A weekly recommendation to level up your book matchmaking.

​Code Name Kingfisher by Liz Kessler​

Genre: Historical Fiction

Age Range: 11 - 14

Summary: This story is told through two alternating narrators: modern-day, 12-year-old Liv and her grandma (Bubbe) in Holland in 1942. Assigned a research project for History class, Liv is surprised to find an old box filled with newspaper articles and photos in Bubbe's attic. The photo shows a young Bubbe with a sister — who Liv has never heard of because Bubbe refuses to speak of her childhood. In the 1942 timeline, 12-year-old Mila (Bubbe) and her sister Hannie live in Nazi-occupied Holland. Persecuted by anti-Semitic laws, Mila and Hannie are sent to live with a non-Jewish family. While Mila attempts to settle in, Hannie is enraged by the injustices. She finds a way to join the resistance — even though it means putting her life in grave danger.

Teaching with Code Name Kingfisher

Recommend this book to students who:

• Read a lot of WWII historical fiction that feature resistance stories, such as Number the Stars by Lois Lowry and The Bletchley Riddle by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin.
• Appreciate the storyline in Black Star by Kwame Alexander where the granddaughter uncovers and learns from the story of her grandparent.
• Are drawn to stories of sisters, in all their love-and-bickering glory, including Duel by Jessixa Bagley and Totally Psychic by Brigid Martin.

Read it for these themes:

Being an Upstander: Hannie saves many children by joining the Resistance in Amsterdam, despite the immense dangers. Liv takes inspiration from Hannie's story to stand up to the school bullies set on making her miserable.

Friendship: Both storylines feature tweens and teens navigating relationships with peers characterized by trust and compassion as well as betrayal and lies. The juxtaposition of healthy with toxic friendships is enlightening for young readers.

My two cents: I always take a deep breath when opening the pages of a war story. I know I'll feel heartbreaking loss, and immense anger at the characters who cause that loss. But at the same time, I eagerly anticipate the moments of courage and hope. Kingfisher is overflowing with these moments.

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Resource of the Week

Group work does not have to lead to a classroom management headache. Teach students to self-manage by starting Book Clubs (or any small group project) with our Book Club Charter.

I'd like to see the Book Club Charter! ⇗

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Have a good one and learn everything you can,

Hannah

PS: My offer from last week for a free theme handout in the hopes that you'll provide feedback to make it better stands. Hit reply and let me know!