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I am honored to welcome to my blog today author Jennifer Elvgren, the author of The Whispering Town, winner of the Sydney Taylor Honor Award in the Older Readers category. The Sydney Taylor awards are given out annually by the Jewish Libraries Association for new books for children and teens that "exemplify the highest literary standards while authentically portraying the Jewish experience." The Whispering Town tells the story of an ordinary heroine, a young girl named Anett, who together with others from her Danish village community, help hide a Jewish family until they can escape from the Nazis.  The story is illustrated in graphic novel style by Italian illustrator Fabio Santomauro. Jennifer kindly answered some questions for me as part of the Sydney Taylor Award winners blog tour.  The complete blog tour schedule, which runs from February 8 to the 13th, can be found here.  

Author Jennifer Elvgren

Q: The Danish people's heroic efforts to save "their" Jews are one of the few "feel-good" stories from the Holocaust.  What inspired you to create a picture book on this topic? 

A:  Somewhere around late elementary, early middle school, my grandmother gave me her copy of The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom, and my mother gave me a copy of The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. From a young age, I pondered the bravery of those hidden and the bravery of those who protected the hidden. I carried this interest in Holocaust literature as I grew and started my writing career as a print journalist. When I began writing solely for elementary children after my second child was born, I wondered if there was a way to tell a Holocaust story to a younger set of readers. Around 2009, I read Ellen Levine’s nonfiction book Darkness over Denmark: The Danish Resistance and the Rescue of the Jews. One Jewish boy recollected his father trying to find the Gilleleje harbor on a moonless night and villagers stood in doorways giving him directions. As I read this, I could see the storyboard in my mind – Anett and her parents hiding a Jewish family and enlisting the village to whisper them to safety.

 

Q:  Could you comment on the unique challenges of writing a book aimed at young children on the Holocaust?  

 

A:  For the youngest readers, I wanted to portray danger, not horror. I intended this book to be the start of a lifelong discussion of the Holocaust, focusing initially on kindness and bravery. In early drafts of The Whispering Town, I went too far the other way and watered down Anett’s character. I never had her come face-to-face with Nazi soldiers. After a meeting with my critique group, there was consensus that Anett must face the soldiers. By not doing so, she would have been robbed of her greatest chance to be brave. Now I believe that was the best decision for her. Anett was able to dig down deep, think fast on her feet and face her greatest fear.

 

Q:  What kind of research did you do for this story?  Is Anett based on a real girl?  

A: In this story, Anett is a fictional character, and I researched the occupation of Denmark and the Danish Resistance, which smuggled almost all of the Danish Jews out of Denmark.

 

Briefly, on April 9, 1940, at 4:14 a.m. Germany began the invasion of Denmark by land, sea and air. The invasion lasted six hours, which was the shortest operation in WWII. The Danes knew the attack was coming but were denied permission to fight, as the Danish government did not want to provoke the Germans. Denmark cooperated, but did not collaborate. As a result, King Christian X stayed on the throne and continued to live at the palace in Copenhagen. From 1940 to October 1943 resistance to the occupation mostly took the form of bursts of national pride like when King Christian X took his daily ride through the Copenhagen streets to meet throngs of flag-waving Danes, a few scattered acts of sabotage, strikes and a slow down of the workforce.

 

During the summer of 1943 Danes had grown weary of the occupation and their acts of sabotage became more violent including riots in Copenhagen. In August 1943, the Germans declared a State of Emergency and by September, Hitler approved the deportation of Danish Jews to death camps.

 

Danes were horrified. People from all walks of Danish life – clergy, government workers, storeowners, farmers, fisherman, teachers, police and the coast guard – protected Jews. The Danes hid Jews in barns, cellars, hospitals, summerhouses, churches and warehouses. They loaned boats and gave money to hire boats to smuggle Jews out of the country to neutral Sweden. The Danes also protected Jews’ houses and belongings until after the war.

 

Q:  The Whispering Town shows young children the heroism in ordinary people, as opposed to the superheroes that delight so many children.  In this case, the heroes are not Spiderman or Batman, but a small girl, a baker, a librarian, and a farmer.  How did you happen to choose these three professions to represent the Danish people?  (Of course, as a librarian, I am delighted by the choice of a librarian!)  

 

A: In times of crises, and anytime really, food and words bring comfort, healing and love. When my friends are facing illness or sadness, I deliver homemade food and/or books to their doorsteps. With Carl and his mama so frightened in her cellar, it seemed natural for Anett to bring them her favorite food and books, to feed their bodies and souls.

