Hitler's Canary

Starred review from March 12, 2007
In this insightful novel, Toksvig offers a unique glimpse of WWII, writing from the perspective of a 10-year-old Danish boy forced to grow up quickly. Bamse, the son of a famous stage actress and a talented set designer, has "lived in a make-believe world" until the spring of 1940 when Germany invades his country. In Copenhagen, Nazi soldiers now rule the streets, and native Danes begin to fear for their safety. Some, like Bamse's mother and father, try to keep a low profile in order to keep their loved ones safe. Others, like the boy's 16-year-old brother, refuse to act like "Hitler's Canary," and wish to take a stand against the invaders. When rumors spread that Jews are being taken from their homes, Bamse's entire family takes part in a resistance movement, hiding Jewish friends and later helping them escape. Based on true stories handed down to the author by her father, Toksvis's tale of courage in the face of tyranny sheds light on the difficult choices facing the Danish people and pays tribute to resisters (including some compassionate Germans), who make enormous sacrifices in order to save others' lives. Through the boy's narrative, readers witness his loss of innocence ("I knew my Danish history from school: for the first time in nine hundred years my homeland... was not free and independent"). The author thus brings to life the tensions in Denmark at a time when "it wasn't always easy to tell the difference" between the "good" and "bad" people. Ages 11-up. (Mar.)
Agent: Nancy Gallt Literary Agency.

April 1, 2007
Gr 5-7-When Nazi invasion brings a restrictive dictatorship to the fair and free-thinking Danes, Bamse's theatrical family chooses to ignore the increasingly dangerous circumstances in the hope that their gentile family and thespian lifestyle will not be affected. Older brother Orlando sees the writing on the wall and joins the Resistance while Uncle Johann sides with the Nazi sympathizers, hoping for survival through cooperation. Caught in a cage between the British and German fighting, Denmark is dubbed "Hitler's Canary." The increasing number of arrests and likely deportation of all Danish Jews force the Skovlunds to come to terms with reality. Bamse and his Jewish friend Anton begin to work secretly alongside Orlando until Anton's family is forced into hiding. Bamse's political-cartoonist father loses his job and his famous stage-actress mother makes good use of her acting talent to create an effective diversion for the Gestapo searching their home. Through the voice of 12-year-old Bamse, Toksvig mixes in a sardonic humor that adds spice and comic relief to a story about a very perilous and frightening time. Drawing on real events and the experiences of her family, she re-creates an episode in history when many citizens willingly put their lives at risk to participate in the 10-day rescue of the Danish Jews during the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur holidays of 1943. In total, close to 7200 Jews and 689 non-Jews escaped to Sweden. Readable, intriguing, and realistic, with a good epilogue and author's note appended."Rita Soltan, Youth Services Consultant, West Bloomfield, MI"

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2007
In this novel based on the experiences of Toksvig's father, the Germans' 1940 invasion of Denmark sweeps a family into heartrending historical drama. Ten-year-old Bamse yearns to take a stand against the occupation like his daring older brother Orlando, despite their father's counsel of quiet cooperation. Gradually, though, the whole family sways to Orlando's position--refusing, along with thousands of other Danes, to be "Hitler's canary" and "just sit in a cage and sing any tune he wants." Mother Marie devises an ingenious subterfuge to shelter neighboring Jews; even blunt Uncle Johann, initially a Nazi sympathizer, does his part to rescue escapees to Sweden--part of the 1943 exodus, elaborated upon in an endnote, in which more than 8,000 were ferried to safety. Though such suspenseful episodes will thrill readers, it is Bamse's growing courage and deepening understanding that drive the story. For additional perspectives on the Danish resistance, suggest Lois Lowry's " Number the Stars "(1989) and Ellen Levine's nonfiction work " Darkness over Denmark "(2000).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)