also divided into west and east in the same manner that the country had been. When the Soviets decided to force the other Allies out of

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West Berlin by blockading the city and starving its people, the Berlin Airlift was born. The British, French and American governments coordinated a massive effort to fly in food, fuel and supplies to the people of Berlin, since they could not use ships or trucks to move the supplies. Cargo planes were scheduled for flights landing minutes apart, 24 hours a day. Pilots flew as many missions per day as possible. One of those pilots was Lt. Gail Halvorsen, who discovered a small group of somewhat ragged children looking through a wire fence at the end of a landing strip. After talking to the children, Halvorsen gave them the only sweets he had: two sticks of gum, which they divided, and then passed the wrappers around to share the minty scent... without arguing or grabbing or fighting. He told them that if they agreed to share equally, he would drop candy out of his plane, and that they'd know which one because he would "wiggle the wings". His plane crew agreed to share their candy rations, and they made parachutes out of handkerchiefs for three boxes of Hershey bars and other candies. That first drop led to more, and the word quickly spread about the generosity of the pilots, who realized something as simple as candy and childhood delight brings hope to all. Candy companies like the LifeSaver company in Port Chester, NY, donated thousands of bars and rolls of candy to the effort. The airlift went on for 16 months, delivering over 2 million tons of necessary supplies... and several tons of donated candy, dropped by Halvorsen and the airlift pilots who participated. Historic photos from the National Archives and the US Air Force, as well as personal photos, letters and documents saved by Gail Halvorsen bring a deeper sense of personal history to the book. This the story of kindness, thoughtfulness, and someone who saw a need, and did something about it -- even if it started as only two sticks of gum. Everyone should read this.

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Although havins prior knowledge of Gail Halvorsen's highly regarded actions during the Berlin Airlift, I wasn't completely aware of the specifics of his actions. Tunnell's work sheds light not only on Halvorsen's motivations, but also the impact that his parachuted candy drops had on the children

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of West Berlin through the use of letters from the children and photographs documenting this kind-hearted mission. An excellent example for an informational text which can support both ELA and Social Studies lessons.

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"World War II was over, and Berlin was in ruins. US Air Force Lieutenant Gail Halvorsen knew the children of the city were suffering. They were hungry and afraid. The young pilot wanted to help, but what could one man in one plane do?"

Candy Bomber tells the story of Lt. Gail Halvorsen, an American Air Force pilot who delivered candy to hungry children in West Berlin after World War II. All of this started of two pieces of gum. At that time, Berlin was divided with the Allied Forces controlling West Berlin and the Soviets

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controlling East Berlin. The only way to get food and supplies into West Berlin was by air, so the Allies fly hundreds of flights to bring in the necessary In boxes. One day when Lt. Halvorsen was touring the city, he came across a group of kids watching the planes, hungry for any information about the outside world. Halvorsen gave them two sticks of gum he had in his pocket and he had an idea - he would start dropping sweets for the children of Berlin. Many pilots were willing to give up their candy rations for the kids and the project snowballed into 'Operation Little Vittles', with candy companies and people all over the United States donating candy and homemade parachutes.

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This book was about the candy bomber. It explained how he dropped candy, and why he did it. It started off with two pieces of gum. THis man is a great man. All the kids he met were happy too see him. People there werent very stingy. This man is a good man.

I like this book because it had a lot of

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information and pictures. It had pictures of what it was like at that time. I hope to read this book again. This book was good. I hope other people read this.

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This book is about how Lt. Gail Halvorsen dropped tons of candy to hungry children in Berlin. Lt. Halvorsen realized that the children did not beg for chocolate. And that made him really feel something, becauase they chose freedom over food.

I liked this book very, very much. It really was a good

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deed that Lt. Halvorsen did. Lt. Gail Halverson really is a hero.

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I thought that this book told the truth about what happened during the Berlin Airlift. I thought this was a good book for people that want to learn about the history of world war 2 and what happened after it. It tells how Germany was divided into 4 sections the American side, the French side, the

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British side, and the Russian side. This book tells how one man made a difference in thousands of kids lives, and started something that made people think about other people that were thousands of miles away. I think the fact that it is a true story makes it even better.

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This is a book about Gail S. Halvorsen. It was written by Michael O. Tunnell but it is about Halvorsen aka. the "Chocolate Pilot". This book is about what Halvorsen did after Berlin was destroyed and split up into East and West. He went to Berlin and landed at Tempelhof. He talked to some kids, but

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had to leave. Then he thought that the kids probably didn't have any candy. He reached into his pucket and pulled out 2 sticks of gum. The kids split up the wrappers so everyone could smell the gum. Then he got an idea when another plane landed. He could drop gum or chocolate onto the other side. He got donated candy and began to drop it. The kids knew it was him because he wiggled his wings. This book is also about Mercedes, Irene Oppermann, Elly Muss, and many more people.
I liked this book. It was educational and fun to read. It really makes you thank what it would be like to go for years without candy then some stranger gives you a lot of candy. I got this book when Gail S. Halvorsen came to visit my school. He talked to us about his experience. I got it signed by him and a lot of other people in the book like Mercedes. It was an amazing thing that he did. It would be nice to have more people like him in the world. This is a great book that anybody who wants to learn about Berlin after the war should read.

