Web Book Report

Number The Stars

Lois Lowry

Introduction	Summary	Book Review
Characters and Setting	John – 31 November 12, 2004 Language Arts	Author Info

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Introduction

I will be talking about the summary, a book review, the characters and setting , and facts about the Author from Number the Stars written by Lois Lowry.

Summary

One day a girl named Annemarie and her best friend Ellen were coming home from school and they decided to race the rest of the way home But then a

German guard stopped them and told them not to run ever again. So when the girls got home and told their mothers they told them to go a different way so the guards would not remember them.

The next day Annemarie’s mother noticed that Mrs. Henrik shop was closed by the Nazis. When the girls got home they heard someone knocking on the door, it was the Germans. Since Ellen was staying with Annemarie she couldn’t tell him that so she said that she Lise Annemarie’s dead sister. The Germans were convinced so they left the house.

The next day they got on a train to go to their uncle Henrick’s house in Denmark. He told them that it was Annemarie’s great aunt Birdie that had recently died but they had really brought him their to escape. But then once again the Germans knocked on the door and wanted to see the dead person in the coffin but it was only stuffed with clothes. So they told the German’s that she had a rare disese and they couldn’t touch her so they left. That night they were planning the escape. Ellen’s family got on the boat.

Then when everyone got there they found out that Ellen was safe and that everyone would return home when the war is over.

Characters and Setting

Annemarie is a typical ten year-old girl who deals with typical difficulties of growing up. But these difficulties play out in the complicating and frightening context of the war. War has made Annemarie a thoughtful and introspective girl.

Ellen Rosen – Annemarie’s schoolmate and best friend, she is Jewish. An only child, Ellen is very studious and more serious with her best friend.

Mrs. Johansen – Annemarie’s mother

Peter Neilson – Part of the Resistance movement, he was engaged to Lise Johansen before she died. He visits the Johansen family occasionally bringing them news and gifts.

Henrik – Mrs. Johansen’s younger brother, he is a fisherman. He plays an important role in saving Ellen and his family.

Setting – Copenhagen, Denmark. Takes place in 1943

About the Author

Lois Lowry is an American author whose fiction for young adults explores serious issues. She won the 1990 and 1994 Newbery medals for Number the Stars (1989) and The Giver (1993). In Number the Stars, Lowry describes the experiences of a Danish family who shelter a Jewish girl from Nazi invaders during World War II (1939-1945). The Giver is the first of three related science fiction novels about strictly controlled societies of the future. The other two novels are Gathering Blue (2000) and Messenger (2004). The Giver is a chilling portrait of a country in which some people are allowed to decide the fate of all others. Gathering Blue is set in a grim society that artists play a vital role in improving. Messenger takes place seven years after the action in Gathering Blue. Lowry also wrote The Silent Boy (2003), which describes a friendship between a 9-year-old girl and a mentally challenged farm boy in the early 1900's.

Lowry began her career writing about youngsters who face serious challenges, such as a death in the family, adoption, and moving. A Summer to Die (1977), her first novel, established Lowry as an important author of young adult fiction. She has also written a humorous series about a rebellious girl named Anastasia Krupnik, beginning with Anastasia Krupnik (1979). Lowry was born on March 20, 1937, in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Other Books by this Author v The Giver v A Summer to Die v Anastasia

Book Review

I thought this was a very good book. After every page left me in suspense and always made me turn the page. All of the words in the story left a vivid picture in my head. Since the book was about the holocaust it also helped me learn about people’s lives during that time.