What a beautiful book! The illustrations are really well done and fit the text so very well.

Sing Freedom by Vanita Oelschlager and illustrated by Mike DeSantis is a perfect book to explain how freedom, once lost, is so very difficult to regain. This book covers a major political event very well, with just enough information to teach, but not too much to overwhelm. A glossary in the back gives more details on new people and places. Another page in the back shows the steps the illustrator takes to create the art, which is a fascinating peek into the artistry behind picture books. I can easily see this being a favorite page for those students who love to sketch. A bare-bones map of Europe shows all of the countries in relationship to each other, helpful in a time when geography is not taught any longer in many elementary schools.

Full disclosure: I knew practically nothing about Estonia, so I found this book very informative, even as an adult!

As a veteran middle school language arts teacher, one of the things I loved to do was to pair a picture book with a grade-level novel. For example, before reading Esperanza Rising, the story of a once wealthy Mexican girl who loses everything and must be secretly smuggled across the border with her mother and their trusted servants. Once in California she must learn things like sweeping and cooking as her mother works alongside their former servants picking and packing fruits and vegetables in the fields. Before reading, I would have the students read picture books of immigration and the difficulties people from war-torn countries faced both at home and here in their new home. Sing Freedom! would be a great picture book to pair with a YA novel about the Cold War and the Iron Curtain.

Interesting side note: the back jacket of the book tells of a film about the "Singing Revolution". This would be a great cross-curriculum, multi-media experience to watch the film, read the book, and study the map of Europe, learn more about the break-up of the Soviet Union, and finish with learning the national song of Estonia, "Land of My Fathers."

The text is very info-heavy so it won't work for really young kids, but it does an effective job of condensing Estonian history and communicating it, and it meshes well with the illustrations.

I can honestly say, prior to reading this book, the only thing I knew about Estonia was the name. This is a short, interesting book and I enjoy learning about other places and I think others will as well. I would love to read more books like this about other places.

I learned so much about the history of Estonia. I don’t think I’ve ever read about Estonia. It made me want to learn more. I’d buy this for my classroom.

This is a story about the small country of Estonia and how they gained their freedom. I could see reading this to my kids when we go back to studying world cultures in our homeschool.

Gaining Freedom in Estonia

This is straight-up children's nonfiction that explores the recent history of Estonia, from the time of Soviet occupation and rule to when it became independent. The book stresses the importance of song and how it actually made a difference for the people during Soviet rule and as they fought to be free. The book also shows the effectiveness of nonviolent protest as well. Since this is a children’s book, I would have loved to have seen this told in story form, perhaps following one family as they partook in certain historical events that helped foment change in Estonia. Still, this is interesting history and certainly let's children know that something as seemingly inconsequential as a song can make a difference as well as the importance and long-lasting effects of peaceful protest.

I requested and received an e-ARC of this book from Vanita Oelschlager and Vanita Books through NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was awesome! It is a non-fiction book about Estonia and its nonviolent fight for freedom from the Soviet Union. I have been to Estonia’s capital Tallinn and have witnessed firsthand how beautiful this medieval city and their culture is and I still learned a lot about the history and traditions of this small country.

Sing Freedom! By Vanita Oelschlager is a very interesting book that taught me a lot about Estonia that I didn’t know before. This is a great way to teach a child about history without the brutality that was so prevalent in other countries. It is fascinating to see how they peacefully won their independence. The illustrations accompany the story well without distracting from it.

Sing Freedom! by Vanita Oelschlager is an interesting little picture book. The story tells the history of Estonia, a nation trying to gain it's freedom. Although this book is considered a children's book, it tells a powerful story that anyone will learn from. I knew very little about the nation that is now known as the freest nation in the world.

What an incredible book to help children learn, connect with history and discover a new place.

The text was ideal- a great word count, each sentence was meaningful and rich. The illustrations fit perfectly with the story, although not as colorful as most children's books. This would make a great addition to any classroom or library.

The publisher provided an ARC through Netgalley. I have voluntarily read this book for review, giving my honest personal opinions and thoughts

This is a great children's story about not so known country Estonia and their peaceful path to independence. I liked the illustrations and how the author presented the story. Suitable for a bit older children.

I want to thank #netgalley for giving me a copy of this book to review. I had never heard the story of Estonia before and now I'm happy that I have. I love stories about people fighting back. The fact that the people of Estonia fought back with song makes it better. This will be a great book to share with my students to give them some historical background knowledge and to show them how they can peacefully protest.

Interested in Estonian history? No? Well, you might be after you read this simple little picture book about the Singing Revolution.

When the Soviets came to power, they pretty much tried to obliterate any other cultures in the area. But Estonians held tight to their folk songs, and eventually used them as a form of civil disobedience. This book covers a period of history from roughly World War II until the present day. I hadn't heard about the Singing Revolution before; I'm glad I was able to read this book to find out a little bit about it.

The glossary at the back is helpful, but the terms aren't in alphabetical order (which is a bit odd). And did you know that Skype is an Estonian invention? I don't know why that little factoid was included, but it's kind of cool.

