Number the Stars
Publication Date:1989
About the Author
Lois Lowry was born on March 20, 1937, in Honolulu, Hawaii. She attended Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, and the University of Southern Maine, where she earned her bachelor's degree in English in 1972. Lowry divides her time between an apartment on Boston's Beacon Hill and an 1840 farmhouse in New Hampshire. Her novel Number the Stars won the Newbery Medal in 1990.
Lowry writes about the ordinary events and emotions of everyday life, such as first dates, making friends, embarrassment, and fear of failure. Lowry often contrasts the imagined and wished dreams of the young with the realities that they must confront.
Overview
Number the Stars is a story about courage. In 1943, Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, has been occupied by Hitler's Third Reich. Soldiers stand on every street corner, and life is changed irrevocably for ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen and her best friend Ellen Rosen. Wartime food shortages and the psychological terror of the Nazi takeover have made life difficult for Danish citizens; now the Nazis have decided to relocate all of Copenhagen's Jewish families, and Ellen is Jewish.
Lowry shows that Jews and non-Jews alike among Denmark's population suffer terribly at the hands of the Nazis. The Johansen family lost its eldest daughter, Inge, just two weeks before her wedding day. When Nazis raided a Resistance meeting attended by Inge, she was intentionally run down and killed by a military car. Later in the novel, Annemarie follows her sister's example, risks her own life for the cause of the Resistance, and saves Ellen's family. Annemarie's quick thinking and selflessness make her a heroine, but she is but one among many ordinary Danish citizens who stand against the Nazis. Number the Stars depicts the courage and the integrity of the Danish people, who proved that even during times of terror, human decency can prevail.
Setting
Number the Stars is set in 1943 in Copenhagen. King Christian X of Denmark surrendered his land to the German invaders in 1940 because Denmark's army was small and any attempt to match military might with the Nazis would have resulted in destruction and suffering. Even after Copenhagen is occupied by the Nazis, the king continues his habit of riding his horse through the streets of the city every morning, without benefit of a bodyguard. When a Nazi soldier asks a young boy where the king's bodyguards are, the boy replies that all of Denmark is the king's bodyguard. Later, when it becomes apparent that the Nazis plan to relocate the country's Jews, Annemarie says, "Now I think that all of Denmark must be the bodyguard for the Jews, as well."
Across a narrow straight from Denmark is Sweden, which has not yet been invaded by the Nazis. The Johansens' efforts to smuggle Ellen and her family to Sweden in Number the Stars accurately reflect the actions of countless Danes who helped their Jewish neighbors escape the country during World War II.
Themes and Characters
Ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen is the protagonist of Number the Stars; all the action of the book is seen through her eyes. Annemarie can remember a time when Nazis in shiny boots were not standing on every street corner; she remembers "the music and the brightly colored lights, the carousel and ice cream" at the Tivoli Gardens. Throughout the book, Annemarie worries that she will not have the courage to stand up to the Nazis. When she is tested, however, she instinctively acts bravely.
The Johansens are a close-knit, loving family. Mr. and Mrs. Johansen have lost one daughter to the Nazis, yet they continue to fight for the Resistance. Like the parents in many of Lowry's books, they are loving and wise, and the reader can see their influence on Annemarie's actions. Annemarie's five-year-old sister Kirsti is too young to comprehend the political situation, and is capable of innocently blurting out secrets, a danger that serves to heighten the tension of the book.
Ellen Rosen's father is a schoolteacher and her mother is one of Mrs. Johansen's best friends. When the Nazis announce their plans to relocate Copenhagen's Jews, Inge's fiance Peter Neilson—himself wounded in the raid that killed Inge—leads Ellen's parents into hiding, while Ellen moves in with the Johansens, pretending that she is their daughter.
The Nazis—infuriated that the Rosens have disappeared—arrive at the Johansens' house one morning at 4 a.m., looking for missing Jews. When the Johansens try to pass off Ellen as their third daughter, the soldiers point out that Ellen has dark hair while Annemarie and Kirsti are blondes. In response, Mr. Johansen produces baby pictures of his three daughters, showing them that Inge was dark-haired as an infant. The Nazis reluctantly accept this as proof but spitefully mutilate the pictures before leaving.
The next day Mrs. Johansen takes Annemarie, Kirsti, and Ellen into the countryside to her brother Henrik's farmhouse. Uncle Henrik is a fisherman who has been transporting Jews to Sweden, hiding them in a secret hollow at the bottom of his boat. At the farm Ellen is reunited with her parents, and that night Mrs. Johansen leads the Rosens down a dark trail to the waterfront.
The Rosens reach the boat safely, but have forgotten to deliver an important sealed packet sent from Peter to Uncle Henrik. To complicate matters, Mrs. Johansen breaks her ankle and is unable to carry the packet herself. Because she is familiar with the path to the boat, Annemarie offers to take the packet to Uncle Henrik. When she encounters a party of Nazis with dogs, Annemarie feigns innocence and models her little sister's behavior. Even though she is frightened, she acts impatient—Just as she knows Kirsti would. As Peter planned, the Nazi dogs sniff the packet, which contains a scented handkerchief, and are thrown off the Rosens' scent.
