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    Hitler's Canary: A Daring Tale of Wartime Adventure
    Hitler's Canary: A Daring Tale of Wartime Adventure
    Hitler's Canary: A Daring Tale of Wartime Adventure
    Ebook169 pages3 hours

    Hitler's Canary: A Daring Tale of Wartime Adventure

    By Sandi Toksvig

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    "My brother stood up so quickly he almost knocked Mama over. 'Why aren't you doing something? Do you know what the British are calling us? Hitler's canary! I've heard it on the radio, on the BBC. They say he has us in a cage and we just sit and sing any tune he wants.'"

    Bamse's family are theater people. They don't get involved in politics. "it had nothing to do with us," Bamse tells us. Yet now he must decide: should he take his father's advice and not stir up trouble? Or should he follow his brother into the Resistance and take part in the most demanding role of his life?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateMar 6, 2007
    ISBN9781429969314
    Hitler's Canary: A Daring Tale of Wartime Adventure
    Author

    Sandi Toksvig

    Sandi Toksvig – a prolific comedian, writer, performer and presenter – is one of Britain's most beloved personalities working across television, theatre and radio today. Renowned for her sharp mind and witty quips, Toksvig has enjoyed a successful career in radio, appearing on BBC Radio 4's I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue and chairing The News Quiz from 2006 until 2015. In television, she is a popular comedy panellist and has frequently featured in programmes such as Whose Line is it Anyway?, Have I Got News for You and Mock the Week. In 2016 Toksvig replaced Stephen Fry as host on the BBC's eccentric quiz show QI, making history by becoming the first female chair of a primetime comedy panel. Toksvig is also a respected writer and has created a diverse range shows for the stage. She has deconstructed Shakespeare with The Pocket Dream (1991, co-written with Elly Brewer) and penned the musical Big Night Out at the Little Palace Theatre (2002, music and lyrics by Dilly Keane). In 2012, Toksvig's play Bully Boy opened at the St James Theatre to critical acclaim. Her latest play, Silver Linings, premiered at the Rose Theatre Kingston in February 2017.

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    Reviews for Hitler's Canary

    4/5

    14 ratings7 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Why is it classified as a children’s book? It has so much meaning for Adults
      Excellent book . I am enthralled

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      Very decent and witty childrens book with a refreshingly civil tone. Good illustrations and a beleiveable storyline but with some faults: Uncle Johann breaks character by both chasing the servantgirl and confessing his love of Mom without any repercussions. The name of the paper Berlingske Tidende (Berlingske Times) is reproduced as "Berlingske Tiden" meaning either "Time of the Berlingske" or "The Berlingske Time", The meaning of BOPA is given as "Borgerlige Partisanar"/"Citizen Partisans" which is as correct as can be but omits both the detail of Borgerlig having the double meaning bourgouis(name of the Danish rightwing) as in non-communists and "ar" being the Swedish ending to plural nouns.The author misspells some placenames and ends rather abrupt but overall a good read.

