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When a Toy Dog Became a Wolf and the Moon Broke Curfew: A Memoir
Born in the Netherlands at a time when girls are to be housewives and mothers and nothing else, Hendrika de Vries is a “daddy’s girl” until her father is deported from Nazi-occupied Amsterdam to a POW camp in Germany and her mother joins the Resistance. In the aftermath of her father’s departure, Hendrika watches as freedoms formerly taken for granted are eroded with escalating brutality by men with swastika armbands who aim to exterminate those they deem “inferior” and those who do not obey.
As time goes on, Hendrika absorbs her mother’s strength and faith, and learns about moral choice and forced silence. She sees her hidden Jewish “stepsister” betrayed, and her mother interrogated at gunpoint. She and her mother suffer near starvation, and they narrowly escape death on the day of liberation. But they survive it all—and through these harrowing experiences, Hendrika discovers the woman she wants to become.
As time goes on, Hendrika absorbs her mother’s strength and faith, and learns about moral choice and forced silence. She sees her hidden Jewish “stepsister” betrayed, and her mother interrogated at gunpoint. She and her mother suffer near starvation, and they narrowly escape death on the day of liberation. But they survive it all—and through these harrowing experiences, Hendrika discovers the woman she wants to become.
234 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2019
142 people are currently reading
218 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews
October 1, 2019
My favorite book this year; I couldn't put it down. This memoir is told in the voice of a young girl living in Amsterdam during and just after world war II. It is a heartbreaking account of how quickly and oppressively life changed for her family and neighbors. She went from a loving, sweet childhood
to an existence of adversity, hunger and destruction. The title is perfect for the book.
to an existence of adversity, hunger and destruction. The title is perfect for the book.
June 26, 2019
I cannot find the words to describe this book, other than i couldn't put it down from the first to last page. So gripping! One can only imagine what the family went through and the heartache they endured. A well written memoire that was dedicated to Corrie Ten Boom a Dutch Resistance Fighter and one in which i can highly recommend reading.
My thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for my copy.
My thanks to Netgalley and the Publishers for my copy.
August 22, 2019
I loved this book! The author conveys her childhood memories so legitimately, without being saccharine. This is a book about heroes, survivors, desperation and honesty. Yes the mother and daughter discuss catching a stray cat to eat it. It is a brutal retelling of a city starving to death. Their Jewish friends are taken away. It’s intense but provides so many good life lessons. Love it!
January 11, 2022
Hendrika's memoir tells how the war disrupted her life, forming the way her life would proceed. Her father was taken away to a prison camp when she was just a small child and she and her mother had to live on their own. Amsterdam was occupied by the Nazis, and it affected everyone. Food became scarce, the winters were cold and there was no fuel for fires. They survived, just barely. They helped the resistance by hiding a young woman in their house and Hendrika watched as she was dragged out and beaten by Nazi soldiers. Her father returned from the prisoner of war camp a changed man. The entire population had to learn a new way of living and how to deal with all the demons and fears now in their hearts.
The story was published 7 decades after it happened, but she still can tell it the way a young growing girl experienced it. I found it a very touching read!
The story was published 7 decades after it happened, but she still can tell it the way a young growing girl experienced it. I found it a very touching read!
October 3, 2019
Henny is a young girl when her father is taken away to a labor camp in Germany from her and her mother. She is afraid when she sees her father behind the barb wire fence to say goodbye before he leaves for the labor camp. She gives him her little toy dog to protect him. As she and her mother go back home, they act bravely. When it is time for Henny to go to school for the first time in her life, she doesn’t want to leave her mother. As time goes by, Henny sees how people are just picked and taken away. She doesn’t understand. Her mother joins the underground resistance to help. She and her mother live through the atrocities of World War 2 barely surviving as the last year of the war food and fuel become increasingly scarce. When her father does come home, there is still trauma to deal with. It is not an easy time.
The memoir is written through a child’s eye during World War 2. The author is an adult who remembers all too well of events that changed her world. She suffered even though she didn’t always understood what her mother told her. Her mother talked to her as an adult not a child. It struck me how she kept going in spite of fear of losing more and more especially her mother. I am so glad to see this view as it is in many ways different from Anne Frank’s life.
Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book from the author/publisher from Netgalley. I wasn’t obligated to write a favorable review or any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.
The memoir is written through a child’s eye during World War 2. The author is an adult who remembers all too well of events that changed her world. She suffered even though she didn’t always understood what her mother told her. Her mother talked to her as an adult not a child. It struck me how she kept going in spite of fear of losing more and more especially her mother. I am so glad to see this view as it is in many ways different from Anne Frank’s life.
Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book from the author/publisher from Netgalley. I wasn’t obligated to write a favorable review or any review at all. The opinions expressed are strictly my own.
June 16, 2019
Gripping and heartbreaking account of a Dutch girl, growing up as a 'war child'.
With her dad taken a POW, she and her mom had to endure the abhorrence of the Hungerwinter in Amsterdam. They barely survived. This is her story.
A story about hardship, and how to just keep going and never giving up. After the war, she thrived, helping others dealing with personal trauma.
This memoire is dedicated to Corrie ten Boom, a wellknown Dutch Resistence fighter.
Moving read. Thank you for sharing your lifestory.
============================================================================
Ik kende de verhalen van mijn ouders - bij mijn vader thuis hadden ze onderduikers, mij moeder moest voor haar eigen veiligheid bij een tante op een boerderij wonen, -. Er was honger, verdriet, en doodsangst. Te midden van al die ellende waren er slechts spaarzame momenten van liefde en saamhorigheid.
Het zijn voor mij gelukkig verhalen. Geboren in 1969, is het voor mij bijna niet voor te stellen, hoe je in de hongerwinter moest overleven op een snee tulpenbollen brood per dag. Honden, katten, vogels, straat meubilair, bomen: Amsterdam had niets meer van dat alles. Het was een kaalgeslagen dodenhuis: de huisdieren opgegeten, het straatmeubilair, als al het voor handen zijnde hout - kozijnen, deuren, bomen, kasten, bedden, trappen, werd tot brandhout, opdat de mensen niet eerst doodvroren voordat ze van de honger stierven. Het was een verschrikkelijke en mensonterende periode in een al zo’n donkere tijd.
Henny en haar moeder overleven het amper. Op zeer indringende en persoonlijke wijze beschrijft Hendrika de Vries de gruwel van het opgroeien in de oorlog, over de ontberingen, over haar onderduikzusje Nel. Zij vertelt over hoe haar moeder voor het verzet werkte, en naar radio Oranje luisterde. Over hoe haar knuffeltje haar vader door zijn krijgsgevangenschap heen hielp. Over de moeilijkheden ook na de bevrijding, over de persoonlijke trauma’s die toch op een één of andere manier verwerkt moesten worden, en over de ontluistering na mei 1945, omdat de maatschappij toch niet bracht waar velen na de bevrijding wel op hadden gehoopt.
Een zeer ontroerend en indringende memoire, opgedragen aan Corrie ten Boom, een bekend Nederlands verzetsstrijdster. Mooi! ****
With her dad taken a POW, she and her mom had to endure the abhorrence of the Hungerwinter in Amsterdam. They barely survived. This is her story.
A story about hardship, and how to just keep going and never giving up. After the war, she thrived, helping others dealing with personal trauma.
This memoire is dedicated to Corrie ten Boom, a wellknown Dutch Resistence fighter.
Moving read. Thank you for sharing your lifestory.
============================================================================
Ik kende de verhalen van mijn ouders - bij mijn vader thuis hadden ze onderduikers, mij moeder moest voor haar eigen veiligheid bij een tante op een boerderij wonen, -. Er was honger, verdriet, en doodsangst. Te midden van al die ellende waren er slechts spaarzame momenten van liefde en saamhorigheid.
Het zijn voor mij gelukkig verhalen. Geboren in 1969, is het voor mij bijna niet voor te stellen, hoe je in de hongerwinter moest overleven op een snee tulpenbollen brood per dag. Honden, katten, vogels, straat meubilair, bomen: Amsterdam had niets meer van dat alles. Het was een kaalgeslagen dodenhuis: de huisdieren opgegeten, het straatmeubilair, als al het voor handen zijnde hout - kozijnen, deuren, bomen, kasten, bedden, trappen, werd tot brandhout, opdat de mensen niet eerst doodvroren voordat ze van de honger stierven. Het was een verschrikkelijke en mensonterende periode in een al zo’n donkere tijd.
