All the Beautiful Things by Katrina Nannestad illustrated by Martina Heiduczek

"It feels like all the beautiful things have to be hidden away ... "

"The world is a jigsaw puzzle, every person a unique piece. There's a space for each one, but it must be the space made just for them. And if we leave one piece out, no matter how small, plain, insignificant or odd it may seem, the jigsaw puzzled remains incomplete. 

The picture looks ugly because there is a gap."

In the world of Germany in 1939 to 1945 every child has to be perfect. Anna is perfect - the perfect German girl. She is athletic, clever and has that perfect blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Her sister however is not perfect. She has a disability and Mutti and Anna know if little Eva is found she will be taken away. 

"Eva was born with a disability that weakens her body and makes it hard for her to learn new things. Eva didn't walk for a long time and she's still a bit wobbly. Words came much later .... It's unlikely she'll ever learn to read. And she's so very small and thin, more like a toddler than a seven-year-old."

Eva takes delight in making paper dolls. The family have to keep her hidden, but Anna is able to collect tiny treasures - a piece of lace, a ribbon, a small piece of coloured paper - and Anna weaves a magical story for Eva as they work together to create new outfits for dolly. 

"Eva fetches her square biscuit tin and returns to the kitchen table. She opens the lid and gasps with delight even though she knows exactly what's inside - Dolly, a flat cardboard doll with woollen hair and tissue paper underwear, and eight flat dresses. They're all made from scrap paper and other treasures Mutti and I have scrounged from floors, streets, bins, barns. ... Every piece of the dress needs a story."

Anna and her friend Udo work hard to keep Eva a secret but there is danger everywhere. A boy in their neighborhood - Manfred is especially dangerous. "He is fourteen, tall, strong and handsome. He is in the special patrol group, Hitler Youth's very own police." 

Woven into All the Beautiful things we meet Eva Braun, visit the countryside home of Hitler, and in some awful scenes witness the indoctrination of the children in class against anyone who is not perfect - people with disabilities, people who are different and of course Jewish people. In one scene we see brave Anna quietly taking Nazi propaganda posters from her school and at home she burns them.

Luckily Anna and Udo do find friends in their town and one of these is seamstress Fraulein Linz. Little do they know that this lovely woman will be the one to hide little Eva when it becomes too hard to keep her at home and keep her safe. Fraulein Linz is living a double life. The Nazi wives visit to have her make their beautiful clothes and she even appears to be friendly with Eva Braun but this is all just a ruse. 

"How do we tell the monsters and the angels apart?"

This book has 327 pages, and I read it all in one sitting - YES, it is that good. In fact, this book is wonderful! I actually read this book about 3 weeks ago but I just wanted to sit and think and let it settle before penning something here on my blog. I actually feel I am quite inadequate as a blogger and lover of middle grade children's books to even begin to talk about this amazing book. One of the most precious parts of this story is the emotional intelligence of young Eva. 

There are some quite terrifying scenes in this book which I think demonstrates the power of this writing. One that has lingered with me is when Anna is stopped and told to empty her pockets by a member of the Gestapo. They have been watching Udo. He is part of the resistance and their communication is via train tickets. Udo has slipped it into Anna's pocket and now Anna needs to take it to Pastor Almendinger.

"The railway station's a perfect exchange for messages. Always busy. ... I'm there all the time, looking for discarded tickets for Dolly's dresses. In fact, there are four in my pockets right now. ... 'I'd like to see what's in your pockets.' ... I stick my hands into my pockets, grab the lining at the bottoms and turn them inside out. Everything that was inside spills. The tiny folding scissors, bottle tops, acorns and buttons fall into the snow, but the wind grabs the rest and sends it fluttering along the street. Including the very important train ticket for Pastor Almendinger."  

All the Gestapo see is a collection of rubbish.  

Here are a couple of text quotes:

"We're crying for Eva, who is safe, but whose life has grown smaller yet again. How many times must her world darken and shrink? How long can she live this way without the light in her eyes fading, before hugs in her arms slacken?"

"And then I shudder. Not because of Manfred's fanaticism. That's old news. It's just I've never been called a traitor before. I realise that a person can be both a hero and a traitor. It depends on your point of view. To Eva and Mutti, I'm a hero. To Hitler and Manfred, I'm a traitor." 

All the Beautiful Things is certain to be a CBCA Younger Readers Notable, and I am also sure it will be shortlisted. Here are a set of teachers notes from the publisher. I highly recommend All the Beautiful Things for readers aged 11+. 

This is a great read, suffused with love and humour. As usual Nannestad has got the balance just right, presenting the reader with thought provoking situations while keeping them enthralled with suspense, some mystery, and lots of giggles. A must for every school  and home library. Storylinks

All the Beautiful Things is as much a story of resistance as it is about loyalty and family, but also, finding out what it means when the rules you think exist start to crumble, and your world changes in so many ways. It is a book that will make you question prejudices and what we assume disabled people are like, and ponder how we can help people who need it. And I think makes us ask ourselves what we would do if we ever found ourselves in a similar situation. Another wonderful novel from Katrina Nannestad. The Book Muse

History can be tough to understand, especially when it comes to things like war and prejudice. But Nannestad takes the real stories of the past and wraps them up in a way that is both accessible and heartwarming for kids. You’ll not only get to see the struggles of people who lived through WWII, but you’ll also learn about what it was like to be different in a world where difference meant danger. Better Reading

Some things to think about:

• It is interesting that Katrina named Anna's little sister Eva and Anna also meets and 'befriends' the famous Eva Braun. 
• When you read a book like this as a reader you put your trust in the author that there will be a 'happy ending' and that characters you love will be kept safe. What happens if this 'rule' is broken?

In November I attended a terrific 'fireside' chat at Gleebooks Kids with Katrina Nannestad.  Here are some things I discovered:

• Katrina will appear at our Sydney Writer's Festival in May 2025
• Her favourite character from her books so far is Udo (from All the Beautiful Things) and also Sasha from Rabbit Angel Soldier Thief
• Silver Linings is her personal family story and a sequel is planned
• Katrina reads and researches history through personal accounts. She likes to find lesser-known stories of World War II
• She plots her stories and has a clear plan of the way the plot will be structured
• When Katrina is writing one of her novels, she writes every day of the week and often becomes totally absorbed in the journey of her characters. Each book from this series takes 8-9 months to write.
• Her new books - another Lottie Perkins title and a new series about a character named Frances Bloom.

In November Katrina Nannestad ran a competition where people sent in their own paper doll creations. Take a look here.

After reading All the Beautiful Things you will want to read every book by Katrina Nannestad especially her stories set during World War II -   

Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief; Waiting for the Storks; We are Wolves

Here are some other companion books:

The Little Riders

I am reading this one at the moment so I will talk further about it here in the coming weeks. 

Check out the Kirkus review.