      2 people found this helpful

    • 4/5
      Based upon historical events and the experiences of the author’s family, Sandi Toksvig’s Hitler’s Canary is an effective and suspenseful telling of the German occupation of Denmark. Told from the perspective of ten-year-old Bamse, the book begins with the German invasion in 1940 and ends with the 1943 escape of Danish Jews. In the intervening years, both Denmark and Bamse are forever transformed.Although the historical events of World War II play a large role in the story, it is the family drama and coming-of-age tale that will likely keep the reader turning the pages. In the beginning Bamse, his family, and his Jewish friend Anton only barely affected by the occupation. But as the suspense rises and the invaders tighten their grip on the country, Bamse’s family is drawn into the war. At the center of the family conflict is Bamse’s older brother Orlando, who joins an underground resistance movement in an effort to actively oppose the Germans. The boys’ father wants the family to lay low and wait out the war, but Orlando refuses to let his country become Hitler’s Canary – the dictator’s little songbird in a cage.Inspired by Orlando’s actions, Bamse and Anton eventually join the fight, carrying out increasingly dangerous tasks for the resistance. The boys’ father is devastated to find out about his sons’ involvement, but it soon becomes clear even to him that the family cannot sit idly by while the war rages on. It takes the cooperation of the entire family, even Bamse’s Uncle Johann – initially a Nazi-sympathizer – to protect their Jewish friends and defend their homes from the Germans.The novel is written with a theatrical flair that adds a unique layer to the story. Bamse has grown up with the theater: his mother is a well-known actress who speaks in quotes from famous plays, and his father is a set designer. After the Germans invade, Bamse’s world of make-believe is gradually taken apart by the harsh reality of war. The author uses the stark contrast between imagination and reality to explore the ways in which war undermines everything from the innocence of childhood to the security of our everyday lives. The theater dynamic is the strongest aspect of the novel. The narrative is broken into Acts and Scenes rather than chapters, parallels are drawn between famous plays and the events of the story, and the family’s unique talents are put to use fooling the Germans and saving their friends.Toksvig wrote the novel after telling her ten-year-old son stories of her family’s involvement in the war. It’s clear that she understands how to present such serious subject matter to young children: the language is simple, the violence is minimal but treated seriously, and the subtle humor is used appropriately. Those factors, along with the life lessons Bamse learns along the way, make Hitler’s Canary a worthwhile and unique addition to children’s historical fiction. It is appropriate for children ages nine to twelve, though older children may also enjoy the story.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 4/5
      During World War II, Denmark was occupied by the Germans in order to use their factories. Ulitimately, the Jews were targeted. This story, based on fact, is of a theater family's life during the occupation and each member's role in the resistance. Bamse, the narrator, becomes involved along with his Jewish friend Anton despite his fear.
    • 4/5
      This is a story about the little-known (to me anyway) Danish resistence movement during the German occupation in World War Two. Young Bamse is from a theatrical family living in Copenhagen. At first, they do not understand the implications of the German occupation, especially as the story is written from a child’s point of view. As the German grip becomes tighter and more and more frends, Jews and non-Jews, are affected, Bamse and his family begin to realise the full horror of the Nazi’s itnentions. Bamse’s older brother Orlando becomes actively involved in the resistence; Bamse and his Jewish friend Anton are excited about being involved in running minor errands, which eventually become more daring and dangerous.I found this to be a deceptively simple story. Sometimes I felt that the storytelling suffered at the expense of conveying information about the war. What I really enjoyed was seeing the story from the initially naiive point of view of Bamse. The tone is at first quite light, but gets darker as the story develops. The writer also portrays the contradictions of war – some German characters are sympathetic, and some Danes are fully implicated in the atrocities. The episodes are often amusing, sometimes heart-wrenching.
    • 4/5
      Perhaps because this is written for young adults, this partly biographical account of one family’s bravery during the occupation of Denmark by the Germans is very frank, and the details somewhat un-shaded beyond the fear and confusion that soon becomes a constant in young Bamse’s life. Because he begins naively, the naïveté of his Country at first seems reasonable. Over time, his growing bravery is echoed in his family, his community and his country. The actions of his family, his neighbours and his country are all well researched and based on real accounts, though of course even a family biography will be subject to fictional in-filling after time.I think this book deserves recognition as an important addition to the genre of young adult books about the Holocaust, the German invasion, and even simply about the dangers of treating people differently just because of how they look or what they believe. Its location and approach is subtly different than those books that try to deal with the Jewish interment from an immediate point of view, but no less horrifying for that.
    • 5/5
      Twelve year old Bamse is the son of Denmark's most famous actress. He spends most of his free time at the theater or with his friend Anton. But that was before Germany invaded Denmark. Now Bamse spends his time worrying about his sister who is secretly dating a German solider; his brother who is working with the Danish Resistance movement;his uncle who supports the Nazis; and Anton, whom Bamse never thought of as Jewish before. As the occupation of Denmark continues, Bamse and his family decide it is not enough to worry, that sometimes real action is needed.Bamse is an easy character to get to know and sympathize with. His family and the other citizens of his town are remarkably portrayed, but the author still drives home the fact that not all Germans were bad and not all Danes were good. Not a cut and dry book, but a definite good read!

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    Hitler's Canary - Sandi Toksvig

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