Lois Lowry’s 1990 Newbery winning book, Number the Stars, centers on ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen and her Jewish friend Ellen Rosen in 1943 Copenhagen, after the Nazis have taken over Denmark. It’s a beautiful book that manages to be suspenseful and authentic for such an intense topic, while still being a good first book gentle enough to begin teaching children about the horrors of the Holocaust and WWII. It also highlights the amazing true story of how the Danish people managed to save all their Jewish citizens during the Nazi occupation. (That is also explained in the fascinating Afterward.)
What I liked. I loved the story Annemarie’s father tells about their king.
One Evening, Papa had told her that earlier he was on an errand near his office, standing on the corner waiting to cross the street, when King Christian came by on his morning ride. One of the German soldiers had turned, suddenly, and asked a question of a teenage boy nearby.
“Who is that man who rides past here every morning on his horse?” the German solider had asked.
Papa said he had smiled to himself amused that the German soldier did not know. He listened when the boy answered.
“He is our king,” the boy told the soldier. “He is the King of Denmark.”
“Where is his bodyguard?” the soldier had asked.
“And do you know what that boy said?” Papa had asked Annemarie. She was sitting on his lap. She was little then, only seven years old. She shook her head, waiting to hear the answer.
“The boy looked right at the soldier, and he said, “All of Denmark is his bodyguard.”
Annemarie had shivered. It sounded like a very brave answer. “Is it true, Papa?” she asked. “What the boy said?”
Papa thought for a moment. He always considered questions very carefully before he answered them. “Yes,” he said at last. “It is true. Any Danish citizen would die for King Christian, to protect him.”
“You too, Papa?”
“Yes.”
“And Mama?”
“Mom too.”
Annemarie shivered again. “Then I would too, Papa. If I had to.”
P. 13-14
What was interesting. I liked this book so much, and I can’t believe that I hadn’t read it before. Partially, I think this is because while I appreciated The Giver, also by Lois Lowry, and I thought The Giver was a remarkable and excellent book, I just don’t love dystopias (but I know that it is some people’s favorite book!) and so I thought that Lois Lowry books weren’t for me. But this one was! I loved the balance of sweet moments and hard moments, reminding me of one of my favorite authors: Kate DiCamillo. So evidently, I have many other Lois Lowry books to discover. (Any tips on what Lois Lowry books I should read next if I liked Number the Stars more than The Giver? Leave me a suggestion in the comments!)
What were some limitations. I cannot think of something I didn’t like about this book. It was so good.
Similarity to other Newbery winners. While this is the first Newbery book to deal with the Holocaust, it is in good company with others as far as a brave female heroine who is risking much to help those she loves. Other stories with that theme include, Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, Thimble Summer, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, A Wrinkle in Time, and The Gathering of Days. The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler is not nearly as serious, but has a good deal of hiding and mysteries and strong relationships. And Up A Road Slowly, Strawberry Girl, and Sarah, Plain and Tall also have sweet strong female characters, like Annemarie Johansen .
What it teaches me as a writer. I particularly thought that this book had a beautiful way of having really wonderful and brave and thoughtful parents. Often middle grade novels have a source of conflict and plot tension with parents. This makes sense, of course, because that is a main source of conflict in middle grade readers’ lives. But with this book there is so much conflict and tension outside of the family unit, that the Johansen parents aren’t a source of conflict; they just get to be brave and kind, and between them and Annemarie’s Uncle, they get to dispense all sorts of wisdom and get some of the best lines of the book, like the quote about King Christian, or the theme of intentionally not knowing all the details to let you be brave in the moment. The parents here remind me a lot of the parents in A Wrinkle in Time .
Have you read Number the Stars? What are your favorite WWII books for kids?
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