Code Name Kingfisher

I loved this story. It’s a split-time narrative, moving between present-day Liv who is given a school project on her family tree, and tries to find out more about her elderly grandmother, Bubbe, and 2 Dutch sisters caught up in world war 2. It’s not a big surprise when the narratives collide and elements of the present start to mirror the past.
It’s a fascinating insight into the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam and the resistance, seen through the eyes of the children.
Would definitely recommend for upper KS2 world war 2 topic.

I'm completely engrossed in Liv's story about discovering a secret box that belonged to her grandmother. I like how it is told back and forth between the past and the future so that you can get to know all of the characters. and I believe each of the characters has a distinct personality. In the 1940s, Mila and Hannie are trying to survive in a world where many Jewish children are exiled or killed; in the present day, Liv is trying to learn about her grandmother's past. These two stories will eventually intersect, revealing a common thread about who the grandmother truly is.

I don't usually read children's books with fictional historical themes, but this book contains a lot of life lessons that will shape Liv's personality and make me think for a moment. I expected it to be light, but it was quite heavy, and I sobbed near the end. It's my first time reading Liz Kessler's book, and it won't be my last because I enjoy her writing.

Travelling home from my holiday on Sunday, I had fully expected to spend the majority of the flight sleeping (it had been a fairly busy trip for me and crappy health issues had left me much more tired than in previous years); however, the first leg of the journey saw me begin Code Name Kingfisher and suddenly the any idea of sleeping went right out the window!

Set in Holland during the Second World War and also modern day Britain, the book follows Liv who has been tasked with a school history project to discover her family tree. With a small family, and her grandmother closed off after the death of her grandfather, Liv thinks this is going to be an impossible task, but the discovery of a box hidden in her grandmother's attic opens up a whole new world. Through the contents of the box, Liv is transported back to 1942 Holland where Mila and her sister Hannie are forced to leave their family home and their parents in order to live with strangers; their identities and their Jewish background are kept strictly secret to protect them from the Nazis. However, as the story unfolds, Hannie finds it increasingly difficult to simply sit and watch what is happening to other Jewish children and is determined to do all she can to help. But do she and Mila know who they can trust and can they stay safe?

I have a real weakness for books set during WWII but I don't think I've read many that are set in Holland. I'm well aware of the plight of Anne Frank and her family, as well as the brave resistance fighters who helped them, but this gave me a different perspective on life for Jewish families at this time. The idea of parents deciding to entrust their children to strangers to save them broke my heart and I admired Mila and Hannie's parents' strength immensely; also that of the Van de Bergs who take them in. There were so many acts of bravery like this during the war and I always feel that it's important that they aren't forgotten.

Although Mila and Hannie are sisters, they are clearly two very different characters, both very strong in their own way but different in how they deal with things. I don't want to say any more so as to avoid spoilers but they are characters I won't forget in a while.

Then there is Liv. Living in Britain today, she is dealing with several big things in her life: she is still coming to terms with the death of her grandfather and is also coping with changes in friendships. Friendships often change as children progress through school but I really felt for her. The discovery of the box and the subsequent investigations into its contents come at just the right time for Liv.

Told in the third person, Code Name Kingfisher flits between Liv's story and that of Mila and Hannie, creating a tension that makes you want to read 'just one more chapter'. I found myself very quickly absorbed and fully invested in the lives of all three girls and shed tears on more than one occasion (goodness knows what the person beside me on the plane thought!).

Full of hope, courage, friendship and family ties, Code Name Kingfisher is a book that will draw you in and capture your heart. It will remind you that bravery can be found in the most unlikely of places and that you should never give up hope.

Pushing on the 14th September, Code Name Kingfisher is a must-read book this autumn.

I'd say this is a middle grade read, perfect to get a different perspective on the resistance movement in WW2; perhaps as a precursor to The Diary of Anne Frank.