Henny en haar moeder overleven het amper. Op zeer indringende en persoonlijke wijze beschrijft Hendrika de Vries de gruwel van het opgroeien in de oorlog, over de ontberingen, over haar onderduikzusje Nel. Zij vertelt over hoe haar moeder voor het verzet werkte, en naar radio Oranje luisterde. Over hoe haar knuffeltje haar vader door zijn krijgsgevangenschap heen hielp. Over de moeilijkheden ook na de bevrijding, over de persoonlijke trauma’s die toch op een één of andere manier verwerkt moesten worden, en over de ontluistering na mei 1945, omdat de maatschappij toch niet bracht waar velen na de bevrijding wel op hadden gehoopt.
Een zeer ontroerend en indringende memoire, opgedragen aan Corrie ten Boom, een bekend Nederlands verzetsstrijdster. Mooi! ****
September 9, 2019
I love books about historic events that we learn about as facts in school, and hardly ever learn the actual human experience behind it. We learn in school about the war times but we never really learn about the after. When a toy dog became a wolf and the moon broke curfew is a gripping memoir about living in the midst of war. Henny is five when war takes her father from the family as a Prisoner of War, as the Netherlands are occupied by Nazi Germany. Coming to terms with the social situation as a child, watching her mother be strong for their family of two, with unwavering faith the he will be back, Henny faces situations where she not only rethinks the role that religion plays in their lives, but also the position of women and the bounds created in times of war.
This is a touching tale of a little girl that misses her father and learns extensively from her strong mother. This novel, through the eyes of Henny, from the age of 5 to 13 years, does an amazing job of personalizing the experience and bringing awareness to the undiscussed aspects of war. I found the narrative related to after the war the most fascinating. I had never thought about what happens when men return to their families, older and with experiences that they cannot speak about. At the same time, we have the women who have had trying experiences of their own, and become independent.
I gained new knowledge about living in and after war times, about the Silent Generation, the necessity to move countries when the war was over, and much more. In the midst of all this, was the heroism of the women who helped their families and whoever they could aid, survive. Henny's mother is a woman to be admired.
I greatly appreciate the advanced reader copy that I received from the publisher from NetGalley and I am honoured to learn about Henny's experiences. Hendrika beautifully portrays the thoughts in the mind of her younger self as the war time forces her to grow up, and internalize incidents that she is only able to give deeper meaning in later years. If you are interested in history, particularly World War II, you should read this book. I am sure you it will be a cherished story.
I can't wait to write more about this book in the coming weeks as well as going over the discussion questions. :)
This is a touching tale of a little girl that misses her father and learns extensively from her strong mother. This novel, through the eyes of Henny, from the age of 5 to 13 years, does an amazing job of personalizing the experience and bringing awareness to the undiscussed aspects of war. I found the narrative related to after the war the most fascinating. I had never thought about what happens when men return to their families, older and with experiences that they cannot speak about. At the same time, we have the women who have had trying experiences of their own, and become independent.
I gained new knowledge about living in and after war times, about the Silent Generation, the necessity to move countries when the war was over, and much more. In the midst of all this, was the heroism of the women who helped their families and whoever they could aid, survive. Henny's mother is a woman to be admired.
I greatly appreciate the advanced reader copy that I received from the publisher from NetGalley and I am honoured to learn about Henny's experiences. Hendrika beautifully portrays the thoughts in the mind of her younger self as the war time forces her to grow up, and internalize incidents that she is only able to give deeper meaning in later years. If you are interested in history, particularly World War II, you should read this book. I am sure you it will be a cherished story.
I can't wait to write more about this book in the coming weeks as well as going over the discussion questions. :)
August 22, 2019
This is a beautifully written memoir about a girl living through Nazi occupation, just a few blocks from Anne Frank. Hendrika de Vries didn’t have to hide usually, but she and her mother had to live carefully and quietly, so they didn’t draw any unwanted attention. At the same time, her mother also had to do everything to provide for them while her father was a prisoner of war.
