Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

Rachel Buccieri

Summary: Number The Stars by Lois Lowry is a very good depiction of the Holocaust and the emotions behind the terrible genocide. This novel is about a ten-year- old girl named Annemarie Johansen, her best friend Ellen, and her younger sister Kirsti. It is a very interesting novel, because Annemarie is not Jewish, but Ellen is. Annemarie is extremely confused why shops are getting closed and she and Ellen are stopped by the police at the night. As a ten-year-old girl she is struggling to put together the pieces. There seem to be many secrets kept from her because she is so young and her family and family friends want to keep her safe and naïve of the situation. For example, her sister Lise is dead, and she was told because it was of a car accident. However, she later finds out she was killed by the Germans. She finds out her great Aunt Bertie is dead; she is not in the coffin though. The parents inform Annemarie she died of a very contagious sickness and that is why she is not allowed in the coffin. It is later revealed that she was killed by the Germans as well. There are several deaths throughout the novel and mysteries that will shed light on the horror that the Holocaust truly was. Also, there is enough action in the book to keep the students intrigued- such as the scene when the police try to take Ellen away from the Johansens (where she was in hiding) and they do not believe she is a part of their family because of her dark hair. Luckily, Mr. Johansen shows a baby picture of Lise with dark hair, convincing the police officer. This book embodies heartache, fear, secrecy, death, maturity, and several other themes that are important for a student to learn.

Teachability: I think this book is very teachable. I remember I first read this book when I was in fourth grade and we read it while we learning about the Holocaust in our Social Studies class. I think this is very beneficial because this not only helps fill in the historical pieces, it also shows an emotional side of the entire event. I think it is important for students to see how all of these historical happenings influenced the people involved. It is gender neutral even though it is a girl protagonist and they do things like play with dolls, because it does have a serious overall theme that boys can relate to as well. Since it was about a ten-year-old girl I believe it is good for anywhere from 4^th-6^th grade, because the writing is good but not sophisticated enough for older students.