lanica's review against another edition
4.0
The Danish Resistance was a part of the WWII history that I knew almost nothing about. I'd read [b:Number the Stars|47281|Number the Stars|Lois Lowry|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1370917812s/47281.jpg|2677305], but other than that and a Danish friend (miss you ML) telling me a little about her country when she moved the the U.S. it was a footnote in my knowledge of the war.
First off, I highly recommend this book to adults. If you have any interest in WWII history, you must read this book! Fascinating stories and people in this book.
Second, the rest of this review will be about teaching. If you're not into education, you can read the above statement again and that's all you need to know. Read it!
So, teachers / librarians / educators - the rest is for you...
I am a huge fan of teaching the little stories that the 'tests and textbooks' overlook. This is a perfect book for that. There are dozens of people in here that would be a jumping off point for different aspects of WWII, non-violent resistance, and underground resistance movements.
I think the best idea would be to pick one of the people and pull their story out, rather than having kids read the book cover to cover.
SCHOOL LIBRARIAN REVIEW:
LEVEL - Readers can tell this book was written for a younger audience because the violence is not sensationalized like it would be for an adult audience. Other that that it's written as if an adult would be reading it, and so I think it's best in a high school library.
LEVEL - There is one tale in the book which keeps it out of the elementary and middle schools for me. The final few chapters talk about the concentration camps. It it realistic, and vital to the understanding of the war, but there is on thing that is relayed that I don't believe a younger reader is prepared to hear...
ORGANIZATION - It has many characters who are hard to differentiate. It's written in a chronological order, and so a person might pop up in the first chapter, then the 12th and 15th and again in the final two. Meanwhile, we've learned the amazing stories of a dozen other great people, who also pop up here and there, all intertwined, but not often knowing each other. I couldn't keep the people straight in my head, not the places. Perhaps giving each student one of the people in the book to focus on would make this book easier to read. Or having images and names on a wall for students to refer to.
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE - There is a lot of prior learning that is expected here. This is not meant to be the first WWII source. It assumes a basic understanding of the causes, people and politics of WWII. It refers to Himmler, Hitler and Roosevelt in passing. Mentions important events in the war in a sentence or two, and moves on to how it affected the people in the book.
OVERALL - The reading level is 11th and 12th grade. The interest level (subjectively) is from 6th grade up, but the topic is for the more mature minds. I would recommend this as a teaching tool, but not as a free-reading book unless you know the student and are sure they will understand the global concepts.
READ ALIKE -
[b:Number the Stars|47281|Number the Stars|Lois Lowry|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1370917812s/47281.jpg|2677305],
[b:Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption|8664353|Unbroken A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption|Laura Hillenbrand|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327861115s/8664353.jpg|12946965]
[b:The Diary of a Young Girl|48855|The Diary of a Young Girl|Anne Frank|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1358276407s/48855.jpg|3532896]
First off, I highly recommend this book to adults. If you have any interest in WWII history, you must read this book! Fascinating stories and people in this book.
Second, the rest of this review will be about teaching. If you're not into education, you can read the above statement again and that's all you need to know. Read it!
So, teachers / librarians / educators - the rest is for you...
I am a huge fan of teaching the little stories that the 'tests and textbooks' overlook. This is a perfect book for that. There are dozens of people in here that would be a jumping off point for different aspects of WWII, non-violent resistance, and underground resistance movements.
I think the best idea would be to pick one of the people and pull their story out, rather than having kids read the book cover to cover.
SCHOOL LIBRARIAN REVIEW:
LEVEL - Readers can tell this book was written for a younger audience because the violence is not sensationalized like it would be for an adult audience. Other that that it's written as if an adult would be reading it, and so I think it's best in a high school library.
LEVEL - There is one tale in the book which keeps it out of the elementary and middle schools for me. The final few chapters talk about the concentration camps. It it realistic, and vital to the understanding of the war, but there is on thing that is relayed that I don't believe a younger reader is prepared to hear...
