Number the Stars

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry is a fiction account of the brave people of Denmark during WWII. Due to a warning from one German official (G.F. Duckwitz) the Danes were able to save almost all of the 7000 Jews in Denmark from the Nazis.

Annemarie Johansen and her family take in her best friend and neighbor, Ellen Rosen, while her parents escape to the country. The Johansens lie and tell the Nazi soldiers Ellen is their daughter Lise. They even produce a baby picture of a dark haired little girl. It is enough evidence to make the soldiers go away.

The next day Mrs. Johansen takes her two daughters and Ellen to her brother's farm on the coast. From there the fishermen and the resistance have set up a way to ferry the Jews to freedom in Sweden.

Annemarie grows into a mature young woman who saves her friend Ellen and her family when she must get a package to her uncle's boat before the German soldiers find them. Pointing out the parallels between her own story and Little Red Riding Hood, Annemarie disregards her fears in order to save her best friend.

Number the Stars should be read by all children (and adults) along with The Diary of Anne Frank - to illustrate the brave and selfless people to fought to save the Jews during WWII.

Lowry, Lois. (1989). Number the Stars. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.