Sydney Taylor Award Blog Tour: The Whispering Town, by Jennifer Elvgren, illustrated by Fabio Santomauro (Kar-Ben, 2014)

I am honored to welcome to my blog today author Jennifer Elvgren, the author of The Whispering Town, winner of the Sydney Taylor Honor Award in the Older Readers category, and the book's illustrator, Fabio Santomauro. The Sydney Taylor awards are given out annually by the Jewish Libraries Association for new books for children and teens that "exemplify the highest literary standards while authentically portraying the Jewish experience." The Whispering Town tells the story of an ordinary heroine, a young girl named Anett, who together with others from her Danish village community, help hide a Jewish family until they can escape from the Nazis.  The story is illustrated in graphic novel style by Italian illustrator Fabio Santomauro. Jennifer kindly answered some questions for me as part of the Sydney Taylor Award winners blog tour.  The complete blog tour schedule, which runs from February 8 to the 13th, can be found here.  

Author Jennifer Elvgren

Q: The Danish people's heroic efforts to save "their" Jews are one of the few "feel-good" stories from the Holocaust.  What inspired you to create a picture book on this topic? 

A:  Somewhere around late elementary, early middle school, my grandmother gave me her copy of The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom, and my mother gave me a copy of The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank. From a young age, I pondered the bravery of those hidden and the bravery of those who protected the hidden. I carried this interest in Holocaust literature as I grew and started my writing career as a print journalist. When I began writing solely for elementary children after my second child was born, I wondered if there was a way to tell a Holocaust story to a younger set of readers. Around 2009, I read Ellen Levine’s nonfiction book Darkness over Denmark: The Danish Resistance and the Rescue of the Jews. One Jewish boy recollected his father trying to find the Gilleleje harbor on a moonless night and villagers stood in doorways giving him directions. As I read this, I could see the storyboard in my mind – Anett and her parents hiding a Jewish family and enlisting the village to whisper them to safety.

Q:  Could you comment on the unique challenges of writing a book aimed at young children on the Holocaust?  

A:  For the youngest readers, I wanted to portray danger, not horror. I intended this book to be the start of a lifelong discussion of the Holocaust, focusing initially on kindness and bravery. In early drafts of The Whispering Town, I went too far the other way and watered down Anett’s character. I never had her come face-to-face with Nazi soldiers. After a meeting with my critique group, there was consensus that Anett must face the soldiers. By not doing so, she would have been robbed of her greatest chance to be brave. Now I believe that was the best decision for her. Anett was able to dig down deep, think fast on her feet and face her greatest fear.

Q:  What kind of research did you do for this story?  Is Anett based on a real girl?  

A: In this story, Anett is a fictional character, and I researched the occupation of Denmark and the Danish Resistance, which smuggled almost all of the Danish Jews out of Denmark.

Briefly, on April 9, 1940, at 4:14 a.m. Germany began the invasion of Denmark by land, sea and air. The invasion lasted six hours, which was the shortest operation in WWII. The Danes knew the attack was coming but were denied permission to fight, as the Danish government did not want to provoke the Germans. Denmark cooperated, but did not collaborate. As a result, King Christian X stayed on the throne and continued to live at the palace in Copenhagen. From 1940 to October 1943 resistance to the occupation mostly took the form of bursts of national pride like when King Christian X took his daily ride through the Copenhagen streets to meet throngs of flag-waving Danes, a few scattered acts of sabotage, strikes and a slow down of the workforce.

During the summer of 1943 Danes had grown weary of the occupation and their acts of sabotage became more violent including riots in Copenhagen. In August 1943, the Germans declared a State of Emergency and by September, Hitler approved the deportation of Danish Jews to death camps.

Danes were horrified. People from all walks of Danish life – clergy, government workers, storeowners, farmers, fisherman, teachers, police and the coast guard – protected Jews. The Danes hid Jews in barns, cellars, hospitals, summerhouses, churches and warehouses. They loaned boats and gave money to hire boats to smuggle Jews out of the country to neutral Sweden. The Danes also protected Jews’ houses and belongings until after the war.

