Number The Stars
Lowry, Lois. 1989. Number The Stars [Kindle version]. Retrieved from Amazon.com. ISBN 0-395-51060-0.
Plot Summary
This is a story of the rescue of Danish Jews during the 1943 Nazi occupation of Denmark. This historically accurate, fictional account is told from the perspective of Mr. and Mrs. Johansen and their daughter, Annemarie. German soldiers fill every street corner in Copenhagen. Though unaware of the true danger, ten years old Annemarie and her friend, Ellen, know to be afraid of the soldiers, the helmets, the shiny boots, and cold, accusing eyes. It is an especially dangerous time for Ellen and her family as the Rosen's are Jewish.
Readers learn that during the occupation, the King of Denmark continues to ride his horse through town every day. A soldier asks a boy “who is that man who rides past here every morning on his horse?” The boy replies that it is the King of Denmark. The soldier asks, “Where is his bodyguard?” The boy replies, “All of Denmark is his bodyguard.” Later, our heroine, Annemarie, is speaking with her father who relates the story of the boys conversation with the guard. Annemarie states, “Well, now I think that all of Denmark must be bodyguard for the Jews, as well.” Her papa replies, “So we shall be.”
As "bodyguard for the Jews", the Johansen's and others in the Resistance, smuggle the Jews out of Denmark and over the sea to nearby Sweden. Annemarie must learn courage and fortitude beyond her years to protect those she loves.
Critical Analysis
In Number the Stars Lois Lowry uses small details to illuminate larger events. A scene as mundane as Mrs. Johansen and Mrs. Rosen sitting and drinking coffee together is transformed when the reader discovers that they are actually drinking hot water flavored with herbs. There is no coffee, tea, or sugar in wartime Copenhagen. Mr. Rosen corrects school papers at night by candlelight, because there is no electricity; Annemarie's little sister, Kirsti, gets new shoes, but they are ugly ones, made out of fish skin rather than leather.
The story is told from Annemarie's point of view, but it is not told in the first person. The story is told through a third-person narrative, and readers learn what Annemarie learns as she learns it. This style of writing creates a suspenseful and moving fictional story that is founded on historical facts of the Holocaust.
In the Afterword, Lowry explains "where fact ends and fiction begins", allowing readers to see the authenticity of this Newbery winner. In the weeks following the Jewish New Year in 1943, thanks to the courage and compassion of the citizens of Denmark and Sweden, "almost the entire Jewish population of Denmark - nearly seven thousand people - was smuggled across the sea to Sweden.
Review Excerpts
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."
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."
Connections
This would be a great book to use in a study of the Holocaust with grades 4 - 6 as it does not go into the gory details of many Holocaust books.
It could also be used in a unit on the true meaning of bravery.
Related Books
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Night by Elie Wiesel
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Book cover from www.librarything.com
No comments:
Post a Comment