 

Q: As an author, how did you feel about the illustrations Fabio Santomauro drew for your text?  With their graphic novel feel, they are quite different from the illustrations in most of the picture books about the Holocaust.

A: When I saw the first pencil sketch, I was surprised at the graphic novel style. I had expected something more realistic. As I scrolled through the rest of the sketches, it dawned on me that this would feel less frightening to children – more accessible – the goal that I had set to achieve with the words. It was a brilliant pairing on the part of Kar-Ben. When I saw the final art – the muted palette, the pops of red, the facial expressions – it was love at first sight.   

Jennifer, thanks so much for participating in the Sydney Taylor 2015 blog tour! Please check out interviews with other winners throughout this week (see blog tour schedule below).

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2015

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Recommended for children 3 and up.

With the adoption of Common Core nationwide, we are already starting to see increased demand at our library for nonfiction resources for children, particularly for books suitable for kindergarten and first grade.  Animal reports are particularly popular with these early grades, and Cathryn Sill's new book, About Parrots, a new release from Peachtree Press, is ideally suited for that purpose.

The large format book features beautiful full-page paintings of different colorful parrots from around the world by wildlife artist John Sill, along with very brief and simple text that is targeted toward young children (see example below).  Catherine Sill is a former elementary school teacher, and it is clear that she knows her audience well and what will interest young children as well as information they will require for school.  The simple text covers diverse topics such as the parrots' diet, habitat, communication, predators, and nests.  The main part of the book talks only about wild parrots, and does not cover their long history as pets, or their skills at imitating sounds such as human speech.




An afterword features additional information about each illustration, providing further details that would  enhance the book for older children who are interested in going beyond the very basic information covered in the text.  The afterword does touch briefly on how many parrot species are endangered because of both habitat destruction and being captured as pets.


In addition to the afterword, other back matter includes a glossary, suggestions for further reading, helpful websites for children on parrots, and a brief bibliography.  About Parrots is part of the "About...Series," which includes volumes on various animal groups (i.e. mammals and amphibians) as well as particular species, such as penguins and raptors.

At a recent professional meeting for children's librarians, we were advised that with Common Core, we should be incorporating nonfiction books regularly into storytimes for preschoolers and even toddlers.  This is a wonderful example of a nonfiction book that could be easily incorporated into a storytime for young children about birds, since the minimal text and large illustrations make it well suited to reading aloud to young children as well as for school reports.

For more on About Parrots, please see blog tour stops from earlier in the week:

Kid Lit Reviews, Jean Little Library, Geo Librarian, Chat with Vera, Kid Lit Frenzy, and Blue Owl.


Note:  An advance copy of this book was furnished by the publisher.

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Nominations for the 2011 Cybils awards are open!  The Cybils awards are given each year by children's and young adult book bloggers for the year's best children's and young adult titles.  This is the sixth year of the awards. If you'd like to nominate your favorite titles, surf on over to the this link.  Nominations are open from October 1 to October 15.  In order to be eligible, books must have been published between Oct. 16, 2010 and Oct. 15, 2011. This year, nominations for book apps for iPad, Web or computers are also being accepted. 

This year I am very excited to be serving as a second round judge for the Middle Grade/YA Nonfiction category!  I have read many terrific books in this category during the past year, and am looking forward to seeing what the first round judges pick as finalists. 

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Today the Armchair BEA organizers have asked us to write about blogging, and provided a list of suggested topics.  One of them was book blogging events.  Book blogging for me is a very solitary hobby/occupation, usually done when the kids are in school and I'm home in a quiet house.  When I first started blogging, I signed up for Mother Reader's 48 Hour Book Challenge (this year it's coming right up--June 3 through 5).  This was a great first blogging event--I really felt part of an on-line community, and it was fun to surf around to other blogs (and even have a few people come visit my blog!)  She also offers great prizes, which I didn't win, alas, but hope springs eternal!

I also participated in Bloggiesta, which gave me the push to do some clean up on my blog that I had been meaning to do but probably would never have managed to get to!

I encourage everyone to participate in these events--it's especially good for new bloggers who are trying to get some followers and get their blog noticed.

Leave a comment with your favorite blogging event!

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For Armchair BEA today, I have the pleasure of interviewing fellow blogger Jennifer Higgins of Rundipinne.  Here's our interview:

Q:  Thanks so much for participating in the BEA blogger interviews.

The first thing I have to ask—because enquiring minds want to know—what does Rundipinne mean? 

A: It is loosely translated to mean circular needles.  When I started blogging it was solely for the purpose of joining a knit-a-long and I needed a blog name and looked down at my knitting and voila, my blog name was created.  I never bothered changing it.

