 |
Lowry, L. (1989). Number the stars. New York, NY: Yearling.
Read on June 7, 2012. A Newbery Award Winner for 1990.
|
Young Annemarie Johansen is not in any danger of being sent away to a concentration camp because her family is not of Jewish descent. Her best friend, Ellen Rosen, faces that danger every day because her family is. As the threat of sending these families to concentration camp draws closer, the Rosen family decides to send their daughter to live with the Johansen family. When Ellen meets back up with her mother and father again, they are at Uncle Henrik's house for a "funeral". He has devised an escape plan for these fugitives. Annemarie dangerously, and unknowinly becomes a part of this plan when her mother hurts her foot, thereby forcing Annemarie to deliver "lunch" to her Uncle Henrik on the boat. The young girl finds herself face to face with German soldiers and is forced to tell lies in order to make her important delivery. What Annemarie doesn't realize, though, is that her lunch basket contains a secret potion that throws the dogs of the scent of the escapees. She did not even know that in being so brave, she is singlehandedly responsible for saving the life of her friend. In honor of her dear friend, Annemarie decides that she will wear the Star of David until the two friends meet up again.
Since Number the Stars tackles difficult concepts of life back in the Nazi time, I’ve always imagined that students would get a better understanding of what the book is about by reading it together. This book could be used as a guided reading book that would span several weeks (Fountas and Pinnell). It would also make a good literature circle book because it leads to some deep discussion between peers (Langer-sociocognitive theory).
No comments:
Post a Comment