A Chicago-born author whose mother escaped Nazi-occupied Denmark as a child will visit the Wilmette Public Library on Monday, Oct. 5, to discuss his graphic novel about her survival.

Ralph Shayne wrote Hour of Need: The Daring Escape of the Danish Jews During World War II from his family's diaries. Illustrated by Tatiana Goldberg, the middle-grade nonfiction book tells the story of young Mette and her family, caught in a 1943 Nazi raid on Danish Jews. They flee overnight and depend on strangers to help them escape to Sweden.

The book alternates between the 1940s and the 2000s, with Mette returning to Denmark with her grandchildren to share the history firsthand, according to the Jewish Book Council.

Shayne, who still lives in Chicago, has written in his author biography that his existence depends on his mother having been among the roughly one in ten European Jewish children who survived the war. His mother was a Danish citizen who married an American and immigrated to the United States in the 1960s. Shayne's boy-girl twins have starring roles in the book.

The event falls during Banned Books Week, which runs Oct. 4 through Oct. 10. The American Library Association tracked 4,235 unique titles challenged in 2025, the second-highest total ever documented.

The Wilmette Public Library is framing the visit as a "Freedom to Read week celebration," connecting the freedom to read with access to information and history, according to the library's event announcement.

The book was developed in partnership with the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center in Skokie. It won the 2024 Claus Deleuran Award for Best Danish Comic, according to the museum's resource page.

Ronald Leopold, executive director of the Anne Frank House, wrote in an endorsement that Denmark "serves as an example how to protect our humanity."

The presentation is open to all. Tweens and teens are especially encouraged to attend, and a limited number of free copies will go to tween and teen attendees. A book signing follows the talk, with copies available for purchase courtesy of The Book Stall in Winnetka.

The Wilmette Public Library is located at 1242 Wilmette Ave.