Number the Stars byL Lois Lowry - Historical Fiction Primary

Number the Stars is a story told through Annamarie Johannesen's eyes, a ten-year-old. Her family is living through World War II, living in Copenhagen, Denmark. There are curfews and slim food to pick from; life is really uncomfortable and difficult. For instance, people have to be creative to make shoes, since leather is no longer available (they use fish scales). The situation takes an even worse turn when it is publicized that all Jewish people will be rounded up and relocated. Annamarie and her family help her Jewish friend and others escape to Sweden. I think this book is very well written and pretty factual; the best part is after the book, the author explains the realities that the book was based upon. I think that a teacher could incorporate this novel into a history lesson; readers will learn how desperate this time was.