The Yellow Bird Sings

Book: The Yellow Bird Sings
Author: Jennifer Rosner

As Nazi soldiers round up the Jews in their town, Róza and her 5-year-old daughter, Shira, flee, seeking shelter in a neighbor’s barn. Hidden in the hayloft day and night, Shira struggles to stay still and quiet, as music pulses through her and the farmyard outside beckons. To soothe her daughter and pass the time, Róza tells her a story about a girl in an enchanted garden:

The girl is forbidden from making a sound, so the yellow bird sings. He sings whatever the girl composes in her head: high-pitched trills of piccolo; low-throated growls of contrabassoon. Music helps the flowers bloom.

In this make-believe world, Róza can shield Shira from the horrors that surround them. But the day comes when their haven is no longer safe, and Róza must make an impossible choice: whether to keep Shira by her side or give her the chance to survive apart.-Goodreads

Review: This is a beautifully written novel about a mother hiding with her young daughter during WWII. The love Roza has for her daughter while trying to keep them both alive is inspirational while their circumstances are heartbreaking. While this is fiction, this was inspired by true stories of survival during the war. I loved it!

Grade: 5/5