Number the Stars

Lowry, L. (1989). Number the stars. New York: Yearling.

Imagine a time when people were faced with losing family and friends based on their ethniticity, or better yet, because of their religion.  Dear Annemarie Johansen and her family lived during this time period; one of the most horrific time periods in history, the Holocaust.

The Johansen's lived a "normal" life in Copenhagen, Denmark when the Nazi's invaded their community and the normality that they knew began crashing around them.  The fathers still worked, the children still attended school, but things that we now consider essentials in our daily life, such as sugar and electricity were rationed. 

This story depicts the true friendship of two little girls and their families and the faith, hope, and strength that they had.  On the eve of the Jewish new year, the Rosen's attend the synagogue to discover that their lives are in grave danger simply because they are Jews.  It is at this point that Annemarie and her mother take on the dangerous task of getting the Rosen's past the Nazi's, and on a boat to Sweden to their safety.