Reviews

Hitler's Canary by Sandi Toksvig

sereia8's review against another edition

4.0

I read this as a supplement to Number the Stars, which we are discussing this month for Great Reads for Girls at the library. It is based on the experiences of the author's father in Denmark during World War II and illustrates well that "in the rescue of the Danish Jews, not all the Germans were bad and not all the Danes were good. There were just some good people and some bad people, and it wasn't always easy to tell the difference."

_aoibheann_'s review

adventurous emotional inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

jackgray's review against another edition

5.0

“You must stand up for everyone’s right to be who they are – otherwise you may find one day that it is you who is singled out … seen as different, then there will be no one to defend you”.

dnorton_2416's review

challenging inspiring medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes

4.25

marianguish's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I thought this was an excellent book to read as an adult (and would have loved it as a child)!

The comedic moments made me laugh aloud and were appropriately timed.  Marie and Tomas’ characters were particularly well developed and loveable- their friendship was my favourite thing about the book.

It was interesting to learn about WW2 in Denmark- Toksvig got the historical context to story ratio spot on! 

eloisekristen's review

adventurous inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

vmillswood's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

queen_of_lilikoi's review against another edition

4.0

A startling view of war from the juxtaposing perspective of a small child. Sympathetically written and wonderfully entertaining.

octobertune's review against another edition

4.0

I've read plenty of books about the second world war, but most of them took place in either the Netherlands, Germany or France. A while back, I talked to a friend of mine about the war and he mentioned this book he read when he was younger, about a Danish family dealing with the invasion of their country. I borrowed the book off him and I found it very interesting, especially when I realised it was a (partly) true story. 

elleneam's review against another edition

4.0

I read this book with my class of 11-year-olds and I would really recommend it to teachers looking for an engaging, thought-provoking class novel connected to the second world war. I really liked it because it was an accessible and exciting read for the kids while bringing up questions like; who is a terrorist? How far should you go when fighting for what you believe in? Why did people resist the Nazis and why did people not? Although the Holocaust is mentioned it is not as dark as books like 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas' or 'Once' and focuses on the Danish resistance which makes it good for the primary school classroom where you might be concerned about how the children can manage reading more graphic or emotional accounts. It is vital when teaching WW2 we don't teach a "good Britain vs nasty Germans" narrative which is common in many schools. This book really avoids it, showing german conscripts sympathetic to the resistance, as well as non-German Nazi zealots, and also highlights the role of the resistance in Germany and German-occupied countries. I will defiantly use this as a class novel again!