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Reviewed by:
  • Hitler's Canary
  • Hope Morrison
Toksvig, Sandi Hitler's Canary. Brodie/Roaring Brook, 2007191p ISBN 1-59643-247-0$16.95 R Gr. 6-10

This British import about the Danish Resistance is told from the point of view of Bamse, a young Danish boy who, as the German occupation progresses, joins the resistance movement along with his friend Anton, who is Jewish. Despite Bamse's father's strong urgings that the times would change on their own, in the end, Bamse's entire family becomes deeply involved in helping Jewish friends and neighbors when news leaks that the German troops have begun gathering all Danish Jews for immediate relocation to the East. The dramatic final episode depicts the remarkable historical events of the autumn of 1943, when more than 7000 Danish Jews were safely and secretly transported to Sweden with fewer than 500 actually captured and sent to concentration camps. Toksvig is successful both in describing the immediate action and filling in the background information necessary to understand the significance of that action. The story is well paced, with moments of high drama, humor, and riveting danger all melding together in a strong narrative line. The description of the climate of Copenhagen during the war years is particularly striking; unlike many Nazi strongholds, the general public sentiment remained pro-Dane, anti-Nazi despite the efforts of the Nazi propaganda machine. At the center of Bamse's character evolution is the realization that nothing is clear cut, that there are bad Danes and good Nazis mixed in among the masses. This will provide a useful counterpoint to Lowry's Number the Stars (BCCB 3/89) as well as a compelling story in its own right. A final note provides historical data, and an author's note links events in the novel to Toksvig's own family history.

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