The author narrates the intertwined relationship with her mother in a way that shows not only its necessity, but also tells of the way it influenced her future with others, when they were finally able to move freely and separately. Gender roles became a lot more complicated when the women who took care of it all while the war was going on suddenly were expected to return to the nurturing background when their men returned.
I really liked this book. I haven’t read The Diary of Anne Frank in a long time, but I still find it fascinating that these two young girls were struggling within walking distance of each other, victims of the war in completely different ways. Overall, I’d give When a Toy Dog Became a Wolf and the Moon Broke Curfew 4.5 out of 5 stars. I would like to know more of the author’s life after her teenage years (when this story ended) and learn more about how she worked through the trauma of the war.
https://booksithinkyoushouldread.blog...
http://sweetlybsquared.com
The author narrates the intertwined relationship with her mother in a way that shows not only its necessity, but also tells of the way it influenced her future with others, when they were finally able to move freely and separately. Gender roles became a lot more complicated when the women who took care of it all while the war was going on suddenly were expected to return to the nurturing background when their men returned.
I really liked this book. I haven’t read The Diary of Anne Frank in a long time, but I still find it fascinating that these two young girls were struggling within walking distance of each other, victims of the war in completely different ways. Overall, I’d give When a Toy Dog Became a Wolf and the Moon Broke Curfew 4.5 out of 5 stars. I would like to know more of the author’s life after her teenage years (when this story ended) and learn more about how she worked through the trauma of the war.
https://booksithinkyoushouldread.blog...
http://sweetlybsquared.com
October 22, 2020
Wow!
I am so touched by this story. I want to read it again, as I need to contemplate on the multitude of emotions that this reading brought up in me. This is so much more than any typical war memorial as it details relationships in a way that encourages deeper thinking. Relationships before, during and after war.
Relationships with God, parents, friends, and between adults and children. Working out trauma on multiple levels with PTSD for the author and her family and community. It covers the magical thinking of children, and coming of age in post-war Amsterdam. Faith, humor, sadness, fear, resilience, love... this memoir covers all of it.
This was a book that I am so grateful the author wrote and shared with all of us. It is a story that deserves to be told. I would love to see a continuation of the memoir.
This review is written with so much admiration for the author. Thank you for sharing and for your most wonderful and thought provoking way of writing.
This is a must read memoir.
I am so touched by this story. I want to read it again, as I need to contemplate on the multitude of emotions that this reading brought up in me. This is so much more than any typical war memorial as it details relationships in a way that encourages deeper thinking. Relationships before, during and after war.
Relationships with God, parents, friends, and between adults and children. Working out trauma on multiple levels with PTSD for the author and her family and community. It covers the magical thinking of children, and coming of age in post-war Amsterdam. Faith, humor, sadness, fear, resilience, love... this memoir covers all of it.
This was a book that I am so grateful the author wrote and shared with all of us. It is a story that deserves to be told. I would love to see a continuation of the memoir.
This review is written with so much admiration for the author. Thank you for sharing and for your most wonderful and thought provoking way of writing.
This is a must read memoir.
December 15, 2020
This memoir was written from the memories of a little girl in Holland during the Nazi occupation in 1942 through 45. Her father was taken away to a German work camp and she and her mother were alone and had to endure wat was to come next, alone. Brutality and starvation at the hands of the Nazi's. Her mother was part of the underground, and hid a young Jewish girl in their tiny apt, only to see her brutally ripped away when a neighbor ratted on them. Book is very well written, and takes you into the mind of this little girl as she has to grow up, and stop being a child anymore. Holland's famine killed many, as did the coldest winter they had experienced ever, at this time too. The heat and electricity were cut off for two years. Read how she and her mom survived, and her father returned only to face more devastating problems after, and their decision to accept the offer the leaders of Holland granted, to all its surviving citizens.
October 16, 2020
War trauma
This memoir took hold from the first page. I read straight through the night and finished the book in early morning. I rarely get so wrapped into a book that I stay up all night read in. De Vries is able to take the reader back to war torn Amsterdam during the time of Nazi occupation. Reading the story from the perspective of a young girl, the feelings of stress and uncertainty of life is palatable throughout the book. The intense bond of love of her parents are key to her survival. During the post war traumas of surviving and trying to rebuild family relationships the effects of the war continue to affect the family and community. This book brings the reader into the reality that ptsd effects people on all levels of development. Thank you for sharing your experience s.
