Courage & Defiance

July 13, 2015
Utilizing interviews and extensive documentation, Hopkinson (Titanic: Voices From the Disaster) reconstructs the stories of those who lived duringâand fought againstâthe Nazi occupation of Denmark. In an easy-to-follow, accessible manner, she touches on a wide cast of characters as they find ways to resist and disrupt the invaders, from solo sabotage to organized rebellion. It's a compelling look at everyday heroism and acts of valor, as Hopkinson follows the exploits of men like Tommy Sneum, who gained spy footage of a German radar station in action before making an impossible escape to England by plane. The account takes a turn for the near-miraculous as Hopkinson looks at how the Danes spirited the vast majority of Denmark's Jewish population to safety before the Nazis could round them up, then dips into the tragic as she covers the conditions of the prison camps many suffered through. With numerous pictures and illustrations accompanying the text, this is a fascinating look at a little-known corner of WWII. Ages 8â12. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House.

June 15, 2015
Patriotic men and women fight against German occupiers in this absorbing chronicle of the World War II resistance movement in Denmark. When Denmark was invaded in April 1940, the Danish government surrendered almost immediately. For Danes like Tommy Sneum, a young lieutenant in Denmark's tiny air force, this quick capitulation was unacceptable. Sneum escaped to Great Britain and worked on espionage and sabotage operations in occupied Denmark. His is one of several stories Hopkinson tells. Two others are those of saboteur Niels Skov and the members of Holger Danske 2, a group involved in extensive sabotage activities. Passing mention is given to the Churchill Club, a small but remarkably effective student resistance group, now the subject of a full-length book, The Boys Who Challenged Hitler, by Phillip Hoose (2015). A significant portion of text discusses the extraordinary efforts of Danes to rescue 95 percent of their Jewish countrymen, a subject covered in more detail in other books, most notably in Ellen Levine's Darkness Over Denmark (2000). An informative, often gripping chronicle of daring, heroic acts of young men and women who did not stand by as their country was occupied by a dangerous enemy. (photos, maps, chronology, bibliography, source notes, index) (Nonfiction. 10-14)

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July 1, 2015

Gr 9 Up-As the book's subtitle indicates, this narrative is a chronological collection of personal stories of the daring exploits of the courageous and (mostly) young people who fought German occupiers from the shadows, in many cases defying the Danish government's collaboration with Hitler. Hopkinson explains that this book isn't a complete history of World War II Denmark, and she focuses on a small group of people, most men, who waged a secret war against Germany by establishing an intelligence and resistance force with British aid, carrying out individual or small-group acts of sabotage or printing or distributing underground newspapers. Well-documented chapters include background about the war and the lives of the resistance fighters and incorporate lengthy quotes from published accounts and memoirs, giving readers the opportunity to understand the fighters' motivations, reactions, and fears. Hopkinson also describes the spontaneous and altruistic efforts of countless Danes who first sheltered and then relocated Denmark's small Jewish population to neutral Sweden. The strongest and most moving section of the book is about the arrests, imprisonment, and concentration camp internments of captured fighters, who found their enemy more evil than they could have imagined. The text is supplemented with large period photos of resistance fighters and wartime Denmark. This book is generally well written, and although it lacks the drama and teen focus found in Phillip Hoose's outstanding The Boys Who Challenged Hitler: Knud Pedersen and the Churchill Club (Farrar, 2015), its coverage of an often overlooked topic makes it a solid option. VERDICT A strong supplemental purchase choice.-Mary Mueller, Rolla Public Schools, MO

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2015
Grades 7-10 It happened on April 9, 1940, whenliterally overnightthe German army invaded Denmark, remaining to occupy the country for the next five years. In the face of overwhelming force, there was no official resistance by the Danish government, but brave citizens risked their lives by fighting back in a variety of ways, including spying on the enemy and committing acts of sabotage. It is their stories that Hopkinson tells in this well-conceived and well-written book. Arranged chronologically, the stories put a human face on the resistance, as do the many vintage black-and-white photographs scattered throughout the text. What Hopkinson writes of one of her characters truly serves to describe them all: Niels had followed his conscience: he was an ordinary citizen who'd begun doing extraordinary things. Niels' own words, as well as those of his comrades, enliven and bring verisimilitude to Hopkinson's spirited, inspiring, and extremely well-researched book. This is ideal for both classroom use and independent reading.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2016
In April 1940, the Danish government pretty much rolled out the red carpet for Hitler's army. What no one foresaw was the way many Danes, angered by their leaders' capitulation, would fight back. Some spied on the Germans; others aided Danish Jews. Hopkinson pulls together these narratives with truly propulsive storytelling and great attention to the humanity involved. Reading list, timeline, websites. Bib., ind.

(Copyright 2016 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

November 1, 2015
When Germany invaded Denmark in April 1940, the Nazis believed their small neighbor to the north would be a pushover. The Germans were partially right: the Danish government pretty much rolled out the red carpet for Hitler's army. What no one foresaw was the way many Danes, angered by their leaders' capitulation, would fight back. Some, like Tommy Sneum, spied on the Germans and fed intelligence to the British; others, like Niels Skov, sabotaged German vehicles and weapons; countless others worked together to warn and aid Danish Jews before they could be rounded up by the Nazis. Hopkinson pulls together these narratives, and others, with some truly propulsive storytelling (just try to put the book down during the tale of Sneum's harrowing night flight across the English Channel) and great attention to the humanity involved. This will surely garner comparisons to Hoose's The Boys Who Challenged Hitler (rev. 7/15), and while there is plenty of overlap between the two in terms of subject matter, Hopkinson's account is a little broader in scope; where Hoose keeps a tighter narrative focus, Hopkinson opts for multi-player storytelling (and two helpful sections in the excellent back matter About Danish, a pronunciation guide; and the self-explanatory People in this book help readers navigate the material). Well-balanced and attractively designed (save for a few too many segments of text interrupted by full-page photo spreads), this is another strong showing from the reliable Hopkinson. A selected chronology, maps, bibliography, source notes, and photo credits are appended; index unseen. sam bloom

(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)