Liv has to research her family tree for a school assignment and uncovers a box of her grandmother's documents that tell an awe inspiring tale. From these documents,Liv takes strength to out right the things that are going wonky in her own life.

Dual timeline between 1940s Amsterdam and present day Britain.
Tells the story of Jewish sisters - Hannie and Mila, who are sent by their parents to a non-Jewish family so they can live safely under Nazi occupation.
Older sister Hannie joins the Dutch resistance, making for tense times and relationships are tested to the limit.
In present day, Liv has relationship issues with her Gran, who has dementia and is given a family history project to do at school - you then see how the past relates to the present.
Would make an epic TV drama with likeable main characters, boo worthy baddies and loads of suspense and tension.
A moving, dramatic piece of writing and will soon become a children’s wartime classic.
Thanks @lizkessler @simonkidsuk & @netgalley for the eARC

What a beautiful story this is. It is split between Holland during the Second World War and present day Great Britain, it tells the story of Liv who whilst doing a school project about her family tree, finds a box in her grandmother’s attic. Reading the contents of the box Liv finds herself learning about her family’s past. The story tells of Mila and Hannie in 1942 where they are forced into living with strangers in order to hide their Jewish identity from the Nazis.
This is a story that should be read by todays schoolchildren to give them an insight into what children their age had to go through just in order to survive. It is a story full of emotions, a tale of hardships and friendships and family.
I loved this story, it was a totally absorbing read and I thoroughly recommend it.

This is a powerful & incredibly moving exploration of courage & defiance in the darkest of times. It shines a light on the ordinary people who risked everything to save the lives of strangers. Liz cleverly weaves together the two different time narratives to create a more personal insight into the long term effects war has on families and how it can impact on future generations. The ending is stark but realistic and pulls no punches on the brutality of the time. A must have for every school library, definitely recommend for UKS2 and KS3.

An extraordinary tale of bravery and family amidst one of the worst periods of history, the Nazi invasion of Holland.
Hannie and Mila, sisters and Jews, are sent away from their parents for their own safety as the rules against Jewish people are strengthened and tightened. They find a home with a Dutch family and their new identities adopted. Hannie is brave and immediately joins the resistance movement, working to bring Jewish children to safety and to protect the identities of any Jewish families. Mila, still too young to be involved, finds friends and adapts to new life. As Hannie gets more and more ingrained with her resistance, she keeps a journal and this is her way of keeping secrets but also writing to her parents to keep them alive in her heart.
When Hannie’s list of children to save is compromised and given to the enemy, she suspects the wrong people and harsh words are spoken, words that become a lasting memory.

Liv, is working on a project about her family and makes these discoveries about her Bubbe. The truth wants to find its way to the surface but is Bubbe strong enough to withstand it all?

Compelling, thrilling and based on events that happened throughout the Second World War, it is easy to imagine the danger, fear and uncertainty that was a constant for so many innocent people,

Liz Kessler writes with heart, intermingling fact with fiction but all to shed light on a story needing to be shared.

Liv finds strength thorough understanding what her great aunt did and what she sacrificed and this helps her to deal with issues she faces at school herself. History finds a way to heal in the next generation.

This was such an emotional rollercoaster of a book. I sobbed through the lsat few chapter sand honestly couldn't rate it highly enough - 5 stars feels too few. The less well known story of the Netherlands during the Second World War, during Nazi occupation. Outside of Anne Frank, a reasonably unknown part of history, This flips between modern day where Liv is trying to investigate her own family history; diary entries from Hannie during the war and Mila's story of her being a persecuted Jew who had to go into hiding. Hannie joins the resistance and helps Jewish children to safety, the ending was never going to be a cheery noe but it had tendrils of hope shining through and showed how strong children (and adults) had to be when faced faced with adversity. The war was clearly a dark time for so much of Europe and this feels like an important book to begin interest in our own history - it's important to understand how hard life truly was for 'normal' people. Liz's chapter on the real life of Hannie and what inspired her to write this is an amazing story, too. Totally heartbreaking but incredibly touching and heartfelt - I loved it!

