Number of the Stars by Lois Lowry

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Lowry, Lois. 1989. NUMBER THE STARS. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin Company.
ISBN 0-395-51060-0
2. PLOT SUMMARY
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry is a well-written, well-researched historical fiction based on the factual, but little-known response of the people of Denmark to the Nazi’s Final Solution. The main character, Annemarie, is a ten-year-old child who lives in Denmark during the Nazi occupation. Although her best friend, Ellen, is Jewish, Annemarie has no understanding of the underlying evil that threatens her friend’s life. Number the Stars is the story of how Denmark’s people responded the one of the greatest evils to face the world, the Nazi’s determination to exterminate a race.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Many books have been written about the Holocaust. However, Lois Lowry’s choice of setting and her choice of a ten-year-old main character are absolutely brilliant. Denmark made a decision to protect its Jewish citizens from the horrors of the Nazi’s death camps. They did so even though it meant that some Danes paid the ultimate price for their stance, torture and execution. In this way, children can be introduced to a very dark time in modern history on a positive note. Denmark did what was right because the Danes rightly viewed their Jewish neighbors as friends and fellow citizens.
Young readers experience the occupation of Denmark through ten-year-old Annemarie’s eyes. Initially, the readers’ first contact with “the soldiers” occurs when Annemarie is racing home at the very beginning of the book. She calls the tall one “the Giraffe” and he shows his human side by responding to Annemarie’s feisty little sister with laughter and amusement. He says, “She is pretty, like my own little girl.” In this way, young readers witness that Nazi soldiers are humans with families that they love. When other soldiers come looking for Ellen’s family, they are not so human. However, Annemarie has allowed young readers to witness that not all soldiers are the same.
Annemarie’s emerging awareness of the gravity of the situation comes to a head on the night that the soldiers burst into her family’s apartment looking for Ellen’s family. Even though she is afraid, Annemarie learns that one can be afraid and still find the strength and courage to do the right thing. When soldiers invade their home, Annemarie pulls the Star of David necklace from Ellen’s neck. Her understanding continues to deepen when she witnesses her parents’ unflinching bravery in the face of brutal Nazi soldiers in search of Jews. Finally, Annemarie makes a choice to selflessly do the right thing when, fully understanding the danger of being “found out,” she risks her safety to protect her Uncle, her friends, and those he is transporting to safety. Annemarie grows up before our eyes as she takes her place beside her family, and her nation, in acting as the Jewish people’s “bodyguard.”
When she learns of how her sister died, she understands that her family has already paid the ultimate price. Her beautiful eighteen-year-old sister Lise had been part of the Resistance and had been killed by the Nazi’s while trying to escape capture. Even though her parents were devastated by the loss of their daughter, they did not hesitate to risk their lives to help their friends.
Ultimately, Number the Stars, is an excellent historical fiction for young readers. It provides a wealth of material for discussion about the power of choice. The underlying message is that although we may not be able to control factors in our environment, we can make a choice about our response to it.

4. AWARDS AND EXCERPT(S)
1990 Newbery Prize Winner
Publisher’s Weekly: “Set in Nazi-occupied Denmark in 1943, this 1990 Newbery winner tells of a 10-year-old girl who undertakes a dangerous mission to save her best friend.”
School Library Journal: “Readers are taken to the very heart of Annemarie's experience, and, through her eyes, come to understand the true meaning of bravery.”
5. CONNECTIONS – If you enjoyed Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, you may also enjoy:
Ippisch, Hanneke. SKY: A TRUE STORY OF RESISTANCE DURING WORLD WAR II. ISBN-10: 068980508X
Lowry, Lois. THE GIVER. ISBN-10: 0385732554
Hoose, Phillip. CLAUDETTE COLVIN: TWICE TOWARD JUSTICE. ISBN-10: 0374313229
Bartoletti, Susan. HITLER YOUTH: GROWING UP IN HITLER’S SHADOW. ISBN-10: 0439353793