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This book talks about the berlin airlifts chocolate pilot gail halverson. Gail is now 98 and still in great condition, he loved his job and is gratefull he did what he did. This book tells how germany was divided in to 4 sections during ww 2. I know more about this subject than more people because

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gail halverson came to my school in bitburg germany. I liked chapter 5 because it shows real letters from germans who were writing to the chocolate pilot to tell him thank you. This book is written by Michael O. Tunnell, he wanted to spread the legend of the chocolate pilot. The chocolate pilot changed the lives of many german children and even adults. This book is called the candy bomber and i suggest that others should read it too.

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Lt. Halvorsen examined the ruins of West Berlin and felt the horror Germans faced after the war. As he took the tour of the capital he spotted a gathering children watching him. The children touched him in s way , that's soon he became a savior and a light of hope. After giving the kids stick of

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gum and watched them pass the scented paper around to smell it, he saw something he never saw before. He saw the gratitude and not greed of the children. Soon Lt. Halvorsen started a spark that has last years to come and still being honored today.

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Many people never get the chance to really learn about the Berlin Airlift and Operation Little Vittles after WWII. This book gives a very informational, kid friendly view of the Berlin Airlift along with the famous "Candy Bomber" also known as "Uncle Chocolate", "Chocolate Pilot", and Gail

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Halvorsen.

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This is the heart warming story of Lt. Halvorsen and his Operation Vittles team who dropped candy into West Berlin after WWII. Children in West Berlin had not seen or had candy since before the war and this was quite a luxury and treat for them. This book shows a warmer side of the dark after

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effects of WWII and how people, like Lt. Halvorsen, came together to help out to those in West Berlin. To think that it was once enemy territory and then to fly in and help them recover after the war shows children and teaches them compassion and community in this true story. This book also contains many primary sources, such as letters from the children and photographs.

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This was an awesome book! It was taking during World War II. Many Russian children had no food, candy etc because of the war. Air Force and officials would fly over the country dropping out Hershey's candy bars and candy on small parachutes feeding the young children.

Although textbooks are an important resource in the classroom children, sometimes you will need supplement materials. This book would be a great resource to use in a social studies classroom. This book goes over important events in history, the Berlin Airlift. It shows children that through tough

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times there were people out there help those people in Berlin. This book can also lead to great writing prompts for students.

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This is a wonderful text to use in order to integrate ELA and social studies into one lesson, or unit. The story of Gail Halvorsen is powerful, moving, and filled with hope. I believe this book, which discusses WWII and the fight to feed the citizens of West Berlin, should be included in the

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curriculum for students for the fact that it 'provokes critical thinking, as well as it allows the reader to place themselves in Lt. Halvorsen's shoes. They can ask themselves, what would they have done if in the same situation as Lt. Halvorsen?

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Following World War II, the US flew food and supplies into the ruined city of Berlin. On one drop, Lieutenant Gail Halvorsen noticed all the children gathered near the airfield, and he gave them what he had in his pockets: 2 sticks of gum. Seeing their excitement with this prize, Halvorsen donated

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his candy rations, tied each piece to a parachute made from a handkerchief, and dropped them over the city on his next flight. Operation Little Vittles had begun.

Middle-school level, though I may throw it in for a lower-level 9th grade class. An interesting read and well-organized. LOTS of pictures.

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I absolutely loved this book. It is a true story of an American pilot who flew in and out of Berlin dropping candy out of an airplane to hungry children. This story is heart-warming and reassuring the goodness in human-kind that everyone should read. Besides being inspirational, the story also

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brings insight to conditions people faced in Berlin after WWII.

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Great treatment of a little-known story.

This was a great book about a true story during World War II. This story talks about a man named Halvorsen who sent candy to all of the children in West Berlin after the war to build the children's spirits up. Many children often wrote him letters telling him thank you, send more, and where they

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lived. This book could be used when teaching a history lesson on World War II to show how a heroic man went flying around helping children in that time of need.

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This book was one of my favorites that I have read this semester. This book is about WWII and a brave and caring man named Halvorsen. Halvorsen bravely droops candy down from his airplane to children in Berlin. The children were forever grateful and called him an angel. The children write letter to

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Halvorsen and let him know how thankful they are to receive their candy treats. This is a great historical book that can teach a history less and relate to children at the same time. I will absolutely have this book in my classroom one day, the story is amazing and the pictures are great to look and and fain information from.

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In World War II Lieutenant Halvorsen touches German children lives by dropping candy by handerchief parchutes from American aircrafts. This true story is certainly heartwarming in that Halvorsen and his troop lifted the spirits of the “enemy.” This book helps show that morality can shine

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through the darkness of war and that one person can create a positive movement, and I think that these are fantastic concepts for children to be exposed to. The pictures and letters within this book allow the reader to become a part of Halverson’s world during WWII. I would teach this book in English Language Arts while we are learning about WWII in Social Studies. This would be a great connection to make between subjects. We could hold Socratic Circles discussing the relationship between what we learn in Tunnell’s book and what we learn from the history text book. I believe that this read would be a memorable one for students.

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This book was a great book. Candy Bomber's is about the history of WWII. Candy Bombers tells of a heroic man who sent candy and supplies to the children of West Berlin. The candy was a special treat that the children hadn't seen since before the war. The children wrote letters to the general

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thanking him and asking for more treats. This book show the compassion one person has for others in need and it is a true memory that Americans are proud of. This book could be used to teach about the history of WWII.

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This would be a great book to use when teaching a history lesson about WWII. It would also help teach children how to help others in need.