Spoiler
At one point a survivor remembers the worst point of their captivity as being hungry...but not being able to get food. They remember a young mother being hanged for stealing food, and her baby hanging in a bag next to her on the gallows.ORGANIZATION - It has many characters who are hard to differentiate. It's written in a chronological order, and so a person might pop up in the first chapter, then the 12th and 15th and again in the final two. Meanwhile, we've learned the amazing stories of a dozen other great people, who also pop up here and there, all intertwined, but not often knowing each other. I couldn't keep the people straight in my head, not the places. Perhaps giving each student one of the people in the book to focus on would make this book easier to read. Or having images and names on a wall for students to refer to.
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE - There is a lot of prior learning that is expected here. This is not meant to be the first WWII source. It assumes a basic understanding of the causes, people and politics of WWII. It refers to Himmler, Hitler and Roosevelt in passing. Mentions important events in the war in a sentence or two, and moves on to how it affected the people in the book.
OVERALL - The reading level is 11th and 12th grade. The interest level (subjectively) is from 6th grade up, but the topic is for the more mature minds. I would recommend this as a teaching tool, but not as a free-reading book unless you know the student and are sure they will understand the global concepts.
READ ALIKE -
[b:Number the Stars|47281|Number the Stars|Lois Lowry|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1370917812s/47281.jpg|2677305],
[b:Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption|8664353|Unbroken A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption|Laura Hillenbrand|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327861115s/8664353.jpg|12946965]
[b:The Diary of a Young Girl|48855|The Diary of a Young Girl|Anne Frank|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1358276407s/48855.jpg|3532896]
danyell919's review against another edition
4.0
It took me awhile to get through this one. It’s packed full of history. I found some parts to be a little dry, but overall it was very informative and interesting!
backonthealex's review against another edition
4.0
On April 9, 1940, the Nazis invaded Denmark. Caught off guard, the Danish military was no match for the invading Germans, and the government easily surrendered. At first, daily life continued almost normally, except for the constant presence of armed soldiers and gestapo everywhere. But soon, things changed and for the next five years, the peaceful Danish people lived under the yoke of military domination, the constant threat of starvation, and for Jewish citizens, the very real prospect of deportation and death. But not all Danes were willing to accept their country's surrender and submit to life under occupation and it wasn't long before ordinary citizens became clandestine resisters to the Nazis.
In her newest book, Courage & Defiance, Deborah Hopkinson once again uses her considerable talent as a writer and researcher to explore the Danish resistance. Looking at the Nazi occupation of Denmark in chronological order from the first days to the last, Hopkinson introduces the reader to some remarkable people and events.
There is, for example, Niels Skov, a 20 year old apprentice toolmaker, who found himself so surprised, angry and ashamed that people went about their business after the invasion, that he resolved to fight back. The invaders may haven been mostly apprehensive young men like himself, but they were destroying everything Niels loved about Denmark. And so, much like the boys in the Churchill Club, Niels began his resistance activities by roaming the streets of Copenhagen seeking out Nazi vehicles he could sabotage- blowing them up and setting them on fire.
Another story Hopkinson explores in detail is that of Jørgen Kieler, a 20 year old medical student who was also outraged by the invasion and ashamed and saddened by Denmark's easy capitulation to the Nazis. Knowing he needed to do something to resist them, it wasn't until 1943 that Jørgen, his siblings and friends decided to write an illegal anti-Nazi underground newsheet, Frit Danmark, aimed a fellow students. But soon, writing wasn't enough, and Jørgen became a saboteur as part of the Holger Danske 2 resistance group.
And Jørgen wasn't the only Kieler to act against the Nazis. Hopkinson introduces readers to his sister Elsebet, who wanted to protest the occupation of her country, but was a pacifist. When the rumors spread that there was going to be a roundup of Danish Jews, Elsebet, along with the Kieler's friend Klaus Rønholt, traveled around the countryside asking for donations from farms and landowners to help fund a rescue of as many Jews as possible.
And then there is Tommy Sneum, a flight lieutenant in Denmark's air force. After Denmark's defeat, Tommy left the military and became a one man resistance plan. Realizing the German's had some kind of early warning system in place around Denmark to warm if any enemy planes are approaching, Tommy made it his business to find out where these systems were and get the information to Great Britain ASAP.