Only later does Annemarie discover the significance of the scented handkerchief. When she finds out that the Rosens have made it safely to Sweden, she realizes that all of her family have been courageous. 'That's all that brave means—not thinking about the dangers. Just thinking about what you must do," she says. Annemarie, Uncle Henrik, Peter, and the entire Johansen family are memorable examples of ordinary people willing to risk their lives for what they know is right.
Literary Qualities
In Number the Stars Lowry uses small details to illuminate larger events. A scene as mundane as Mrs. Johansen and Mrs. Rosen sitting and sipping from cups together is transformed when the reader realizes that the two mothers are actually drinking hot water flavored with herbs. There is no coffee, tea, or sugar in wartime Copenhagen, and this shortage is just one of many revealed matter-of-factly through Lowry's prose. The children play with paper dolls cut from old magazines; the men who work with Mr. Johansen roll dried weeds in paper in order to smoke; Mr. Rosen corrects school papers at night by candlelight, because there is no electricity; Kirsti gets new shoes, but they are ugly ones, made out of fish skin rather than leather.
Told in the third person, Number the Stars reflects a child's view of the Nazi occupation of Denmark. To Annemarie, the Nazis are impersonal and inscrutable figures. The first time the reader sees the soldiers it is through Annemarie's eyes: 'There were two of them. That meant two helmets, two sets of cold eyes glaring at her, and four tall shiny boots planted firmly on the sidewalk, blocking her path to home." The image of these "shiny boots" runs throughout the book; the Nazis themselves have no identities of their own. Annemarie realizes that the best defense against the Nazis is the preservation of her own identity and ideals. By remaining true to an innate sense of justice, Annemarie and the other members of the Resistance are able to save the lives of many of Denmark's Jews.
Social Sensitivity
Number the Stars is a story that honestly approaches the tragedy of the Holocaust and uses the events of the war to show humanity's potential for courage and decency. In the weeks following the Jewish High Holidays in 1943, nearly seven thousand of Denmark's Jews were smuggled across the sea to Sweden. Lowry does not talk about the Nazi concentration camps or the Jews' struggles elsewhere in Europe. Instead, she chooses to focus on one country—and one particular set of characters—in order to emphasize that ordinary people were involved in the Resistance movement. The Johansens are willing to let Annemarie risk her life to carry the handkerchief to Uncle Henrik. Mother and daughter learn the importance of acting on their beliefs rather than waiting for others to act for them.
Topics for Discussion
1. Why does Mrs. Rosen tell Annemarie that "it is important to be one of the crowd, always"? Can you think of any times when this advice is not valid?
2. Why is Annemarie so upset that the Nazis have been in her country for three years and still cannot speak her language?
3. Why do Uncle Henrik and Mrs. Johansen pretend that their Great-Aunt Birte has died?
4. How does Uncle Henrik explain bravery to Annemarie? Do you agree with his definition?
5. Why do Peter, the Johansens, and Uncle Henrik risk their own lives to save their Jewish friends?
Ideas for Reports and Papers
1. It has been said that Kirsti heightens the tension of the book because she is an unpredictable character. Find examples in the text where this is true. Rewrite one of the scenes in the novel—such as the Nazis' search of the Johansen household—from Kirsti's point of view.
2. What role does Denmark's King Christian X play in Number the Stars? Research King Christian and compare Lowry's portrayal with the historical facts that you gather.
3. Research and report on the World War II Resistance movement in another occupied European country, such as France or Austria.
4. Read Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl, the story of a Jewish teen-ager who is hidden in a Dutch attic during World War II. Compare this real-life story with Lowry's tale. Do you think Number the Stars conveys the horrors of the Holocaust as effectively as Anne's diary? How do the young protagonists, Anne Frank and Annemarie Johansen, compare? What special lessons about courage does Anne teach? What lessons does Annemarie teach?
5. Read one of Lowry's other books for young adults. Compare her writing style in this book with Number the Stars—in particular her creation of compelling characters, and her use of telling details.
For Further Reference
Haley-James, Shirley. "Lois Lowry." Horn Book 66 (August 1990): 422-424. An inside view of the author, written by a close friend.
Lowry, Lois. "Newbery Medal Acceptance." Horn Book 66 (August 1990): 412-421. Lowry talks about winning the Newbery Award for Number the Stars.
Major Books for Young Adults
A Summer to Die, 1977
Find a Stranger, Say Goodbye, 1978
Anastasia Krupnik, 1979
Autumn Street, 1980
Anastasia Again!, 1981
Anastasia at Your Service, 1982
The One Hundredth Thing About Caroline, 1983
Taking Care of Terrific, 1983
Anastasia, Ask Your Analyst, 1984
Us and Uncle Fraud, 1984
Anastasia on Her Own, 1985
Switcharound, 1985
Anastasia Has the Answers, 1986
Rabble Starkey, 1987
Anastasia's Chosen Career, 1987
All About Sam 1988
Number the Stars, 1989
Your Move, J.P., 1990
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Rosanne Donahue
University of Massachusetts at Boston