Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

Book Genre: Historical fiction

Publishing Info: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. Copyright 1989, 137 pages.

Awards or honors received: Newberry Medal Winner

Summary: Annemarie and her best friend Ellen Rosen are young teenagers in Nazi occupied Denmark. Having lived several years under the Nazi regime, the girls take for granted the presence of the occupying troups until the Nazis begin intensifying their persecution of Jews. Realizing the danger, Annemarie's parents decide to help the Rosens escaped Denmark to the freedom of Sweden along with the help of Annemarie's Uncle Henrik. Along the way Annemarie learns more about the Danish Resistance movement, including the truth about her older sister's death. In the end, Annemarie must summon her own courage to confront the Nazi soldiers and help save her friend's life.

Personal rating and reason for rating: Great! As a fan of history, I think this story stays true to historical fact while portraying a intriguing account from a child's perspective.

Reading level: AR level 4.5. Fry readability level 6

Interest level: 4-7

Possible uses of the text in integrated units of study:
Historical tie-ins are fairly obvious. Students might study the countries of modern day Europe and how German forces proceeded across the continent. Students might prepare a timeline of German occupation. There is also a perfect opportunity to compare different types of governments, particularyly American Democracy and Nazi Dictatorship.

Concepts of friendship, loyalty (to friends, family, and country), bravery and patriotism could be explored. Students could write about any of these concepts.

The concept of percentages could be studies with math. Students could calculate the percentage of Jews in Europe, Germany, and various occupied countries. Depending on how you choose to treat the topic, these percentages could be compared before and after the war.

Potential Problems or Difficulties: The harsh realities of Nazi Germany are difficult for even adults to deal with and must be dealt with carefully based up on the age of the students. Two instances of Nazi creulty are portrayed with the deaths of Annemarie's sister Lise and Lise's boyfriend Peter Neilsen