These are just some of the brave Danes that Hopkinson writes about in this compelling new work. The book is so well-written and organized, not to mention thought provoking, that it reads as though it were a spy novel, except the people are real and the events really did happen.
Good nonfiction about people, places and events is always so welcomed when it is done well. And I have been very fortunate to have read some truly remarkable nonfiction for this blog. Deborah Hopkinson's (Knit Your Bit: A World War I Story) new book becomes a most welcomed addition to those already available.
Books about the resistance activities always begs the question can one person make a difference especially against such a large, powerful, well armed often unscrupulous force that made up the Nazi regime? I suspect that the resisters you will meet in Courage & Defiance as well as the 7, 220 Jews who were able to escape Denmark with their help just before the Nazis would have rounded them up for deportation would have to say that yes, one person can and did make a difference.
This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was provided by the publisher through Edelweis Above The Treeline
Alex's Bookshelves (formerly The Children's War)
In her newest book, Courage & Defiance, Deborah Hopkinson once again uses her considerable talent as a writer and researcher to explore the Danish resistance. Looking at the Nazi occupation of Denmark in chronological order from the first days to the last, Hopkinson introduces the reader to some remarkable people and events.
There is, for example, Niels Skov, a 20 year old apprentice toolmaker, who found himself so surprised, angry and ashamed that people went about their business after the invasion, that he resolved to fight back. The invaders may haven been mostly apprehensive young men like himself, but they were destroying everything Niels loved about Denmark. And so, much like the boys in the Churchill Club, Niels began his resistance activities by roaming the streets of Copenhagen seeking out Nazi vehicles he could sabotage- blowing them up and setting them on fire.
Another story Hopkinson explores in detail is that of Jørgen Kieler, a 20 year old medical student who was also outraged by the invasion and ashamed and saddened by Denmark's easy capitulation to the Nazis. Knowing he needed to do something to resist them, it wasn't until 1943 that Jørgen, his siblings and friends decided to write an illegal anti-Nazi underground newsheet, Frit Danmark, aimed a fellow students. But soon, writing wasn't enough, and Jørgen became a saboteur as part of the Holger Danske 2 resistance group.
And Jørgen wasn't the only Kieler to act against the Nazis. Hopkinson introduces readers to his sister Elsebet, who wanted to protest the occupation of her country, but was a pacifist. When the rumors spread that there was going to be a roundup of Danish Jews, Elsebet, along with the Kieler's friend Klaus Rønholt, traveled around the countryside asking for donations from farms and landowners to help fund a rescue of as many Jews as possible.
And then there is Tommy Sneum, a flight lieutenant in Denmark's air force. After Denmark's defeat, Tommy left the military and became a one man resistance plan. Realizing the German's had some kind of early warning system in place around Denmark to warm if any enemy planes are approaching, Tommy made it his business to find out where these systems were and get the information to Great Britain ASAP.
These are just some of the brave Danes that Hopkinson writes about in this compelling new work. The book is so well-written and organized, not to mention thought provoking, that it reads as though it were a spy novel, except the people are real and the events really did happen.
Good nonfiction about people, places and events is always so welcomed when it is done well. And I have been very fortunate to have read some truly remarkable nonfiction for this blog. Deborah Hopkinson's (Knit Your Bit: A World War I Story) new book becomes a most welcomed addition to those already available.
Books about the resistance activities always begs the question can one person make a difference especially against such a large, powerful, well armed often unscrupulous force that made up the Nazi regime? I suspect that the resisters you will meet in Courage & Defiance as well as the 7, 220 Jews who were able to escape Denmark with their help just before the Nazis would have rounded them up for deportation would have to say that yes, one person can and did make a difference.
This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was provided by the publisher through Edelweis Above The Treeline
Alex's Bookshelves (formerly The Children's War)
joabroda's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
3.0
This is a YA book about the invasion of Denmark in WWII and the young people who stepped up and organized the underground resistance. Although the book was decent, I feel as though the author "dumbed" things a bit too much for my taste. Planning to look for more on this topic, as it did peak my interest.
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