Number the Stars
Written by Lois Lowry
Reviewed by Tina T. (age 9)
Do you like books that have some true events? Well Number the Stars is the book for you! Annemarie and Ellen were running to their apartment when a Nazi soldier stopped them and asked for their names. Then the Johansens had to help the Rosens escape from the Nazi soldiers. They hid Ellen so the Nazis wouldn’t find her. Ellen had to go to Uncle Henrik’s house to stay safe. Ellen saw her parents again when they were escaping to Sweden.
One theme in Number the Stars is bravery. For example, Annemarie showed bravery when she heard Nazi soldiers coming into the house to look for the Rosens, Annemarie pulled the Star of David necklace from Ellen’s neck and clutched it in her hand so the Nazis wouldn’t see it and know that Ellen was Jewish. Peter and Mama were brave because they helped Jewish people escape in the middle of the night by taking them to Uncle Henrik’s. I liked this book because the author always left me in suspense at the end of each chapter, which made me want to keep on reading the book. My favorite part in the book was when Peter opened Aunt Birte’s coffin! I wanted to know what is in the coffin so badly! My favorite character in the book was Kirsti because she reminded me of my little sister and brother. She was stubborn, feisty, and funny. For example, when the Nazi soldiers came onto the train, Kirsti said without a care, “I’m wearing my new shoes to my Uncle Henrik’s house.” Annemarie’s character changed because she was carefree in the beginning of the story, and then she learned that the Jewish people were treated poorly when the Nazis caught them. She started helping to save Jewish people from going to concentration camps. This book is special because it is a Newbery Award winning book, and it takes place during World War II. This is not like any other book I’ve read because it is really sad when some of the characters are killed by Nazi soldiers, and it was also exciting when the Rosens came to Uncle Henrik’s house and saw Ellen again.
I recommend this book for grades four and up because older kids might understand more about this book than younger kids. I recommend this book because you will learn about how life was during World War II and how people cared and helped others. This story took place in Copenhagen, Denmark. The genre of this book is historical fiction.