Listen to a sample
The Yellow Bird Sings
- Author
- Jennifer Rosner
- Narrator
- Anna Koval, Jennifer Rosner
- Publisher
- Pan Macmillan
- Publish Date
- 5 March 2020
- Run Time
- 6 hours 39 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
- Genre
- Historical fiction, Second World War fiction, Family life fiction / Stories about family, Narrative theme: coming of age, Narrative theme: sense of place, Narrative theme: interior life / psychological fiction, Narrative theme: politics / economics, Narrative theme: death, grief, loss, The Holocaust
- Rating
- 5.0 (1 review)
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What to expect
'Prepare to have your heart broken' – Good Housekeeping
Woman & Home Book Club Pick
Poland, 1941. A mother. A child. An impossible choice.
After the Jews in their town are rounded up, Róza and her five-year-old daughter, Shira, seek shelter in a local farmer’s barn. They spend their days and nights in silence to avoid being caught.
When their safe haven is shattered, Róza faces an impossible choice: whether to keep her daughter close by her side, or give her the chance to survive by letting her go.
A deeply moving novel about the unbreakable bond between parent and child, The Yellow Bird Sings by Jennifer Rosner powerfully portrays the triumph of humanity and hope in even the darkest circumstances.
'If you only read one book this year, make it The Yellow Bird Sings' – AJ Pearce, author of Dear Mrs Bird
'Room meets Schindler’s List . . . a beautifully written tale of mothers and daughters' – Kate Quinn, author of The Huntress
Critics Review
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Prepare to have your heart broken
Good Housekeeping
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If you only read one book this year, make it The Yellow Bird Sings . . . Jennifer Rosner’s novel stands alongside The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas as one of those profoundly special World War Two novels you know you will never forget
AJ Pearce, author of Dear Mrs Bird
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The Yellow Bird Sings is at the top of my reading list
Elle
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A captivating, quietly powerful telling of music, loss, longing and hope
Living Magazines
See more reviews See fewer reviews
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Room meets Schindler’s List . . . a beautifully written tale of mothers and daughters
Kate Quinn, author of The Huntress and The Alice Network
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Told beneath an overarching sky of the unbreakable bond between mother and daughter, this is a story readers will continue to ponder long afterward
Lisa Wingate, author of Before We Were Yours and Before and After
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This is an absolutely beautiful and necessary novel, full of heartbreak but also hope, about the bond between mother and daughter, and the sacrifices made for love
New York Times
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A captivating and emotional tale about the love between a mother and daughter
ReadPlus
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A deeply moving novel in which even the weakest and most vulnerable are sustained by the power of music, stories and love in a music, stories and love in a time of terror and tyranny
Herald
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A captivating read
Good Reading
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Outstanding . . . it will appeal particularly to fans Marcus Zusak's The Book Thief
Glam Adelaide
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Rosner’s debut novel is a World War II story with a Room-like twist, one that also deftly examines the ways in which art and imagination can sustain us . . . an effective work of suspense, and Rosner’s understanding of how art plays a role in our lives, even at the worst of times, is impressive
Kirkus
User Reviews
Book 5.0
Narration 5.0
-
5.0 5.0
Heartbreaking, and inspired by a real mother and daughter's experience of ww2 too. Not an easy listen by any means given the context but I enjoyed it despite that.
sardow 2025-10-10
Details
- Author
- Jennifer Rosner
- Narrator
- Anna Koval, Jennifer Rosner
- Duration
- 6 hours 39 minutes
- Release Date
- 5 March 2020
- ISBN
- 9781529032451
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Pan Macmillan
- Genre
- Historical fiction, Second World War fiction, Family life fiction / Stories about family, Narrative theme: coming of age, Narrative theme: sense of place, Narrative theme: interior life / psychological fiction, Narrative theme: politics / economics, Narrative theme: death, grief, loss, The Holocaust
- Rating
- 5.0(1 review)
- Narration
- 5.0(1 review)
Synopsis
'Prepare to have your heart broken' – Good HousekeepingWoman & Home Book Club PickPoland, 1941. A mother. A child. An impossible choice.After the Jews in their town are rounded up, Róza and her five-year-old daughter, Shira, seek shelter in a local farmer’s barn. They spend their days and nights in silence to avoid being caught.When their safe haven is shattered, Róza faces an impossible choice: whether to keep her daughter close by her side, or give her the chance to survive by letting her go.A deeply moving novel about the unbreakable bond between parent and child, The Yellow Bird Sings by Jennifer Rosner powerfully portrays the triumph of humanity and hope in even the darkest circumstances.'If you only read one book this year, make it The Yellow Bird Sings' – AJ Pearce, author of Dear Mrs Bird'Room meets Schindler’s List . . . a beautifully written tale of mothers and daughters' – Kate Quinn, author of The Huntress
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