This memoir took hold from the first page. I read straight through the night and finished the book in early morning. I rarely get so wrapped into a book that I stay up all night read in. De Vries is able to take the reader back to war torn Amsterdam during the time of Nazi occupation. Reading the story from the perspective of a young girl, the feelings of stress and uncertainty of life is palatable throughout the book. The intense bond of love of her parents are key to her survival. During the post war traumas of surviving and trying to rebuild family relationships the effects of the war continue to affect the family and community. This book brings the reader into the reality that ptsd effects people on all levels of development. Thank you for sharing your experience s.
November 17, 2019
This memoir of life in Amsterdam during World War II and Nazi occupation is a captivating story of courage, family, resilience, community, and integrity. And it’s skillfully and beautifully told. Hendrika de Vries is a gifted writer and a tremendous storyteller. I was often wiping away tears as I savored the poignancy of interactions, or on the edge of my chair waiting to see what comes next. The story is seamlessly told from the perspective of the author as a young child living through unspeakable times, and from the woman and therapist who, decades later, reflects back on what it all means and how it contributed to the woman she became. It is also a powerful reminder that the sins of the past still threaten us. A beautiful book that will stay with me for a long time.
January 12, 2021
My book club was honored to have this delightful author discuss her book with us on Zoom. We discussed how her book brings characters to life and allows readers to share in the family’s dynamics and the intimacy of their struggles during their occupation in Amsterdam. There's no attempt to analyze or condemn that period in time. It’s a recounting of how the family and folks in Amsterdam survived two years of a living hell under Nazi Germany's rule. There's also an amazing bond between three generations of women in some good and some not-so-good ways. It discusses their strengths and weaknesses and the roles they played in that era.
February 12, 2023
I have read a lot of books about WWII. This one opened my eyes to the devastation that Hitler left in every country he invaded. I don't read much nonfiction, but a lot of historical fiction. This was told through Hendrika's young girl's eyes, but also commented on by her now adult perspective. It worked. I had no idea of the suffering the countries went through; no light, no heat, starvation, and once liberated, lack of housing, jobs, etc. The strength of the women (as their husband's we taken to work labor camps for Hitler), to survive, only to have to survive the aftermath once liberated. Amazing.
October 24, 2020
Through the eyes of a child.
Compelling, heart breaking, compassionate, enlightening, the author tells her story of her life with her mother during WW2 living in Amsterdam, a little Dutch girl whose father is sent to a camp and she and her mother are left to make the best of their lives living under German rule while still trying to help the resistance by befriending a Jewish girl. Lack of clothes, wood coal etc especially food is slowly killing them, finally they are liberated and Father comes home, they regain their health and strength, but it is all at a very heavy cost.
Compelling, heart breaking, compassionate, enlightening, the author tells her story of her life with her mother during WW2 living in Amsterdam, a little Dutch girl whose father is sent to a camp and she and her mother are left to make the best of their lives living under German rule while still trying to help the resistance by befriending a Jewish girl. Lack of clothes, wood coal etc especially food is slowly killing them, finally they are liberated and Father comes home, they regain their health and strength, but it is all at a very heavy cost.
December 16, 2020
I really liked this book, with the author writing her personal story in the voice of the young girl that she was at the time. WW 2 was difficult for so many people. I really appreciated getting a personal account of what the average Dutch families dealt with when Nazi’s took over Holland. So sad to watch the unimaginable evil through the eyes of an innocent child who could not understand. It was interesting to see how the difficult months of the occupation and its aftermath affected each of them throughout their lives. PTSD comes in different ways.
February 21, 2020
Set in WWII Amsterdam, it is the war seen through the eyes of a child. Its absolutely heartbreaking when her father is taken away by Nazis.
It's a very well written book. I've read many books about the holocaust and Nazi occupation. I grew up with seeing adults with tattooed numbers on their arm. It was quite common. Not anymore as survivors are dying out. So books like this are essential so we never forget.
It's a very well written book. I've read many books about the holocaust and Nazi occupation. I grew up with seeing adults with tattooed numbers on their arm. It was quite common. Not anymore as survivors are dying out. So books like this are essential so we never forget.
