It's 1943 and Denmark
is being occupied by the Nazis. Jews are being sent to death and “relocated”. Annemarie
Johansen, her sister, Kristi, and best friend, Ellen Rosen, are walking home
from school when they get questioned by Nazi guards. This worries Annemarie
because she doesn’t want her Jewish friend to be noticed by the Nazis. Later
she finds out Ellen’s parents are leaving with a friend of the family to
hopefully be smuggled to safety. Ellen is going to stay behind and pretend to
be one of the Johansens. After Nazi’s storm the apartment searching for any
remaining Jews and asking about Ellen’s dark hair, it looks like she may get
taken away. The Johansens are clever and are able to buy some time. Mrs.
Johansen takes all three girls to go to her brother’s house in order to attend
a funeral for Great Aunt Birte. This
gets Annemarie thinking because she doesn’t recall anyone in her family having that
name. Unfortunately, being at Uncle Henrik’s doesn’t mean being away from the
watch of the Nazis. Things become even more perilous. What plan will Annemarie
uncover? What will happen if the Nazis catch any of them breaking the
rules? Will Ellen ever see her mom and dad? Seeing the war through Annemarie’s eyes will
draw you into the story, and you will not want to put the book down until you
learn what happens to all of the characters. I was captivated!
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry is a wonderful book about being
brave in a dangerous time. Annemarie is a loyal friend and more courageous than
she knows. I felt as if I knew her, and
she's definitely someone I'd want to be friends with. I was worried as I read
about the stressful situations Annemarie and her family/friends were in and I was holding my breath, hoping things would end in the best way possible. This
is a fabulous book for kids in fourth through eighth grade. Older readers
will enjoy it as well! WWII was filled with so much tragedy, but I love to
learn about the people who came together to help their friends and neighbors.
It's a reminder to all of us that kindness and determination will prevail over
evil. I didn’t realize that the events in this book were based on a true event
in Denmark in September of 1943. Awesome! I was touched by the story and the
characters. I'm still thinking about them and what life was like for the real
people who lived during that time. I
have read many books by Lois Lowry, and I definitely recommend this historical
fiction winner to those who haven't read it yet.
Has anyone else read Number
the Stars? Or have you read another book by Lois Lowry? We would love to
hear your thoughts!
Happy Reading! ~L
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