Number the Stars

Number the Stars. ISBN: 978-0-440-22753-3. Lois Lowry. 1989. Newbery Medal, National Jewish Book Award, Sidney Taylor Award. Historical Fiction. Ages 8-12. Ten year old girl, Danish and Jewish people.

This book is about a ten year old little girl named Annemarie who lived in Denmark during the Holocaust (early 1940s). It is a story about her and her family helping their Jewish friends escape from the German soldiers. We know from the beginning that her older sister had died because she got hit by a car just before her wedding, and that her fiance kept a unique relationship with the family. We later find out that she died because she was a member of a Nazi resistance group and was run down by a German soldier's vehicle in a chase. At the end, Annemarie is very brave and takes on the responsibility of bringing her uncle, along with her escapee best friend and family, and important package to ensure their escape, risking her life in the process.

The stars are very symbolic in this book. The are a symbol of the Jewish people. Peter reads a Psalm from the bible that refers to the l0rd as numbering the stars one by one, and Annemarie has a hard time comprehending that, but later when her good friend/sister's fiance is killed by German soldiers, she learned that his grave was marked with a number like all of the others that the soldiers killed, maybe symbolizing that he was of the lord, as the lord numbered the stars.

This would be a fabulous book for kids to read and discuss while learning about Germany in Social Studies. As a child I had a hard time learning history because it did not seem relative to me, but this book makes history become reality. I think historical fiction would be a very effective way to get children interested in learning more facts about history. You could have the children write about the actual historical events that took place in this story/make a timeline.

Annemarie uses storytelling to assure herself that she doesn't have to be afraid and she can have courage. She uses "Little Red Riding Hood" to talk herself through the dangerous run through the woods. You could have the children think of a time they were afraid and then think of a movie or story character that they could relate to that was brave and write how this character's actions could encourage them to be brave and move forward with what they have to do.

This is a story about hope. We are able to walk through the bad times with these characters, and see all that they have been deprived of, but in the end, the war ends and things start to return to the way they had been.....free. I think this would be a good way to help children in these bad economic times write a journal about how they or their families/friends may be suffering due to a job loss, or reduced work hours, and journal about how they are coping and what they are looking forward to when things eventually get better. You could also discuss the characteristics of pride, bravery and friendship that we can see in this book.