Main Characters: Annemarie, Ellen, Kirsti, Mr. & Mrs. Johansen, Henrick, Peter
Setting: Copenhagen
Summary: Annemarie and her family lived in Copenhagen during the time when Germany was taking over. When the Nazis begin taking Jews from their homes, the Johansen's take their neighbor and Annemarie's best friend, Ellen, into their home and pretend she is one of their own. Annemarie, her mother, sister, and Ellen go to visit her Uncle Henrick who is a fisherman with his own boat. When Ellen's parents and other families show up at her uncles, Annemarie realizes they didn't just come for a simple visit. Henrick and Annemarie's almost brother-in-law Peter take the families to their boats to get the Jewish families safely to Sweden. These boats had hiding places built by the fisherman. When Ellen's father drops a packet that was supposed to get on the boat later found by Annemarie, she knows she has to risk her life and take it to the boat before it leaves. Annemarie is stopped in the woods by four soldiers who look through her basket with the packet in it. Annemarie learns that she brought her uncle a handkerchief that saved her friends life. The handkerchief contained a special drug that makes dogs ruin their sense of smell and since the German officers had dogs trying to find these Jewish runaways, they used these handkerchiefs on the boats. Had Annemarie not been so brave, the dogs would've smelled the families and they would've been caught.
I would use this in my classroom by having students read chapters and discuss after each chapter. I would also connect this to history lessons and have students write in their journal about the book. I would have them answer questions, such as: "What would you have done if you were Annemarie?"
Questions to consider:
- How will the book help students understand history?
- How will the book help students gain perspective?
- Would you recommend this book? If so, to whom?
Reference:
Lowry, Lois. Number the Stars. New York. Scholastic Teaching Resources, 2003. Print.
I think that the author did a really good job describing the events in the book, making it easy for the reader to visualize what was happening. Would you consider having your students illustrate some of the events? I would definitely recommend this book to 4-6 graders. I remember reading this book when I was in school, I just cannot remember what grade I was in.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this book and definitely think upper elementary students could benefit from it. I think one of the things they could definitely illustrate is to draw what they pictured the boats with the hiding places looking like. That would be interesting to see what students picture when they see these boats with people hiding in them.
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