As a primary school teacher who has taught World War Two for the last five years (and has read many children’s books based on the time period) , I COULD NOT PUT THIS DOWN. Told through multiple perspectives, the story centres around German-occupied Holland during WW2 and the present day in England. It’s beautiful, respectful and thoughtful in all perspectives used: the way that we follow events of the time when Jewish people (and those who protected them) were publicly persecuted; the many social challenges that young people face in the modern day and how this is perceived through the eyes of teenagers.
Once I started reading this, I knew that I needed to finish it in the same day. I needed to know what happened to the characters. Who would survive? What would happen to Bo? Who would get a happy ending when life isn’t always like that? There were times that I grinned broadly, times when I cheered with delight, times when I held my breath waiting to see if they would make it and then times when I cried when not all of them did - I went on the full emotional rollercoaster! It is a humbling story which brought to life the bravery, determination (especially in the face of adversity), impossible choices and harsh realities of those who lived during WW2 and honours their memory. When we see through Liv’s perspective, many of these same themes are echoed, as well as being true to yourself, even when those that you considered friends aren’t who you thought they were. There are so many important messages that children can take from this book, as well as learning about what life was like for children in WW2 or simply just enjoying beautiful writing.
I will definitely be recommending this to my pupils, as well as my colleagues and any one else who will listen, as well as looking to add more books by Liz Kessler to my own library!
Thank you to NetGalley, Liz Kessler and Simon & Schuster Children’s UK for the ARC of this story in exchange for my honest review.

This is my first book by this author, having come across reviews for this title I knew I had to read it!

In the present Liv is being bullied at school and her beloved Grandmother Bubbe is being moved into a home..Liv is 13 years old; her Grandmother 92. Once close they have lost their connection.. A school project sends her in search of family history and she realises how little she knows of Bubbe’s story..Making a success of the project is really important to Liv in a class where she is frequently ridiculed, but she’s drawing a blank and Bubbe is silent about her past. In Amsterdam 1942, Mila’s parents have sent her and her sister away for their safety. They are Jewish. It’s a time of curfews, yellow stars, concentration camps, Resistance..As Mila enjoys some new friendships, her older sister Hannie is becoming increasingly distant and often disappearing..

I finished this incredible book yesterday afternoon and wept…I haven’t been this emotional in a wee while! @lizkessler is a new author to me and she had me completely under her spell. Very often with dual timelines one can dominate and leave you itching for the other, but both timelines were equally strong and the characters beautifully drawn. My heart went out to Liv as she watches her old friend become her tormentor..and I struggle to convey my feelings for the spirited and courageous Hannie.

Both storylines weave together beautifully, exploring themes of friendship, courage, family, connection..the importance of history and not forgetting. Both conveyed a powerful sense of place and feelings of being trapped whether by bullies or soldiers.. It is an emotional and compelling read. I was driven by curiosity to know Bubbe’s story and to understand how the two timelines linked. I couldn’t put it down..
This is every reason not to leave children’s books to children!
With huge thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Children’s for my digital copy. I have now preordered a physical copy - this one’s a keeper.

This is an amazing Book telling the story of two Girls Hannie ( Kingfisher) & Mila ( Mimi) who are from a Jewish family living in Holland when the Nazi Party invaded & turned their lives completely upside down ! Fast forward to today & the granddaughter of one of them discovers Papers which lead her on the most amazing Family History journey after being asked by their School History Teacher to do a project about a family member who inspired them. As not much is talked about the Jewish Children in Holland other than Anne Frank , this Book opens one's Eye's to a whole new set of Children . I will buy this for my eldest granddaughter & also for the children of some friends as I think it will help them understand this period of the Second World War much better ,& also understand why we can never let anything like this happen again. #NetGalley, #GoodReads, #Amazon.co.uk, #FB, #Instagram, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/8a5b541512e66ae64954bdaab137035a5b2a89d2" width="80" height="80" alt="200 Book Reviews" title="200 Book Reviews"/>, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/ef856e6ce35e6d2d729539aa1808a5fb4326a415" width="80" height="80" alt="Reviews Published" title="Reviews Published"/>, #<img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/aa60c7e77cc330186f26ea1f647542df8af8326a" width="80" height="80" alt="Professional Reader" title="Professional Reader"/>.

