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Book cover image:
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Book Summary:
The
Yellow Star: The Legend of King Christian X of Denmark
by Carmen Agra Deedy is the story of the king of Denmark during the Nazi
occupation of World War II. The people of
Denmark were all known as Danes. Their king, King Christian X, rode
through streets of the capital of Denmark, Copenhagen, everyday. He rode on a
horse without bodyguards. The people of Denmark loved and admired their king.
As the Nazis inhabited Denmark, the citizens looked at King Christian X for
guidance during this time of fear and concern. The story says that the Nazis
raised their flag at the Danish palace and King Christian X had a soldier take
it down. When a Nazi officer asked the king what had happened to the flag, he
replied with the truth and said he had asked a soldier to take it down. The
Nazi officer tried to scare the king and said another Nazi flag would be put up
the next day. The king said fine, he would ask a soldier to take it down again.
The officer informed the king that the soldier would be shot dead if he tried
to remove the flag again. The king then declared to the officer to be ready to
shoot the king because he would be the soldier to take the Nazi flag down.
Another Nazi flag was not put up. When the Jews were forced to wear the yellow
Star of David, King Christian X knew exactly what this meant for the Danish
Jews. He asked his tailor to sew a yellow flag on his uniform for the next
day’s morning ride in Copenhagen. The king knew the Danish people would follow
his lead and all Danes would now wear the yellow flag in support of their fellow
Jewish Danes. The king’s heroism and bravery saved many Jewish lives during
this dark time in Denmark and the world.
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APA Reference of Book:
Deedy,
C. A. (2000). The yellow star: The legend of King Christian X of Denmark.
Atlanta, GA: Peachtree.
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Impressions:
I had already read very briefly about
King Christian X in books about the Holocaust. In my sixth grade class, we
study World War II and the German invasion. I do not remember which novel we
read in class that mentioned the king of Denmark and how he saved many Jewish
lives. I certainly do not remember it being mentioned that it was a legend. The
reason I picked this book was solely because it did say “legend” in the title
and the “yellow star.” As I read the book, the story was new to me. The first
page only had one sentence on the page with a big empty white space below it. I
had to thumb through the book to see if something was wrong. No, it was
obviously done intentionally. Simply, the opening just states, “Early in the
year 1940, in the country of Denmark, there were only Danes.” The illustration
on this first page is a beautiful painting like view of children with books, a
butcher selling his wares, men in blue serving and protecting, and Danish
citizens walking through an open market or town center of a bustling city. The
story continues to describe the Danes, even comically (I had to laugh)- some
Great Danes, with a picture of the dog, as being different yet alike with
respect and esteem for their King Christian X. The illustrations are bright
with blue skies and smiles. The feelings I had as I continued to read the book
were of dread as if the story was setting me up for something. In this day and
age, we seem to be on alert. On the page where King Christian X is riding his
horse and it says “a curious visitor” asked about the man riding the horse, I
wondered before I saw the pictures how the illustrator was going to depict
someone different from a Dane. As I turned to see the picture, I was surprised
by what I saw. Why I was surprised I am not sure. The visitor was indeed very
different and was dressed in white with what looked like a long coat and a
turban. I had to see the copyright date again to see if this was pre or post
September 11th. It was before. I am still wondering what other type
of visitor could have been painted to instantly let the reader know they were a
visitor and not a Dane. The words are clearly and precisely chosen to create dramatic effect and
the words were working on me. The illustrations also changed from this page
forward. The skies were no longer blue now there was a haze, all the smiles
were gone, and some pages even had illustrations only done in brown and white.
Even though this is a picture book, the story it tells is enormous. I could
feel the Danish people instantly knowing what they had to do when they saw King
Christian X riding on his horse, in his uniform, with a yellow star. I so did
not want this story to be a legend. At the story’s end, the author writes two
pages of notes to document the facts about the involvement of King Christian X and
the Danish citizens during the Nazi occupation of European countries. These
facts help the reader understand the importance of standing up against
injustices done to humans. The ending of the legend is a circular one that
simply states, “And, once again, in the country of Denmark, there were only
Danes.” The illustration now depicts all Danes, even two nuns, with yellow
stars of solidarity.
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Professional Review:
Although it is billed as
"legend," Deedy's (The Library Dragon) WWII story raises disturbing
questions regarding the importance of historical accuracy. Here Denmark's
courageous King Christian responds to the Nazi edict that all Jews must wear a
yellow star by wearing a yellow star himself, and his act inspires his subjects
to do likewise. Deedy's writing is vivid and lyrical--but in an afterword, she
acknowledges that her story is "unauthenticated" and that no Danish
Jews were "forced" to wear the yellow star. As Ellen Levine points
out in her recent Darkness Over Denmark (Children's Forecasts, June 26), the
order about the star was never issued in Denmark. Where Levine cited the false
story of the king's yellow star to explore the facts about Danish resistance to
the Nazis, this book, in perpetuating a myth, clouds history; it also deflects
from the country's most famous act of resistance in rescuing the overwhelming
majority of its Jews (the afterword reports that Danes smuggled over 7,000 Jews
to Sweden in fishing boats). Ultimately, despite the graceful prose, the
insight offered into a dark era and Danish artist Sorensen's magnificent oil
paintings, the book's fundamental flaw is difficult to overlook. Ages 8-12.
(Sept.)
Forecasts: Children's Books. (2000). Publishers
Weekly, 247(29), 194-196.
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Library Uses:
The library would hold a World War II
and Holocaust study with this book as one of the books included in a
read aloud. This book is very cautious in its message and depiction of the war
and its atrocities so it would be appropriate for the lower grade levels also.
The story’s message is a positive,
inspiring lesson of standing for what is right and acting on your beliefs.
After discussing the author’s message and King Christian X, a writing and art
lesson would be introduced to learn about heroes in the lives of the students
at the school.
The writing prompts:
1. Heroes come in many forms and do
many different things. Discuss what is hero is in a group discussion. Is King
Christian X a hero in this story? Even if the story is a legend, what did
wearing a yellow star mean? How does wearing it make him a hero or does it?
2. Do you have any heroes in you life?
Who do you think is a hero and why?
3. Interview a person who was alive
during World War II and ask what they experienced during that time and who was
their hero if they had one.
After the students have written a brief
paper on their findings, they will make a diorama of their hero, interviewee,
or King Christian X in a situation that illustrates the person being a hero or
living during World War II.
Share the dioramas, stories and interviews
with the class, either by having oral presentations or by compiling a class
book of the heroes their stories and interviews.
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