This could be a nice addition to a classroom library to help teach kids about an interesting little country that seems to fly under the radar (at least here in North America).

Genre: Children Non-fiction

What is it about?

This book is about how Estonia, a little known European nation, managed to secure independence from the almighty Russian Empire.

We have heard of nations waging a lone war against the invaders to garrison their motherland.
We have also heard of nations joining hands/forming allies to fight them.

But then, there is Estonia, a tiny country wedged between the Russian Federation and Latvia, which gained independence without a single shot being fired or a single drop of blood being shed. Arming themselves with nothing but the love for their country, the Estonians showed a great deal of Resilience and perseverance everytime the Soviets tried to shove them away. The only weapon they wielded was their voice. No, they didn't raise Anti-Soviet slogans nor tried to form a mutiny. All they did was "Singing". Might be a hard pill to swallow but would you believe if I said that they literally sang their way to Freedom? Believe it or not, that was precisely what the spirited people of Estonia did.

What impressed me:

I love the book for the reason that it stresses the fact that Non-violence is the most powerful weapon one can wield. I laud Vanita Oelschlager for picking this up as the core subject/theme of the book because, in the time where the world is at the brink of a Third World war, this book serves as an important reminder to the millions of young kids out there that resorting to Non-Violence is much more powerful than pointing a gun at each other's head. The Illustrations by Mike DeSantis couldn't have been better and aided greatly in getting Vanita's message across the young minds around the globe.

This book clearly deserves Six Stars. The Sixth is exclusively for Vanita, who not only gave birth to this powerful book but also pledged to donate 10% of every sale from this book to a New Jersey Scout camp supported by the Estonian American National Council which aims at promoting the cultural heritage and interests of the Estonian folks.

Wonderful, informative. A lot of information in an entertaining way! This is a great book. That's all I have to say about it.

A great read! This book offers a true story of resistant and shows how one small act of resistant can change everything. I recommend it for any classroom.

"Sing Freedom!" reveals such an amazing and inspirational historical story of Estonia that inspired a deep love and appreciation within me for the Estonian people, as well as a desire to one day visit Estonia. I knew very little about this country or its people prior to reading this book, and I found this book to be very educational. I now know that Estonia is a country that, after being invaded and attacked with bullets and bombs, while still threatened by guns and tanks, fought for and won their freedom through peaceful demonstrations and publicly singing songs that celebrate Estonia's rich history and culture. Today Estonia is considered one of the freest countries in the world.

Although this is considered a children's book, I believe "Sing Freedom!" is a book people of all ages should read.

An inspiring story about Estonia. Good recent history lesson. Looks a lot like a comic book so I think kids who like graphic novels would enjoy it.

#netgalley

I could not open this review book. I am an Eastern European with no love for Russia, and this story is an important one to share.
Unfortunately the file wouldn't work, no matter what I tried.

Wonderfully written and illustrated , children's story of how Estonia sought freedom from the USSR. The name of the book comes from how they attempted to achieve this freedom through the use of song. This is a great history story for children and it also shows that at times, conflicts can be solved by a peaceful means. This would be a great book for teachers to use to get wonderful discussions started with students on history and also conflict resolution among peers.

This true story is about a small nation called Estonia. It documents their struggle to rise up once again from their ashes after being taken over by Russia, Germany, and then by the Soviet Union.

World War 11 brings bullets and tanks into their land and people are forced to give up their flag, their language, and their most beloved possession... their spirit. But a flicker of hope never totally dies. Hope burns brightly inside of them and is expressed through their music.

Yearly they hold a song festival called the Laulupidu where singing groups gather from all over the country. They dress in their traditional garb and together sing songs. Often more than 30,000 singers assemble to harmonize together.

The Soviets censor all their traditional Estonian songs. All but one..."Land of My Fathers, Land That I Love," is overlooked. The brave Estonians decide to take a risk and sing that patriotic song at the music festival. They sing that song as the last one at their concert and with thousands of voices participating can not be stopped by the authorities.

In 1985, under Mikhail Gorbachev, the new leader of the Soviet Union, softens restrictions in the country. The Estonians, seeing their chance to break free, start talking about their history and celebrating their culture (cautiously of course) once again. They even talk about making changes in the government. Now that takes courage. They revert to singing Estonian songs and waving their flag proudly after 40 long years of repression.

The Baltic countries join in acts of open defiance with them... and this is the part I love the best...

"1,000,000 people from Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, joined hands to form a human chain across their countries from the city of Tallinn to Vilnius in Lithuania. They joined hands in love and not violence."

When you read that you both want to cheer and to cry. Awesome!


These brave and determined people are not broken or irradiated but become one powerful voice for peace and liberty without using bullets or tanks. Violence didn't change their status. They did what they knew best. They raise their voices in song and in so doing they changed their world and regain their unique identity. They stand proud... they are Estonians!!!

The illustrations are strong and make the text come alive. Kids will get a better understanding of the story and the history of this nation because of them. This book captures the difficult, often dangerous, struggle of Estonia to rise out of their ruins and become a powerful, peaceful, unified, sovereign nation once again under their very own flag. I highly recommend this book.