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In 1943 Amsterdam, Emma Bergsma’s world changes forever when she witnesses Jewish families being forcibly deported to concentration camps. She decides to join the Dutch Resistance and take part in some of its most dangerous work: smuggling Jewish children to safety, forging ration coupons… and even joining a historic bank heist.

In 2011 Amsterdam, Annick’s world has changed as well. A search for a bone marrow donor for her beloved oma leads to a shocking revelation: Her grandmother was secretly adopted as a child. The only clues to finding their lost family are a series of art prints hanging on the wall, each signed by a mysterious “Emma B.”

In Song of a Blackbird, Maria van Lieshout combines these intertwining timelines and reveals how art, in the face of nearly insurmountable adversity, can become our greatest lifeline.

Junior Library Guild Gold Standard

What an extraordinary novel this is. Set against the background of truly evil times, it tells the story of people who resisted the evil, who made art, who believed in their power to overcome hate. As Van Lieshout herself states: ‘History is a current that pulses through flesh and bones’ through generations. Song of a Blackbird illustrates, with great tenderness and incredible illustration, how the past lives within us by intertwining multiple stories across time. This is essential, illuminating reading."
— R. J. Palacio, bestselling author of Wonder, White Bird, and Pony

A visually stunning dive into history, family, and the awesome power of art."
— Steve Sheinkin, bestselling author of Bomb, Most Dangerous, and The Port Chicago 50