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

About the Author

Maria van Lieshout was born and raised near Amsterdam, where she spent many weekends in the Museum Quarter row house where her grandparents lived with her artist aunt and metalsmith uncle. Drawing while her aunt painted, and pecking stories on a typewriter while her uncle soldered metals inspired her love for drawing, creating and writing. After high school in Leiden, Maria studied Visual Communications at GWU in DC, and worked in design and innovation at Coca-Cola. In 2000, Maria became an illustrator full-time. She has illustrated/written several picture books. Song of a Blackbird is Maria's first graphic novel.