Associate Research Scholar Michaela Hertkorn author's children's book

(The fall of the Wall in Berlin in 1989 by Illustrator Joseph Ayala - courtesy of Author Hertkon)

"The Little Cloud Upset“ is a children’s picture book that will introduce preschoolers and young children to aspects of international relations and global affairs. Issues, such as human rights, the environment, refugee situations, war and peace are discussed and illustrated in an age-appropriate way. The central character is a little cloud that travels, as a neutral observer, across the globe observing all sorts of global challenges. The cloud flies across melting ice caps in the polar region, watches children play in refugee camps and remembers witnessing the fall of the Berlin Wall twenty years ago, an event that fundamentally changed this world and drew millions of people around the globe closer together. And though the book highlights problematic issues, it emphasizes the importance of cooperation and that through individual actions we can change a lot for the better.


Book excerpt:

“…The Little Cloud remembers how twenty years ago, in 1989, she had visited the European city of Berlin. Back then, Berlin was still divided into two parts, West- and East Berlin. Both sides had very different political systems, different leadership, different economies, and they did not like each other. There was much tension, and people in East Berlin could not travel to the West. A huge Wall divided both populations for almost three decades.

After a stormy November night over the Baltic Sea, the Little Cloud had arrived atop Alexanderplatz in East Berlin, holding on to a huge television tower…”


About the author:

Michaela Hertkorn is a professor at the New School for General Studies where she teaches global affairs and social sciences. She holds a Ph.D. in political science from Free University in Berlin, Germany and has worked, researched, lectured and taught in the area of international relations for more than a decade. She is an expert on European affairs, security studies and conflict resolution. Michaela is the mother of a four year old daughter whose comment about a ‘little cloud upset’ in 2006 inspired this book.

Author Michaela Hertkorn has a personal blog that may be accessed by clicking here:
www.michaelahertkorn.info




../