The yellow bird sings, by Jennifer Rosner

This debut novel set in Poland during the Holocaust is a worthy addition to the numerous others that have been written. It opens in 1941. Roza and her daughter, Shira, are on their second day of hiding in a farmer’s hayloft after witnessing the arrest and transport of Roza’s parents and learning of the death of her husband, Natan. Her father had been a violin maker and Natan and Roza were both musicians, a violinist and cellist. Now Shira, five years old, must remain absolutely silent to escape detection from both Nazi soldiers and the farmer’s young sons. She doesn’t understand why, and although obedient, hums and taps in a way that worries Roza. So Roza invents magical stories about a yellow bird that sings in a way that only Shira can hear. This comforts her as much as her scrap of beloved blanket. After months in hiding there, however, they must flee again. The farmer’s wife offers to take Shira to the protection of nuns at an orphanage some distance away. Fearing Shira will not survive living in the forest, Roza reluctantly agrees. Over the war years, Roza manages to survive but mourns the loss of her daughter and is determined to reunite with her. A story of love, loss, the power of music, and the bond between a mother and daughter -- I found I couldn’t put the book down. It was startling to learn after I finished the book that Rosner’s earlier book is a memoir of raising her two daughters, both of whom are deaf. Such and interesting contrast between their silent world and the one that the fictional Shira is forced to live in. Highly recommended. 294 pp.