Number the Stars

I enjoyed reading about the courage the young protagonist, Annemarie, had and her determination to keep her best friend safe.

Lowry’s lyrical words put you in the moment and make you feel part of that world. I learned a lot about what WWII looked outside Germany, how people reacted to it, and how many outwitted the enemy. 

I read Number the Stars when I was in junior high school, and it was perhaps one of the first books that inspired me to learn more about my grandmother’s experiences as a Holocaust survivor. The novel is appropriate for younger readers who are just learning about this period in time, and it illustrates the altruistic nature of everyday citizens who defied the Nazis and helped save lives. I appreciated how the novel was told from the point of view of a young Danish girl, Annemarie, who risks her own life to help her Jewish best friend’s family. Although a… show more.

I was already a fan of author Lois Lowry when Number the Stars was released. My first reading led to years of read-aloud sessions with my students. Compelling writing and vivid scenes allowed us to experience the love and fears of ten-year-old Annemarie in Denmark in WWII. Tall boots and guns of the German occupiers signaled danger, of course, but why should her best friend’s family be under even greater threats, just because they are Jewish? The innocent perspective and confusion of a child feel immediate and intense. Annemarie’s choices, courage, and actions provide an age-appropriate vicarious experience with hatred… show more.

Pitched against the backdrop of Germany’s occupation of Denmark during World War II and the German soldiers’ round-up of Danish Jews for “relocation,” ten-year-old Annemarie learns what it means to be brave. In this page-turner based on real events, Annemarie and her family help their Jewish neighbors escape the Nazis. Danger lurks around every corner and survival depends on secrets and deception. Although the story focuses on Annemarie and her valiant efforts to protect her best friend Ellen Rosen from the Germans, it opened my eyes to the human decency of the Danish people during the occupation. 

Set in Denmark during WWII, this novel has long been considered a classic—and for good reason, too. Well-researched and heart-wrenching, the story follows 10-year-old Annemarie, who risks her life to save those around her during the Danish resistance movement. I fell in love with this book as a child, so it’s no stretch to say that it helped inspire me to someday write my own stories about revolution and resistance.

Number the Stars is one of my all-time favorite books―a book that inspired me to take my family stories to the next level to publication. My father grew up an impoverished boy on the outskirts of Seoul, Korea during the Japanese occupation of the country. He witnessed the brutal beating of his young minister father at the hands of Japanese police who were threatened by the men of the cloth who were few and far between in 1930s Korea.

Similarly, in Number the Stars, protagonist Annemarie Johansen lives in Copenhagen, Denmark under Nazi occupation where an underground uprising against… show more.