Q:  The Whispering Town shows young children the heroism in ordinary people, as opposed to the superheroes that delight so many children.  In this case, the heroes are not Spiderman or Batman, but a small girl, a baker, a librarian, and a farmer.  How did you happen to choose these three professions to represent the Danish people?  (Of course, as a librarian, I am delighted by the choice of a librarian!)  

A: In times of crises, and anytime really, food and words bring comfort, healing and love. When my friends are facing illness or sadness, I deliver homemade food and/or books to their doorsteps. With Carl and his mama so frightened in her cellar, it seemed natural for Anett to bring them her favorite food and books, to feed their bodies and souls.

Q: As an author, how did you feel about the illustrations Fabio Santomauro drew for your text?  With their graphic novel feel, they are quite different from the illustrations in most of the picture books about the Holocaust.

A: When I saw the first pencil sketch, I was surprised at the graphic novel style. I had expected something more realistic. As I scrolled through the rest of the sketches, it dawned on me that this would feel less frightening to children – more accessible – the goal that I had set to achieve with the words. It was a brilliant pairing on the part of Kar-Ben. When I saw the final art – the muted palette, the pops of red, the facial expressions – it was love at first sight.   

Illustrator Fabio Santomauro also kindly offered some insights into his work.

Q:  Fabio, Could you comment on what research, if any, you needed to do in order to illustrate this book?

A: To illustrate a book as "The Whispering Town" I had to make big efforts of graphic research. Both thanks to online images and pictures taken by the editor, I managed to study the places in which the story is set, the typical clothes and features of people in that period. Immersing myself in the colours and feelings of that historical context was amazing.

Q:  Your illustrations seem to come out of your background as a graphic artist, complete with speech bubbles and a comic-book style.  This look seems to make the story less frightening for young children.  Can you comment on your choice of style for this children's book on such a serious topic?  

A: We wanted to achieve a simple graphic design, not too harsh for our young readers, a style which could be appreciated even by very young ones. The final style is something between comics and illustration and it seemed the right choice.

Q:  Can you tell us about your influences as an artist?  I noticed Hobbes on your website; was Bill Watterson a major influence?

Q: Year after year I had many different influences. Comics, illustration, street art.  Watterson and Shultz are among my favourite authors, while, more recently, artists as Gipi, Isabelle Arsenault, Frédérique Bertrand have caught my attention.

Q:  How has your book been received in your native Italy?

A: The book has been recently translated into Italian and published with the title "La città che sussurrò" by Giuntina.

Working often with foreign countries I had few occasions to join book presentations of my works, but now I can enjoy them myself!

The book is gaining its success; even if we are talking about a niche title, it is catching the attention of more and more 'quality readers'.

Thanks so much to Jennifer and Fabio for appearing on my blog and congratulations (auguri!) on your Sydney Taylor honor award. Please check out interviews with other winners throughout this week (see blog tour schedule below).

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 2015

Una La Marche, author of Like No Other
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Teen Readers Category
At Bildungsroman

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 2015

Lizzie Skurnick, publisher of Isabel's War by Lila Perl
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Teen Readers Category
At Pen & Prose

Author Jennifer Elvgren and illustrator Fabio Santomauro, creators ofThe Whispering Town
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Older Readers Category
At The Fourth Musketeer

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2015

Loic Dauvillier, Mark Lizano and Greg Salsedo, creators of Hidden: A Child's Story of the Holocaust
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Older Readers Category
At The Interlace Place

Author Jim Aylesworth and illustrator Barbara McClintock, creators ofMy Grandfather's Coat
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
At Sandra Bornstein's Blog

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2015

Author Barbara Krasner and illustrator Kelsey Garrity-Riley, creators ofGoldie Takes a Stand
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
At Write Kids' Books

Donna Jo Napoli, author of Storm
Sydney Taylor Book Award winner in the Teen Readers Category
At Jewish Books for Kids

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2015

Donna Gephart, author of Death by Toilet Paper
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Older Readers Category
At Monkey Poop

Author Jacqueline Jules and illustrator Durga Yael Bernhard, creators of Never Say a Mean Word Again
Sydney Taylor Honor Award winner in the Younger Readers Category
At Ann Koffsky's Blog

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015

Blog Tour Wrap-Up with All Authors and Illustrators
At The Whole Megillah