Number the Stars
by Lois Lowry
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Book Reviews of Number the Stars
Book Review: A wonderful book, for adults as well as youngsters
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this book for my 10-year old daughter, started to read it myself before reading it with her, and found I could not put it down. It is the story of two 10 year old friends, AnneMarie and Ellen, who live in Nazi-occupied Denmark in 1943. The story is told by AnneMarie, who is a Christian, while her friend Ellen is Jewish. AnneMarie is fairly oblivious of the significance of this until one day some friends of the family disappear, and their business shut down, as the Nazi "relocation" of the Danish Jews gets underway. AnneMarie of course is desperately worried about what will happen to Ellen. AnneMarie's family very bravely helps Ellen evade the Gestapo, and this mission leads them to a relative's house near the border with Sweden. There are some incredibly suspenseful moments en route, as the Nazi patrols take a very close interest in people traveling around the Jewish New Year.
AnneMarie is much more than a passive observer of grown-up events in this book, and as the story builds to a climax she has to play an absolutely key role in helping her friends. I was fascinated to find out that what I thought was a slightly far-fetched plot device (involving a handkerchief) towards the end of the book turned out to be a true-to-life fact which played a big role in the true story of the escape of the Jewish population of Denmark to Sweden. (This was explained in an afterword to the story). I have read many Holocaust books but was unfamiliar with the story of the Danish Jews, so this book was very educational for me as well as for my daughter.
This book has action, suspense, well-developed characters, and will give young readers a much better feel for the horror that was the Holocaust than any dry textbook description. "Must read" is a cliche, but one that happens to be true for this book.
Book Review: C. Day's Book Review
Summary: 5 Stars
Number the Stars
Lois Lowry's thrilling book Number the Stars is about a 10- year old girl named Annemarie Johansen and her best friend, Ellen Rosen who is a Jew. They live in a town called Copenhagen. There has been a war for quite some time. The two girls often think of life before the war began. Their life is filled with school, food shortages, and the Nazi soldiers always marching along. The Nazis are searching for Jews to put in jail. Ellen has to stay with Annemarie and her family for the night. The family thought they were safe, but the Nazis suspected that Ellen and her family are staying with Annemarie's family. The Nazi's come to inspect the house. Both families are terrified. While Ellen's parents are away hiding, Ellen moves in with the Johansen's to hide. Annemarie just lost an older sister, Lise Johansen so it works out perfectly. Ellen hides in the bed with Annemarie and pretends to be Lise. The troubles about hiding Ellen was Jew's have dark hair and the Johansens . Also Ellen couldn't get her necklace off that showed the Star of David which indicates a Jew, so Annemarie ripped it off and by the end of it all, it was imprinted in Annemarie's hand.
This is a great book. Recommended for fourth to sixth graders. People who like historical fiction would love this book. The author makes it seem like these characters are actually alive. Annemarie has to deal with conflict created by the Nazis. The setting is kind-of a miniature New York City. There are no sky-scrapers, and it would be very crowded and the houses and stores would be the size of an average classroom. The narration is phenomenal. It seems like readers are actually there in the house, or in the dark and creepy woods. Reading this book will teach readers many things and will thrill them at the same time.
Book Review: Number the Stars
Summary: 4 Stars
I would like to recommend the book Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. The genre is realistic fiction. The setting takes place in Copenhagen, Denmark. This book tells the story of two friends Annemarie Johansen and Ellen Rosen. Annemarie is very tall and a very fast runner. Ellen is stocky and rosy-cheeked. The story takes place in 1943 during World War II while Denmark is under German occupation. This story is about a young girl named Annemarie who, with the help of her family, is trying to save her best friend Ellen and Ellen's family, who are Jews.
One of my favorite scenes is when Annemarie and Ellen are standing at the edge of the Baltic Sea. They are staring across the sea when Annemarie notices a leaf in the water. She tells Ellen that the leaf might have blown off a tree in Sweden. Ellen cups her hands around her eyes, but can't see Sweden because it is so foggy. Then Annemarie suggests that maybe over across Sweden there are two girls just about their age looking across the border saying, "That's Denmark." This scene makes me feel hopeful because of the fact that Ellen is Jewish and she needs to get to Sweden. I chose this passage because it is the part of the book I remember the most.
From reading this book I now know what it might have felt like to be a Jew in Denmark under German occupation. I like how the author describes the features of Kirsti (Annemarie's little sister). I feel that there is nothing that could have been improved upon. I think the book is just right for my reading level. I will always remember this story because it reminds me of the millions of Jews who died. If I had a bookshelf in my room that included only my favorites I would include Number the Stars. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes realistic fiction.
Book Review: Number the Stars
Summary: 4 Stars
I would like to recommend the book Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. The genre is realistic fiction. The setting takes place in Copenhagen, Denmark. This book tells the story of two friends Annemarie Johansen and Ellen Rosen. Annemarie is very tall and a very fast runner. Ellen is stocky and rosy-cheeked. The story takes place in 1943 during World War II while Denmark is under German occupation. This story is about a young girl named Annemarie who, with the help of her family, is trying to save her best friend Ellen and Ellen's family, who are Jews.
One of my favorite scenes is when Annemarie and Ellen are standing at the edge of the Baltic Sea. They are staring across the sea when Annemarie notices a leaf in the water. She tells Ellen that the leaf might have blown off a tree in Sweden. Ellen cups her hands around her eyes, but can't see Sweden because it is so foggy. Then Annemarie suggests that maybe over across Sweden there are two girls just about their age looking across the border saying, "That's Denmark." This scene makes me feel hopeful because of the fact that Ellen is Jewish and she needs to get to Sweden. I chose this passage because it is the part of the book I remember the most.
From reading this book I now know what it might have felt like to be a Jew in Denmark under German occupation. I like how the author describes the features of Kirsti (Annemarie's little sister). I feel that there is nothing that could have been improved upon. I think the book is just right for my reading level. I will always remember this story because it reminds me of the millions of Jews who died. If I had a bookshelf in my room that included only my favorites I would include Number the Stars. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes realistic fiction.
Book Review: I read this in elementary school and it sparked my future love of History...
Summary: 5 Stars
I remember hiding away in the corner of the elementary school library and reading this when I was very young, and I think it may have been the root of my future enamourment of WWII history.
There are two scenes that define this book for me, and I think what really drove home the reality of what the Jewish population faced...
One, when the Nazi soldiers come into the Jewish home and everyone is blonde except the one girl (the main character)... she hides her Star of David necklace, and the guards are arguing with her mother about how she can't possibly be Pure because she has brown hair and dark eyes, and her mother rips a baby photo out of the family photo album and thrusts it at the guards as proof, explaining that she was born with blonde hair and blue eyes and then suddenly they turned dark when she got older. The girl realizes why her mother ripped out the photo from the album -- because it wasn't of her, but of her sister, and was labeled as such.
And later, when they go to the boat, and she brings sandwiches or something for the dogs, wrapped in cloths that are dusted with cocaine (? if I remember right?) ~ to dull the dogs' sense of smell, because there are entire families stowed away in the ship that would get caught if the dogs caught their scent. The entire section of the book related to this not only familiarized me with the events of that time period, but also the geography that influenced the actions of all involved.
Historical fiction serves the very real purpose of humanizing those to whom "History" happened, and, in the case of historical fiction for children, can broach subjects that would otherwise be extremely difficult to discuss.
Number the Stars is an incredible book. I highly recommend it.