May 9, 2021
Henny's Story
This was a powerful story written about a young Dutch girls life during the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands. Early on her Father is taken as a prisoner of war by the Germans..so Henny and her Mother must fend for themselves..Even though they aren't Jewish..they have many friends who are..this is such an excellent book..despite the subject matter..I didn't want it to end..
This was a powerful story written about a young Dutch girls life during the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands. Early on her Father is taken as a prisoner of war by the Germans..so Henny and her Mother must fend for themselves..Even though they aren't Jewish..they have many friends who are..this is such an excellent book..despite the subject matter..I didn't want it to end..
June 27, 2023
When a Toy Dog Became a Wolf And The Moon Broke Curfew is such an imaginative title to an interesting memoir. Hendrika de Vries brings her past to life as she writes of her childhood memories in war torn Amsterdam. Her father’s deportation to a POW camp, the German occupancy of the Netherlands, her mother’s part in the resistance, starvation, and so many other tribulations shows a strength of spirit that is well worth the read. A touching tale.
July 4, 2020
Hendrika de Vries was a child in Holland when her father was deported to a Nazi POW camp and her mother joined the Resistance. Her new memoir tells the story of the tragic events of Amsterdam during WWII, as seen through the eyes of a young girl, and reflects on the wisdom she gained from her experience. It is a beautiful and extraordinary story, finely told.
November 17, 2020
Memoirs of a girl surviving a World War II in Amsterdam. A very emotional book, that made me hold back my tears most of the time. I kept reading some of the parts to my Dutch husband and discussed some of the topics with him. The book is suitable for the schoolkids, as it is written in a very easy way.
January 27, 2021
A Memoir
This book is a very different WWII story told through the eyes of a child. It touches on the atrocities but it's more about the strength of a mother and her child, who survive the terrors of the times, in Nazi occupied Amsterdam. I found it uplifting to see just how far, faith, courage and strength played in their survival.
This book is a very different WWII story told through the eyes of a child. It touches on the atrocities but it's more about the strength of a mother and her child, who survive the terrors of the times, in Nazi occupied Amsterdam. I found it uplifting to see just how far, faith, courage and strength played in their survival.
May 22, 2020
I am very grateful that survivors of World War II are setting down their stories in print now, so they are not forgotten. This is one such stody - from the perspective of a Dutch girl (a perspective I had not read before). The author is a Jungian psychologist and the archtypal memories are clear from the title of the book and the writing itself.
October 24, 2020
This is a wonderful book
I read A lot of memoirs from people who survive the Second World War, like my parents did. this book captures the essence of the time with its fear, sadness and the strength. I highly recommend it.
I read A lot of memoirs from people who survive the Second World War, like my parents did. this book captures the essence of the time with its fear, sadness and the strength. I highly recommend it.
November 11, 2020
I really enjoyed this book about a young girl in the Netherlands during wwII' It really describes the emotions of a young girl during those trying times. It is a poignant story that I could barely put down until the conclusion.
December 7, 2020
Excellent Memoir
Excellent memoir of a child's WW-II experience in the Netherlands. I've read several WW-II stories but other than The Diary of a Young Girl (Anne Frank's story is very different) not so much set in the Netherlands. It was a quick, very interesting read.
Excellent memoir of a child's WW-II experience in the Netherlands. I've read several WW-II stories but other than The Diary of a Young Girl (Anne Frank's story is very different) not so much set in the Netherlands. It was a quick, very interesting read.
September 22, 2021
A book of love ,family, And loyalty.
This is just a pleasant story at a time of war. The characters aspirations and sadness of needing to leave familiar places and people as was necessary!
This is just a pleasant story at a time of war. The characters aspirations and sadness of needing to leave familiar places and people as was necessary!
January 7, 2026
Couldn’t put it down. And when I found out the title meaning 🥺 Always read the acknowledgements from the author. She wondered if it was a story that needs to be told, it was a story that needs to be told.
September 30, 2019
A heart-wrenching and example of resilience during World War II. I want to know what comes next in her life!
June 8, 2020
Not my favorite book but I did enjoy some parts of it. Overall I recommend it. Thank you to netgalley for the chance to read this
Displaying 1 - 30 of 37 reviews