Number the Stars
By Lois Lowry
Recommended for grades 3 and up
As the German troops begin to “relocate” all the Jews of Denmark,
Annemarie Johansen’s family takes in Annemarie’s best friend, Ellen Rosen,
and conceals her as part of the family. Through the eyes of ten-year-old
Annemarie, we watch as the Danish Resistance smuggles almost the entire
Jewish population of Denmark, nearly seven thousand people, across the sea
to Sweden. The heroism of an entire nation reminds us that there was pride
and human decency in the world even during a time of terror and war.
What to do before reading the story
 Ask the children, would you ever be willing to risk your life for another person? Under what
circumstances might you take this risk?
 While few people will ever be called to risk their lives for a friend or neighbor, many of us run into
situations that require courage to stand up for someone else. Ask the children to share such a
situation in their own lives.
 Share background about the Holocaust. Discuss the genre of historical fiction as literature.
Things to talk about during the story
 Discuss the setting of the book and how life changes during wartime. Ask the children, how does the
leadership of the Danish king affect the people of Denmark?
 Ask children to look at the chapter titles. Each one represents a decision on the part of the author.
Ask children if they would have chosen the same ones.
Things to talk about after reading the story
 Ask children, when Ellen becomes an adult, do you think she will be bitter? How will she remember
Annemarie and her family?
 Discuss why non-Jewish families like the Johansens wanted to help Jewish families and individuals
like the Rosens, while other families did not. Talk about what friendship means.
 Ask children to read The Butterfly by Patricia Polacco and make comparisons with Number the
Stars.
Family involvement
 Plan a family read-in. Designate a length of time and date when everyone in the family must read.
 Make a booklist of family favorites. What else we can read? Encourage the reading of a nonfiction
book on the Resistance Movement.
Community connection
 Participate in The Butterfly Project. See http://www.twotownsonebook.org
 Volunteer in the community as a family.
Some of our favorite related sites:
http://www.glencoe.com/sec/literature/litlibrary/pdf/number_the_stars.pdf
http://earthrenewal.org/Number%20the%20stars%20by%20Lois%20Lowery.htm
http://www.carolhurst.com/titles/numberthestars.html