Publishers Weekly
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.
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VOYA
- Stacey Hayman
A ten-year-old boy narrates the story of his family and his country, caught unaware by the sudden intrusion of the Second World War. Bamse, the youngest of three, struggles to understand the different responses that his fellow countrymen have to Hitler's invasion. Why do some Danes seem pleased, some seem indifferent, and some start fighting back right away? The oldest son becomes part of the Danish Resistance and eventually allows Bamse and his best friend, who happens to be Jewish, to help in small ways. Bamse's sister becomes involved with a young German soldier, a boy who proves his decency by warning the family before their apartment is searched for hidden Jews. By the end of the book, everyone will have suffered a loss, ranging from a loss of innocence to the loss of a family member. This book is difficult to recommend, but it is also difficult to dismiss. A local school assigns a historical fiction book of approximately two hundred pages every year. This book will fly off the shelves for that assignment for several reasons: its length, World War II theme, simple language, and reading ease. On the other hand, most teens would not voluntarily read a story about such a young boy whose viewpoint is so unsophisticated. A unique approach to a well-documented time, this title might be just right for libraries looking to fulfill a need within their historical fiction collection.
KLIATT
- Claire Rosser
Toksvis is a Dane and this fiction about the Nazi occupation of Denmark during WW II is based on a story her father told her; it is basically true. Bamse is the youngest of three children in Copenhagen; when the Nazis come in 1940, he is just ten years old. The story is seen from his point of view and ends in October 1943 when his family is involved in helping the Danish Jews escape to Sweden. Bamse's mother is a famous actor and she continues to work at the theater through the war years. On the night their Jewish friends are hiding in their apartment, she gives the best performance of her life when the SS troops come. Bamse's older brother and father are part of the Danish resistance movement, yet their father's brother is part of the Danish Nazi Party. Bamse makes it clear there are good Danes and bad ones and that some Germans are good and some are bad—in truth, it was a German who tipped off the Jewish community to go into hiding, and there were Germans who made sure their ships would not thwart the Jewish mass exodus by boat to Sweden. Bamse's older sister, a teenager, has a crush on a young German soldier not much older than herself, and their relationship plays a part in the family's survival. This is frequently a humorous story, but of course it is also suspenseful. Denmark was known as Hitler's canary and for too long, perhaps, it endured its caged existence without much protest. In the end, however, Denmark's story is one of the few positive ones that came out of that terrible period of persecution—and Toksvis tells Bamse's story well.
Children's Literature
- Greg M. Romaneck
The time is spring 1940. The place is Copenhagen in the generally peaceful nation of Denmark. It is the early portion of World War II, and the world of the Skovlund family is about to change. The invasion of Denmark by the German Army brings with it changes almost unimaginable to the Skovlund's and their neighbors. Told from the perspective of "Bamse" Skovlund, the family's youngest son, Hitler's Canaries traces the events that characterized Denmark's five-year German occupation. The Skovlund's are theater people whose lives have been fundamentally defined by their connection to drama. In the occupation years, each member of the family is called upon to come to grips with what their actions must be in the face of an oppressive foe. In the end, each member of the Skovlund clan makes a moral decision to balance the needs of their family with the broader ones of social justice. In telling the story of the Danish occupation through the eyes of one family author, Sandi Toksvis presents her readers with a unique look at an overlooked part of World War II lore. In addition, readers of this fine historical novel will better appreciate its plot and characters if they realize that they are based upon the author's own family and actions that occurred during the war years.
Kirkus Reviews
During WWII, the Danes, whose nation was occupied by the Germans, knew the British called them, "Hitler's Canary." "They say he has us in a cage and we just sit and sing any tune he wants." But Denmark waged active underground opposition to the conquerors and saved most Jewish Danes from being taken into the concentration camps. Toksvig tells the story through the eyes and actions of Bamsie, ten years old when the story begins. He is the son of an actress, whose talent becomes an essential part of the plot. Because of the theatrical influence in his life, Hitler's Canary is arranged as Act, Scene, Time, Date, Place, providing a guide from 1940 to 1943, the year the Jews escaped to Sweden. Characterization is good enough to make each person an individual, sometimes permitting "good" people to have faults. Details of setting and time are fascinating, and the action is suspenseful and riveting. Despite a few missteps (how would people who were rescuing Jews know what is and what is not a Jewish name, for instance?), Toksvig offers a spellbinding look at a part of history that is rarely fictionalized. Backmatter includes the facts of Danish resistance and Jewish rescue as well as further details on the fate of those involved. An author's note explains what is true of her own family history retold in the story. (Historical fiction. 10-14)
