Friday Favorites: Number the Stars

Number the Stars by Lois Lowry

Recommended for: 9 and up

Rating: PG (scary situations)

 Ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen and her best friend Ellen Rosen often think of life before the war. It's now 1943 and their life in Copenhagen is filled with school, food shortages, and the Nazi soldiers marching through town. When the Jews of Denmark are "relocated," Ellen moves in with the Johansens and pretends to be one of the family. Soon Annemarie is asked to go on a dangerous mission to save Ellen's life. 

I first read this book for school several years ago. Although I didn't understand some of the history, I still enjoyed the story.

The story is set in Denmark during World War II while the Germans are occupying Denmark. Annemarie's best friend is Jewish, so the story is about how Annemarie's family tries to protect their friends and get them to safety. The book has some parts with the soldiers that put you on edge, while you're hoping that the soldiers don't find out that their friends are Jewish and arrest them. I love it when books, TV shows and movies do that.

I don't remember the book being too predictable, but it has been awhile since I have read it so it might be a little predictable. I remember loving the characters and getting into the story. There aren't too many characters, so they weren't hard to keep up with. It was also interesting to learn about Denmark, since when I read it I didn't know anything about Denmark. (I have now read a whole book about Denmark.)

Number the Stars is a good children's book about World War II. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction.