When Jays Fly to Barbmo (1968) is the debut novel for children by Australian author Margaret Balderson, illustrated by Victor Ambrus.National Library of Australia - When Jays Fly to Barbmo by Margaret Balderson It won the Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers in 1969."Book Council Award Winners", The Canberra Times, 12 July 1969, p16
Plot outline The novel is set on a remote island off the coast of Norway during World War II. It follows the story of 14-year-old Ingeborg who must survive during a long dark winter after her aunt dies and the Nazis take over the island.
Critical reception In a review of the book in The Canberra Times the reviewer stated: "This distinguished piece of writing is a tremendously individual and quite moving story...There is some overwriting and action occasionally flags, but characterisation, originality and the breadth of the story makes it a most satisfying piece of work. Victor Ambrus has provided some delightful illustrations that in style and character are a true extension of the text.""A Distinguished Piece of Writing", The Canberra Times, 12 July 1969, p17
Kirkus Reviews noted: "The image evoked in the restrictively literary course of Ingeborg's sometimes faltering and always dense story suggests Anne Frank's diary written into a Bartos-Hoppner Siberian wilderness; though destined for only limited response it is an image wrought of violent silence with a rare and relentless grip.""When Jays Fly to Barbmo by Margaret Baldeson", Kirkus reviews, 3 November 1969
See also
1968 in Australian literature
References