Number the Stars

Memorable, Compelling, Enlightening, Moving, Suspenseful

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

Published by Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers

Copyright 1989

Newbery Medal Winner 1990

Historical Fiction

Number the Stars is a story told through the eyes of 10 year old Annemaire Johansen. This story takes place in Denmark in 1943, during the time when Nazi soldiers have invaded. The Nazis are posted on every street corner, poking and prodding themselves into the lives of all Danish citizens. While they have already limited their use of electricity and rationed their food, the Nazis’ main intentions are to “relocate” the Jewish people. Annemarie chronicles the journey she and her family take in order to save the lives of their friends, the Rosens. Ellen Rosen is Annemarie’s best friend. Ellen is taken in by Annemarie’s family and pretends to be their third daughter while friends of the Johansen family are plotting to save Ellen’s parents. Annemarie’s uncle has a fishing boat that he uses to hide and save Jewish families by smuggling them to Sweden, which is a country free of Nazi soldiers. Annemarie, her mother, her sister Kristi, and Ellen stay with Annemarie’s uncle. After a few days, Ellen is reunited with her parents. That night, The Rosen family and other Jewish families are taken to Annemarie’s uncle’s boat in small groups, so as to not be detected by roaming Nazis. While Ellen’s family and other Jewish families are awaiting their departure from Denmark to Sweden, Annemarie delivers a handkerchief to her uncle. This simple handkerchief is infused with dried rabbit’s blood and cocaine in order to destroy the Nazi dogs’ sense of smell so that they will not smell the people hiding below the decks of the fishing boat. The story concludes with the successful delivery of the handkerchief and the safe arrival of the Rosen family in Sweden.

Suggested Delivery: Independent Read, Small Group Read
Grade Level (Lexile): 670L, Ages 10-14

Key Vocabulary: rueful, imperious, deftly, rucksack, residential, plodding, prodded, incident, exaggerating, "Resistance", sabotage, trousseau, swastika, disdainfully, belligerently, Sabbath, synagogue 

Teaching Suggestions:

• Before Reading: Discuss the idea of a Historical Fiction novel. Explain to students that this novel is based on true events from 1943 when Nazi soldiers invaded Denmark and the Jewish people were to be "relocated". Ask students to make predictions about the novel using the illustrations on the front cover, the short summary on the back of the book, and what they already know about the events of 1943 involving Nazi soldiers. 
• During Reading: Author, Lois Lowry creates suspense in Number the Stars. Discuss with the students how suspense is used in the novel. Students will make connections to other texts that were suspenseful and made them want to keep reading. Discuss elements of a story that might keep a reader's interest and make them want to continue reading. Students will talk about examples or events in Number the Stars that keep their attention.
• After Reading: Discuss concepts like prejudice and ethnocentrism and how each relates to the novel. Discuss significant events of the story, focusing on those that depict prejudice and/or ethnocentrism. Each student will pick an event and write a short essay telling of the event and how it made them feel. Students will also mention prior experiences or other novels that may have centered around these concepts.

Writing Activity: Annemarie changed as a person throughout the book. She discovers what it means to have courage and pride; she understands the meaning of friendship. In response to the book, students will write about Annemarie's transformation with regards to the concepts of courage, pride, and friendship. Students will include examples from the text to support their writing.

Electronic Resources

• Vocabulary,Questions, Activities: This website may be helpful to teachers because it includes some of the difficult vocabulary words and their definitions. It also includes online comprehension questions that students can use to monitor their own comprehension, as well as printable questions that teachers can distribute to students. Activites for each chapter are included on the site. These activities are specific to a set of chapters. Suggestions for lesson plans are part of this site, as well as printable vocabulary practice worksheets that can also be used as quizzes.
• Study Guide: This website provides teachers with sample questions that provide students with the opportunity to write open-ended responses. These questions are in groups based on the types of responses that are required from students. Teachers will also find this site helpful because it provides sample activities such as a Double Entry Journal. This site also includes key concepts and terms so that teachers can use this novel to compare other topics like predjudice or racism.

Lowry, L. (1989). Number the stars. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co..