Number the Stars is written by Louis Ann Lowry, an American writer who has received 2 Newbery Medals for her works. Number the Stars is a historical fiction book that is written from a 3rd person limited point of view. It takes place during World War II in Copenhagen, Denmark, through the eyes of a 10 year old girl named Annemarie Johansen. The story is about what Annemarie goes through as some relatives of hers help smuggle Jewish people across the sea to Sweden, including her best friend Ellen Rosen. The characters include the Rosen family which consists of Ellen and her parents. And the Johansen family which includes Annemarie, her parents, younger sister Kirsti, her older sister Lise who is dead in this story, Uncle Henrik, and a cat they adopted further into the story. Other characters are Peter and the antagonists, the German Soldiers, in other words, the Nazis. This story is about the troubles of Annemarie during World War II, a bit of her backstory, and the difficult times she went through.
This story revolves a lot around religion, the bible, and World War II. The title is Number the Stars, a paraphrase title could be Number the Stars. But who exactly is numbering the stars? Well according to what Peter had said, it’s God numbering the stars. And the stars are actually “the scattered sons of Israel”. This is like numbering the stars because there are too many people, just like how there are too many stars. What Peter had said in the book was actually a phrase from Psalm 147:4, which is from The Old Testament, and The Old Testament is part of the bible. There is also a New Testament which was created by the Nazis, but then why are the Nazi’s attacking the Jewish if they share practically the same bible? This is because of Antisemitism, the Jewish were wanted to be terminated simply because of their ethnicity. This is also part of a holocaust because the Nazis want to terminate just one race.
A very major, and intense part of the story was when Annemarie had to run to her Uncle Henrik to give him something that was crucial to their escape. Unfortunately, on the way, Annemarie bumped into a group of intimidating German Soldiers along with 2 vicious looking dogs. Luckily she talked her way out of it, but either way, it must’ve taken her a lot of courage to face such dangerous people. Courage is “the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc.,”. Thus meaning the Johansen family was very courageous as they weren’t in any danger, it was the Jewish people, but they were still putting themselves in danger simply to help. Helping others may sometimes be dangerous and risky. For example, Lise died because she was helping others hatch a plan to help the Jews escape. And Peter was shot to death after being caught helping the Jews. Although being courageous may not end well for you, it will always affect the person you helped in a positive way.
Throughout the story, Annemarie is not just courageous, she displays herself growing and maturing. Annemarie already started out very responsible as a 10 year old because her younger sister was oblivious of the war and had to keep her safe often. Annemarie started out scared of many things, especially the German Soldiers. In the beginning of the book, she was having a race with Ellen and Kirsti when she bumped into some German Soldiers. She stood very still and started shaking and her voice was stuttering. But a few nights later, when the German Soldiers came to her house, in a steady voice she lied to them to keep Ellen safe. Now Annemarie was showing improvement to her bravery and was maturing. She then delivered the packet safely which saved everyone on board Uncle Henrik’s ship from being caught and tortured. And she faced the German Soldiers alone too. She didn’t even stutter and although she was scared at first, she faced them bravely and wasn’t caught.
Number the Stars is told from a 3rd person point of view which is limited to only young, 10 year old Annemarie’s thoughts. The story revolves around the bible, religion, World War II, courage, and maturity. The bible is part of the title as Number the Stars means God counting people. And the phrase that tells us this is from the Old Testament which is from the bible. There is also a New Testament that the Nazis made because they don’t want the same religion as the Jewish as that religion is supposed to be terminated (Anitimisem). Since the story is told from Annemarie’s perspective, most of the themes revolve around her own traits. One of them is her courageousness. She displays this when she risks herself to help her friend Ellen and the rest of the escapees on her Uncle Henrik’s boat. Courage may sometimes lead to unfortunate endings for you, but it will always lead to a positive ending for the person you helped. Annemarie also matures throughout the story. She started out very scared of the German Soldiers, but in the end she was able to face them bravely by herself. Number the Stars is an outstanding book on historical fiction and can teach you about the life of people back when World War II was happening, while still entertaining the reader.
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