Saturday, June 16, 2012

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

While listening to Lois Lowry's talk at the Children's Book and Author Breakfast at this year's BEA, I realized that I have read Number the Stars in a long time, so naturally I had never reviewed it her at The Children's War, either.  So, I promptly re-read it as soon as BEA was over.

Number the Stars begins in September 1943 in Copenhagen Denmark.  The Nazis have been occupying the country for three years, but having armed soldiers on every corner is still disconcerting for the peace-loving Danes.  Yet, up until now, the soldiers have left the Danish people basically alone, including the Danish Jews.  But when two German soldiers stop ten year old Annemarie Johansen and her best friend and neighbor Ellen Rosen on the was home from school one day, it is clear that things are about to change.

The first real indication of change comes when the girls are sent to a neighborhood shop owned by Jews to buy a replacement coat button and discover the school is closed.  Later, they learn that the Nazis are forcibly closing down all the Jewish owned businesses.

The next day, Ellen's mother, looking very concerned and worried comes over to speak to Mrs. Johansen; it seems the Nazis are starting to search for Jews and it is decided to leave Ellen with the Johansen's, to try to pass her off as Annemarie's sister while the Rosens go into hiding.  And, indeed, the Nazis do come and search and question why Ellen has dark hair and Annemarie and her little sister Kristi are so blond.  Luckily, Mr. Johansen has an answer for them and they finally leave.

The next day, Annemarie, Ellen and Kristi travel with Mrs. Johansen to her brother Henrik's house in Gillelje, a small fishing village.  He and Mrs. Johansen grew up there and know the area very well.  That night, a hearse arrives with a casket  which is set up in the living room for mourners to pay their respects, according to custom.  The children are told that their Great Aunt Birte has passed away, but Annemarie figures out that the casket is empty, there has never even been a Great Aunt Birte in her family.

What's really going on, then?  Annemarie finds out when she is asked to undertake a dangerous job for her mother.

Without giving particulars away and spoiling this novel for anyone who may not have already read it, this is a story about the Danish Resistance.  Resistance and Partisan stories are some of my favorites, because I like to think there will always be people who refuse to accept tyranny (and I like to think I would be one of them.)  And of course, we have all heard of how the Danes saved so many Jewish lives by hiding and sailing them to Sweden in their fishing boats.  But, even knowing that, it is the details of how things were done that makes Number the Stars such a good book.

Almost 8,000 Jewish people were saved by the Danish Resistance, undertaken at risk.  It was a nationwide effort and the Danes were the only occupied country to actively resist the Nazi deportation of their Jewish friends, neighbors and even strangers.

Lois Lowry has captured the secrecy, the tension, the fear and the courage that surrounded the whole rescue operation in Number the Stars, as well as the level of cruel disregard Nazis held for the people in the countries they occupied.  And, as always, Lowry has managed to tell this relatively short story in the same straightforward, well-done style that she is known for.   And, not surprisingly, Lowry won the Newbery Medal in 1990 for Number the Stars.


If you haven't already read this award winning novel of hope and courage, now might be a good time.  After all, Number the Stars is a favorite on summer reading lists.

This book is recommended for readers age 10-14
This book was purchased for my personal library

Source: The Jewish Virtual Library
This is the kind of fishing boat used to smuggle out 10-12 Jews per trip

Source: A Teacher's Guide to the Holocaust
This map shows the the places where escape began in Denmark
Gillelje is located in northern Denmark
A study guide for Number the Stars can be found here

This is book 5 of my European Reading Challenge hosted by Rose City Reader
This is book 4 of my Historical Fiction Challenge hosted by Historical Tapestry




14 comments:

  1. I love this book and have read it with my class either in small group or as a read aloud the past two years as part of our HF unit. Students adore this one for sure! I love the easy flow of the book and the build up of the tension is great. Awesome review and I love that you included some other resources (boat, teacher guide). I can't wait to show this post to my students!

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    1. Stephanie, I'm glad to hear you use this book in your class. I also like the way Lowry builds the tension up. I like to try and include resources for teachers, parents or anyone who may be using a book with kids. I hope it helps making resource finding easier.

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  2. Replies
    1. Yes, the Danes staged quite a rescue operation and saved almost all of Denmark's Jews. A secret compartment was build into the boats and each one could carry 10-12 people. It is one of those amazing stories to come out of the war.

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  3. "...I like to think there will always be people who refuse to accept tyranny (and I like to think I would be one of them.)"

    I want to think I would be one of them also. And then I think, what does that mean for me, here and now. And what am I doing about it? Maybe that is why the Holocaust stories haunt me so much. They force me to examine myself.

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    1. I suppose all of these books sort of force the reader to examine themselves to some degree. I know I have and still do. The stories I review here show me not just the impact of war on children, but the acts of courageous resistance that are possible under the most dangerous situations.

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  4. It sounds like a truly good book. I only recently found out about how the Danes saved so many Jews and I was just awed. It made me ponder the same questions as Joyce mentions. I love what you are doing with your blog and will definitely come back!
    Juli @ Universe in Words

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    1. Thanks so much and welcome. I think the story of the Danes is one of the best in terms of courage and resistance. I am so glad Lois Lowry chose it for her book, so everyone can know about it.

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  5. My daughter wanted to read this for summer reading a couple of years ago, but when she couldn't get into it, I took it from her and read it. I thought it was pretty good for a middle-grade novel and I hope she'll give it a try at some point.

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    1. I hope your daughter gives it another try. Sometimes a book just doesn't appeal to us and then later, when we read it, we can't get over what a good book we thought we didn't like. I went through that kind of stuff with my daughter too. but it works out in the end.

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  6. This sounds like a pretty good read! Thanks!

    Cierra @ Blogovation Design
    www.blogovationdesign.blogspot.com

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    1. Yes, it is a pretty good read and I hope you like it if you decide to read it.

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  7. We are visiting family in Australia in December, so I need several ‘good’ books for the flight – this will be one of them. Thank you for the recommendation.

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    1. How wonderful - a trip to Australia. It is one of my bucket list places to visit, Australians are so open, warm and friendly and the country so beautiful. Yes, this is a perfect long flight book, I read it in one sitting on evening. I think you might really enjoy it.

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