Number the Stars
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| Author | Lois Lowry |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Lois Lowry |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Historical fiction |
| Published | 1989 |
| Media type | book |
| Pages | 158 |
| Awards | Newbery Medal: 1990 |
Number the Stars (1989) is a work of historical fiction by American author Lois Lowry, about the escape of a Jewish family (the Rosens) from Copenhagen during World War II. The story centers on ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen, who lives with her family in Copenhagen in 1943. She becomes a part of the events related to the rescue of the Danish Jews, when thousands of Jews were helped to reach neutral ground in Sweden in order to avoid being relocated to concentration camps. She risked her life in order to help her best friend, Ellen Rosen, by pretending that Ellen is Annemarie's late older sister Lise, who had died earlier in the war. Lise had been killed by the Nazi military as a result of her work with the Danish Resistance. The story's title is taken from a reference to , in which the writer relates that God has numbered all the stars and has named each one of them. It ties into the Star of David, worn by Ellen on her necklace, which is symbolic to Judaism.
The novel was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1990 as the previous year's "most distinguished contribution to American literature for children". Lois Lowry traveled to Copenhagen to conduct research and interviews for the book. She took the photo of the girl used for the cover (shown in infobox here). That cover was used on many editions of the book.
Annemarie Johansen and her friend, Ellen Rosen, are ten-year-old girls living in Copenhagen, Denmark, during World War II. Annemarie has a 5-year-old sister named Kirsti. There are Nazis on every street corner in Copenhagen. Butter, sugar, coffee, cigarettes, and other goods are unavailable. Electricity and many other things have been rationed.
After an encounter with two German soldiers, Annemarie and Ellen are much more careful. Later on, it turns out that for unknown reasons the Germans are "relocating" Denmark's Jews. At the synagogue, the Nazis have taken the names and addresses of all the Jewish people in Copenhagen. Ellen and her family are Jewish. Ellen's parents have fled with Peter, the former fiancé of Annemarie's older sister, Lise, who died years ago. Ellen must stay with the Johansens, pretending to be Lise, even though she is half the age of the real Lise. Soldiers enter the Johansens' apartment at 4 in the morning, thinking that the Rosens are "Paying a visit" to the Johansens. Annemarie and Ellen wake up and Annemarie breaks the Star of David necklace off Ellen's neck. If the soldiers saw it, they would have known Ellen was a Jew. The soldiers see Ellen's dark hair and become suspicious, because the Johansens have blond hair, and Ellen has brown hair. Luckily, Lise had brown hair as an infant. Mr. Johansen shows the Nazis a picture of baby Lise, and they leave.
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