You know I am a fan of well-crafted, thought-provoking nonfiction of all kinds. I love when a title leaves me with questions - things to mull over later. I strongly believe that the best nonfiction leaves you wanting more, that the reader will then take the bibliography or resource list and continue to learn. When I was offered the chance to review Courage & Defiance: Stories of Spies, Saboteurs and Survivors in World War II Denmark, I knew that Deborah Hopkinson would have written a book that would make me think. I had already read and loved many of her previous titles, including most recently Titanic: Voices from the Disaster. What I didn't know when I accepted this assignment was that I would cry, cheer and sit in awe of the people contained within its pages.
The story Hopkinson tells is about the small island nation of Denmark. When Germany came marching into Denmark on April 6, 1940, the country of Denmark did nothing. The. Not y quickly realized that their military could not resist the much larger German military, and their best hope was to surrender. Amazingly, while the Danish government thought this was the safest plan of action, its people did not agree. Hopkinson writes "But it began that first day, when ordinary citizens woke up to a changed world. It began with anger, disbelief, and determination. And it began with individuals asking themselves a difficult, almost impossible question: what can one person - or even a few together - do to make a difference against a powerful invading force?" (p. 22-23)
To me, the answer to the question is continually surprising. Not because one or two people wanted to make a difference, or even hoped they could, but because so many Danish citizens stood up against the Germans. They fought back in clever ways, risking their lives to do what was right. For instance, Tommy Sneum, who was a pilot and lived by a German-occupied air force base. A German soldier accidentally gave Tommy information about an early-warning system that the Germans were using to watch for Allied planes at the base. Sneum risked his life repeatedly to get this system documented and the information to the Allies. This included such inconceivable tasks as reconstructing an airplane in a farmer's barn to fly it across the ocean to England to deliver the intelligence. And since they couldn't risk landing the single-engine plane anywhere the Germans might discover them, Tommy and his co-pilot would have to refuel in midair.
Tommy's story is just one of the incredibly daring stories Hopkinson has documented here. And what is incredible to me about these stories is that these aren't necessarily the stories of generals in the Danish military or government officials scheming to save their countrymen. These are the stories of people like you and me. Many of the stories involve young people who easily see the injustice and fight back. Niels Skov begins his sabotage by blowing up German cars on the street. It may have seemed small, but it was something.
Hopkinson follows several people throughout the war, retelling their efforts at collecting information, performing feats of sabotage, and basically doing everything possible to slow the Germans down. One truly amazing story begins on October 1, 1943, the day the Germans came to round up all of the Danish Jews. There were 7700 Jews in Denmark, and it would take the bravery of many people to get as many of them as possible to safety. Reading this story was one of the times tears came to my eyes - the entire country showed courage and defiance in accomplishing this miracle. They protected their Jewish neighbors and friends and got more than 7200 of them to Sweden safely. That is a jaw-dropping number.
Even for those of us who are familiar with the history of World War II, there is something new to learn here. I mentioned earlier that this book left me with additional questions. Hopkinson's book inspired me to learn more. In her prologue, she advises "Courage & Defiance is an introduction to a multifaceted, complex story, and there are many aspects I have not addressed." (p. 1) For example, I wanted to learn more about how 7200 Jews were able to move into hiding without attracting attention from German soldiers on very short notice. I want to know more about the governmental response. A good piece of nonfiction gets the reader wondering, and then it provides the reader with strong resources to continue their exploration of the subject.
The back matter in this book is, of course, complete and extraordinary. There are pages o selected resources (including a section of books of special interest to young readers), online resources, source notes, information on the Danish language, and more. My only minor complaint is that while I read the book, I kept wishing for a map of Denmark to be able to better visualize some of the action. I did find one, but it was in the back matter, so I didn't find it until I was finished with the book. That might be a lesson for those of you who are teachers - encourage your students to explore the back matter first, to get a feeling for what information they will be exposed to in the heart of the book.
