Song of a Blackbird

Fictionalised but based on true events, Song of a Blackbird has two intertwined timelines: one is a modern-day family drama, the other a thrilling true story of a WWII-era bank heist carried out by Dutch resistance fighters.

'So heart-rending and familiar, and so brilliantly, unforgettably different.'
- Morris Gleitzman, bestselling author of Once

Emma is a young student about to be drawn into what will become the biggest bank heist in European history: swapping 50 million guilders' worth of forged treasury bonds for real ones - right under the noses of the Nazis. Emma's life - and the lives of thousands, including a little girl named Hanna - hangs in the balance.

Almost seventy years later, Annick discovers something surprising about her family. Her grandmother needs a bone marrow donor but none of her relatives is a match. In fact, they are not even related. Desperate to find a living blood relative, Annick dives into the past, aided by her grandmother's only childhood possession, five copper etchings, and the name of their maker: Emma Bergsma.

In this stranger-than-fiction graphic novel, Maria van Lieshout weaves a tale about family, courage and the power of art. Deeply personal yet universal, Song of a Blackbird sheds light on a remarkable WWII story and sends a powerful message about compassion and resistance.

'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