A good book can bring heroes to life with crafty prose and vivid illustrations. But fifth graders at Mulberry Elementary School had the unique opportunity to meet and interview a living war hero from a non-fiction book they’ve studied on Tuesday.

Fifth grade students at Mulberry Elementary in Auburn have learned about the hardships West Berliners faced in the aftermath of World War II through an illustrated book, “Mercedes and the Chocolate Pilot.” The book is written from the perspective of a 7-year-old German girl named Mercedes, whose mother tells her about the “Chocolate Pilot,” who dropped candy to West Berliners when ground supply lines to the city had been cut off.