Klipfish Code by Mary Casanova

Klipfish Code by Mary Casanova

The year is 1942, and Norway is under Nazi occupation. Twelve-year-old Marit has decided to take action, despite her grandfather's warnings. But will her plan work? Can she really complete her part of this secret code? And even if she can, would it make any difference to the Resistance?

As this novel reveals what Norwegian people did to preserve their dignity and freedoms, it uncovers a startling statistic: the German secret police systematically rounded up one teacher in ten and sent them to concentration camps for their refusal to teach Nazi propaganda to Norwegian schoolchildren. Set on an island of sturdy fishing trawlers and brightly painted homes, with smells of kelp and salt water, here is a riveting novel about risks taken, secrets kept, and, always, questions about whom to trust.

Mary Casanova grew up in a camp-like atmosphere on the edge of St. Paul, with parents who regularly packed the station wagon to capacity--ten kids and the family dog--and headed up north to a cabin. Mary is the author of One-Dog Canoe and thirty other books. Several of them--including Moose Tracks, Wolf Shadows, When Eagles Fall, and most recently Frozen--are published by the University of Minnesota Press. These books, frequently found on state reading lists across the country, have earned countless awards such as the ALA Notable, Parent's Choice Gold Award, Booklist Editor's Choice, and two Minnesota Book Awards. She lives with her husband and three dogs in a turn-of-the-century house in Ranier, Minnesota.

Nick Wroblewski is an artist and printmaker specializing in handmade woodcut block prints. He prints from his home studio in the Driftless region of Wisconsin. A native of Minnesota, he enjoyed reflecting on a landscape very close to his heart while illustrating this book.