I love to read historical novels with the children, especially as the younger ones do not realise that it is educational. Sneaky I know. The more challenging the history the easier it is to broach the subject in the form of fiction. This was so well written and it sparked an interest for the children to find out more.

I could not put this book down. I had to read it all in one sitting through a constant stream of tears.
It's a beautifully written story based on real sisters, very upsetting, and is brave enough to not shy away from portraying the horrors of life in Nazi occupied Holland during WW2.
There are dark moments that linger in the mind: Jewish children hiding in the wolf enclosure at the zoo; innocent people hiding in suffocatingly small spaces or suddenly disappearing; orphan children being tossed like bags of rubbish into a Nazi van to be taken to a concentration camp...
It's the kind of story that should be read by everyone and will leave its mark.

I haven’t read any other books by Liz (sorry!) and picked this one up on NetGalley because it sounded like it’d be right up my street.

As I am starting to read it I am realising that the writing is not linear and my mind is adapting to it, accepting it and starting to really enjoy the style of it. The narrator changes throughout the story but the author helps me follow the plot by labelling each chapter with its time period and the name of the character who is speaking. It is simple, effective and means that I instantly know whose ‘shoes’ I am putting on as I take tentative steps further into the book.

A few chapters in and I begin to see the story as a jigsaw puzzle. My thoughts swirl and add mental images to it. I keep moving through the chapters, the edges of the jigsaw forming first: scraps of information about enigmatic Bubbe, a little more about Liv, Mila and Hannie. When I get to the chapter about the small treasure chest that Liv and Gabi discover in Bubbe’s attic, I visualise it as the centre piece of that puzzle. Next, I am slowly filling out the remaining gaps in the outline of the puzzle and starting to move inwards towards the centre piece within that outline. My excitement grows each time something clicks into place - sometimes I smile, sometimes I gasp, sometimes my eyes fill with tears which I can’t stop from escaping. I am sensing the past and the present closing in on that treasure chest and by the time I am near the end of the book, there are only a couple of puzzle pieces missing - they are not lost, I find them; the puzzle is complete and looks fully formed and impressive. The satisfaction of getting there is joyfully overwhelming.

I read the book in two sittings and finished it at 3.30am, it drew me in so deeply that I couldn’t put it down. My daughter checked on me once it had gone past midnight:

- Mum, what are you doing?
- Just reading.
- Isn’t reading supposed to make you sleepy?
- Not this book, I couldn’t be more alert.

I’d normally pick up another book straight away and start on a new adventure but not this time - I kept re-playing and re-living certain parts in my mind, processing the emotions that the ingenious storytelling had stirred up.

The themes that I personally enjoyed following through are: sisterhood and female strength. There are a lot of middle grade WW2 stories around - this one will definitely stand out for the way it is written and the profound impact it will have on the readers young and old. I will be buying a paper copy or may be even a few and recommending it further for sure.

”That’s it, that’s all I’ve got”. 😉

Absolute corker of a story. What a fabulously different slant on WWII for uKS2 children. Beautifully written, from one on the edge of your seat moment to another on the edge of your seat moment and every heart thumping moment in between.

This book made me cry! It's such an important story sharing how people worked so hard together to resist the control the Nazis exerted over people. It also shows how people pulled together to try to protect those who were so vulnerable and how they were willing to put their lives at risk. The way the story is told, through different voices and in different timelines makes it a really interesting read, and also a useful text for year 5 and 6 when teaching about character voice. Be prepared to cry at the end though.