From Stella Street to Amsterdam and everything that happened by Elizabeth Honey

From Stella Street to Amsterdam is the fifth book in the series which began with 45 and 47 Stella Street and everything that happened. The original instllment was first published in 1995 and was awarded a CBCA honour in 1996. Twenty-five years later we can meet up with Henni once again but luckily she is not 25 years older. The newest instalment is due for publication in September.

Henni's Stella Street neighbour, Willa, is desperate to return to her home land - The Netherlands - specifically to Amsterdam. Willa's sister is unwell and there is a family wedding to attend but these are not the real reasons. Willa left Amsterdam just after WWII but she is haunted by events during the Nazi occupation. Willa has fragments of memory. She is driven by the need to complete a task set by her mother (Moeder). All she knows is she has to protect something called The Blue dog.  It is not a dog, it is not a place, it is some sort of object. This mystery also has a connection to a horrifying event. 

Willa's full name is Wilhelmina Roos Petronella van Veen. Her family call her Roos. During the war Willa's van Veen family were friends with a Jewish couple - Sara and Matius. As things become dangerous in the German occupied city, Moeder organises for her friends to come and hide. After many months of keeping the young Jewish couple safe Willa accidentally opens the front door and Sara is seen by a cousin of the family. The events echo the story of Anne Frank. What follows is betrayal, capture and ultimately the deaths of Sara and Matius.

These are the events of the past but Henni also has to negotiate her visit to modern day Amsterdam. She has to meet all the members of Willa's family. She has to master some of the language, learn how to navigate bike riding through the busy city and she has to make connections between all the people she meets. Henni discovers there are life changing secrets today with links to the events of the past.

In anther story thread Henni gives us the background to her trip, we can read her emails to family and friends back in Stella Street in Australia, and Henni, an aspiring writer, also shares her poetry writing.

This book has 432 pages and many story threads. It is a book that will be enjoyed by readers aged 11+ who have plenty of time and reading stamina. There are some harrowing references to the holocaust and (as they say on television) occasional strong language. This is an engrossing story. Yes it is a long book but I read from page 130 on wards in one sitting. I recommend From Stella Street to Amsterdam. It is well worth taking this journey of discovery with Henni Octon. 

Here is the original cover for 45 and 47 Stella Street and the newer one:

Here is the cover of the Dutch edition of 45 & 47 Stella Street:

Here are the other three books in the series:

Or you can read the first three Stella Street stories in this bind-up edition which has 672 pages!

I mentioned 45 & 47 Stella Street received a CBCA Honour. In 1996 the CBCA winner was Swashbuckler by James Moloney and The Big Bazoohley by Peter Carey was an honour book. I have shared some other books by Elizabeth Honey on this blog - Not a Nibble and Princess Beatrice and the Rotten Robber.

If you would like to read more about art that was hidden away during WWII I highly recommend this book - here are two different covers for Framed by Frank Cottrell Boyce.