These stories give hope in the face of one of the greatest evils our world has known. People all over Denmark stood up and did something, even if it was small. Hopkinson's retelling is suspenseful and readable. I couldn't put it down and can't wait to share it with others. Thanks again to Deborah Hopkinson for appearing. For other stops on the Courage & Defiance blog tour, please check http://deborahhopkinson.com/
Courage & Defiance: Stories of Spies, Saboteurs, and Survivors in World War II Denmark. Deborah Hopkinson. Scholastic Press, 2015.
sent by the author for review
One of the things I like best about being on the Nonfiction Picture Books panel is the sheer diversity of books we've read. I've read about subjects like safety for children, howler monkeys and prehistoric life. Many of these are books I wouldn't have picked up on my own, but I have learned about so many things through these books. This definitely includes Energy Island.
Energy Island is a small island off the coast of Denmark, which is more properly named Samsø Island. The islanders had always gotten their energy sources from the mainland - electricity through underwater cables, oil by tanker across the ocean. I've lived on an island, and although Drummond doesn't mention it here, I know that relying on energy sources being brought to the island can be inconsistent and expensive. So it should have been a great thing when Samsø Island was chosen as the first Danish community to become energy independent. The plan was to harness the ever-present wind and use it to create renewable energy.
Drummond uses a young girl as the narrator of the story. It is a strong narrative choice because she is relatable to other children. She also helps bring a younger focus to a story which is populated with the adults of the community. He uses two types of text to bring Samsø to life. There is the overarching narrative, which the young girl carries. This choice brings the information to life, and helps kids get why this is such a unique project. The narrative also helps a project which is very far away seem more universal. After all, we all waste energy in various ways and many people don't realize or care about renewable energy sources. Then there are sidebars with more technical information on various environmental topics that tie in with the narrative. These sidebars are clearly not part of the story - they are colored green, contrasting with the colors of the illustration, and have a different voice to them.
This book isn't just about energy and the island of Samsø, though. One of the things that I think this book does best is show the way the community works to build consensus. At the beginning of the project, all of the adults have reasons why they can't move towards energy independence or don't want to change their ways. As one or two families agree to try it, then the winds begin to pick up speed, so to speak. Drummond recounts a storm when everyone on the island loses power, except for the couple of islanders who have wind turbines. Slowly, people begin to open their minds and experiment with alternative forms of energy. I think this is a great idea for children to observe - that adults can be stubborn about change, and that their ideas aren't always right. And it's valuable to see that the leader of the project, a teacher named Søren Hermansen, doesn't give up when the community doesn't want to change. He keeps working at it and momentum begins to build slowly but surely.
One of the other interesting things about this book is Drummond's illustrative choices. There is a huge diversity of illustration sizes in this book, and this adds energy (!) to the book. Many pages have horizontal panel illustrations interspersed with lines of text. There are also full-page illustrations, spot illustrations and vertical panels. It keeps your eye moving across the page. The variety of sizes also allows Drummond to show a lot of information without it becoming overwhelming.
There are a few problematic items in this book for me. They are minor, but worth discussing. I am really looking at back matter for the nonfiction titles I read this fall, and this book only has a single website as reference. When I went to look at the website, I found that the link no longer works. This is a real problem in a book that was just published this year. And the concept of an island that is totally energy-independent is so interesting that I can't understand why there aren't more connections for interested young readers.
Drummond does include an author's note with a New Yorker article cited. But an article in the New Yorker isn't appropriate for most children, so it is only helpful as his own starting point. Drummond also notes in his author's note that he has compressed events to fit it all in the timeline he had set up. I appreciate that he has brought this to light so that we are aware that his narrative isn't totally true to life. One last criticism is that the book gives no specific dates. Everything takes place "a few years ago" or things take "several years". While I understand that exact dates might not have fit into his narrative style, it gives you an unmoored feeling - does it take place in the 90's? the 70's? Readers have no idea. This book may have benefited from an extra informational page on Samsø or perhaps a sidebar with additional information.
All in all, though, this book gave me a look at a place I had no idea existed. Energy Island is fascinating, and it's a great story to inspire readers to change their ways.
Note: I am on the Cybils Nonfiction Picture Book panel, but this blog post does not represent the committee's thoughts about the book. It only represents my personal ideas and thoughts.
Energy Island: How One Community Harnessed the Wind and Changed Their World. Allan Drummond. Frances Foster Books: Farrar Straus Giroux, 2011.
borrowed from Lewis & Clark library
