Song of a Blackbird - by Maria Van Lieshout

About the Book

"In 1943 Amsterdam, Emma Bergsma's world changes when she witnesses Jewish families being forcibly deported to concentration camps. That pivotal moment lights a fire within her, and she decides to join the Dutch Resistance. Before long, Emma is drawn into a clandestine world of printing presses and counterfeiters, with thousands of lives on the line. In 2011 Amsterdam, teenage Annick's world has changed as well. A search for a bone marrow donor for her beloved oma leads to a shocking revelation: her grandmother was secretly adopted as a child. The only clues to finding their lost family are a series of art prints hanging on the wall--each signed by a mysterious "Emma B.""--

Book Synopsis

FIVE STARRED REVIEWS!

"This is essential, illuminating reading." --R. J. Palacio, bestselling author of Wonder

Fight hate. Make art.

In 1943 Amsterdam, Emma Bergsma's world changes when she witnesses Jewish families being forcibly deported to concentration camps. That pivotal moment lights a fire within her, and she decides to join the Dutch Resistance. Before long, Emma is drawn into a clandestine world of printing presses and counterfeiters, with thousands of lives on the line.

In 2011 Amsterdam, teenage Annick's world has changed as well. A search for a bone marrow donor for her beloved oma leads to a shocking revelation: her grandmother was secretly adopted as a child. The only clues to finding their lost family are a series of art prints hanging on the wall--each signed by a mysterious "Emma B."

This timely graphic novel weaves together two timelines to reveal how art, in the face of political upheaval and nearly insurmountable adversity, can become our greatest lifeline.

Review Quotes

A Junior Library Guild Selection

"Deeply compelling...while the story meaningfully evokes a specific historical situation, it could easily serve as a springboard for conversations around other stories of oppression, both contemporary and historical." --Booklist, starred review

"This work will claim its place beside graphic novel classics such as Art Spiegelman's Maus and Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis. Powerful, moving, and utterly unforgettable." --Kirkus, starred review

"A touching and tender graphic novel exploration of grief, family, and the vital importance of artistic expression." --Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Though not for the faint of heart, this touching, gripping, and heartbreaking historical graphic novel doesn't shy away from the dark sides of the true events it's based on, while still offering a ray of hope for the genuine good out there." --School Library Journal, starred review

"This deeply personal and poetic graphic novel illustrates the heroic actions of everyday Dutch people as they resisted the Nazi regime." --Horn Book, starred review

"Celebrates the incredible bravery of everyday people living under impossible circumstances, as well as the lasting legacy of their actions." --Wall Street Journal

"Song of a Blackbird illustrates, with great tenderness, how the past lives within us. This is essential, illuminating reading."
--R. J. Palacio, bestselling author of Wonder, White Bird, and Pony

"A visually stunning dive into history, family, and the awesome power of art."
--Steve Sheinkin, bestselling author of Bomb, Most Dangerous, and The Port Chicago 50

About the Author

Maria van Lieshout was born and raised near Amsterdam, where she spent many weekends in a Museum Quarter row house with her artist aunt and metalsmith uncle. Drawing while her aunt painted, and pecking stories on a typewriter while her uncle soldered metals inspired her love for creating. After high school in Leiden, Maria studied Visual Communications at GWU in DC. In 2000, Maria became an illustrator full-time. She has illustrated/written several picture books. Song of a Blackbird is Maria's first graphic novel.