Q:  How long have you been blogging about books and how did you start?  

A:  About a year and a half?  I simply transitioned all my posts to be about books.

6 Comments on Armchair BEA Blogger Interview:, last added: 5/28/2011

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Anonymous said, on 5/25/2011 8:18:00 AM

Here's my list.

Jennifer is a great blogger, I follow her =)

Nise' said, on 5/25/2011 9:04:00 AM

Great interview. I am a frequent visitor at Jennifer's and was so glad to meet someone that reads more than I do! I love your question "What was the first book to make you cry?" It is one I intend to ask of others!

Jennifer said, on 5/25/2011 9:25:00 AM

Thank you for interviewing me about my book review blog Rundpinne. There are so many wonderful book bloggers out there, I appreciate you taking the time to interview me.

Alyce said, on 5/25/2011 9:45:00 AM

Ooh - a Doctor Who scarf, how cool! We love Doctor Who in our house! :)

I enjoyed reading this interview, especially the meaning of the blog name.

bex said, on 5/25/2011 6:59:00 PM

Oh, a blog I love! So great to get to know more about Jennifer! :) And I see some Swedish authors there!

My interview and shout out can be found here!

Rebecca @ kindle fever

Marg said, on 5/28/2011 8:15:00 PM

So glad to find out more about Jennifer! I visit her blog regularly!

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6. Sydney Taylor Award: The Newbery of the Jewish Children's Book World

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By: Fourth Musketeer, on 2/2/2011
Blog: The Fourth Musketeer (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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The Sydney Taylor Award, given out annually since 1968 by the Association of Jewish Libraries, is the Newbery, Caldecott, and Printz Award rolled into one for books for young people and teens that portray the Jewish experience.  Awards are given out in three categories:  young readers, older readers, and teens, and like the ALA awards, honor books and notable books are also named.  A list of all books recognized in 2011 can be found at the following link.

This year the Association of Jewish Libraries is organizing a blog tour for all the winners and honor books.  I am proud to be hosting here on The Fourth Musketeer Morris Gleitzman, beloved Australian children's author whose Holocaust novel, Once, was selected as an honor book in the teen category.  I reviewed Once in June, 2010, just after its American release, and look forward to posting my interview with Morris Gleitzman on February 11.

The blog tour goes from February 6 through February 11, and the schedule is reproduced below.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2011

Carla Jablonski, author of Resistance
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Older Readers Category
at Jewish Comics

Leland Purvis, illustrator of Resistance
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Older Readers Category
at Shelf-Employed

Sarah Gershman, author of Modeh Ani: A Good Morning Book
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
at Biblio File

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2011

Linda Glaser, author of Emma’s Poem: The Voice of the Statue of Libe

0 Comments on Sydney Taylor Award: The Newbery of the Jewish Children's Book World as of 1/1/1900

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7. Bloggiesta Finish Line--Ole!

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By: Fourth Musketeer, on 1/23/2011
Blog: The Fourth Musketeer (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
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It's Sunday night and I'm done with my blogging weekend.  I didn't participate in as many of the mini-challenges as I would have liked, but I hope to go back to them in the next few weeks and explore them.  I did manage to create an About Me page, add an alphabetical by author index, clean up my labels so there are way fewer of them, hopefully rendering them more useful, write seven reviews, which still didn't get me completely caught up, and read two historical fiction novels to be reviewed on my blog.  We had such a picture-perfect gorgeous, warm weekend in Southern California I couldn't quite spend all my time indoors blogging!

Tomorrow I am off to a two-day Infopeople seminar sponsored by the California State Library on "Leading from any Position."  I'm looking forward to gaining all kinds of new insights and meeting some interesting new library-world colleagues.

3 Comments on Bloggiesta Finish Line--Ole!, last added: 1/27/2011

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Sas (Tea Mouse) said, on 1/24/2011 4:22:00 AM

Congratulations on completing some of your goals! This was a fantastic oppertunity to get things done around the blog and it's good that you made time for both blogging and other things. :)

Joanna said, on 1/24/2011 8:16:00 PM

Your blog is terrific, Margo! I've been following you for a while now & think you're doing an awesome job. What I love most is how you always take your reviews up a notch by incorporating extra info about the author, etc. Hope the seminar is worthwhile; it sure looked like a good one.

MotherReader said, on 1/27/2011 3:22:00 PM

How did Comment Challenge work out for you? Even if you didn't make the five-a-day goal, come by the Finish Line at http://www.motherreader.com/2011/01/comment-challenge-2011-finish-line.html

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