Introduction

This book was a very interesting book in that it was about real life events. It took place in Denmark with a ten-year-old girl named Annemarie, and her best friend, Ellen. They lived through a very tough period of time when the Nazis were after the Jews. Ellen is Jewish and has to try to avoid the Nazis throughout the whole story. Ellen and her family escape to Sweden and they are all safe.

Summary

Annemarie and Ellen are two best friends who lived in the town of Copenhagen, Denmark. They go to school together everyday and have a lot of homework, and come home together to food shortages at dinner. One day while coming home from school, they were questioned, and then told to go home and study. Their mothers told them to avoid the soldiers.

The next day, Annemarie’s mother noticed that her button had broken so they decide to go to Mrs. Hirsch’s shop. It is closed. The Nazis closed the shop so that the Jewish Mrs. Hirsch could not make a living. The Nazis are after the Jews of Denmark. Ellen moves in and pretends to be part of Annemarie’s family, and Peter, a friend, helps Ellen’s parents leave Copenhagen. The Nazis come to Annemarie’s home, but her mother tricks them into believing that Ellen is Annemarie’s sister Lise. Lise is actually dead.

The next day they all take a train to northern Denmark to a small house by the sea. It is the house of Uncle Henrik, and the house where Annemarie’s mother used to live in her childhood. Uncle Henrick brings a coffin into the living room and tells Annemarie and Ellen that it is Great-Aunt-Brite. The coffin is really filled with clothes and blankets for the cold weather. The Nazis come and want to open the coffin, but Annemarie’s mother tells them that the aunt died from typhus. The Nazis are afraid to open the coffin and leave.

That night Peter arrived with the rest of the Rosen family. Uncle Henrik took the Rosen family to his fishing boat through the forest so that he could them to freedom in Sweden. He forgot his handkerchief that contains a special drug to kill the scent of the dogs. Annemarie’s mother asks her to do a dangerous thing. Her mother prepares a lunch basket containing the handkerchief, bread, and cheese, and asks her to go through the forest in the night to deliver it to Uncle Henrik’s boat. The Nazis stop Annemarie. They take the bread and give it to their dogs, but let her continue with the basket. Annemarie gets the basket to Uncle Henrik and he is very happy. When the dogs come to search the boat, they smell the handkerchief and then cannot smell the Rosens. Annemarie and her mother receive word that Ellen and the Rosens are safe in Sweden. Annemarie’s mother decides to tell her what really happened to Lise. Trying to help Jews escape, Lise was run over by a Nazi car.

With the help of people like Annemarie’s family, Uncle Henrik, Peter and Lise, over seven thousand Jews escaped Denmark and survived World War II.

Setting

The setting of this story is in Denmark during World War II. It takes place in about nineteen forty-three. It was the time period when the Nazis were trying to persecute Jews.

Characters

The main characters in the book were Annemarie, Ellen, the soldiers, and Uncle Henrik. Annemarie was a ten-year-old girl who tried to help her friend Ellen escape the Nazis. She does many dangerous things for Ellen. The soldiers try to stop Annemarie and Ellen, but they get away by acting like silly little girls. Annemarie’s mother takes the whole family out to the country where she and Uncle Henrik used to live. Uncle Henrik gets a very important handkerchief that kills the scent of the soldiers’ dogs while they are trying to search Uncle Henrik’s boat for any Jews trying to escape to Sweden.

About the Author

Lois Lowry is the author of many well-loved books including The One Hundredth Thing About Caroline; Switch-around; Taking Care of Terrific; Autumn Street; Us and Uncle Fraud; Rabble Starkey; Anastasia Again! ; Anastasia, Ask Your Analyst; Anastasia on Her Own; Anastasia Has the Answers; Anastasia’s Chosen Career; and All About Sam, all available in Yearling editions. Ms. Lowry divides her time between Boston and New Hampshire.

Book Review

I think this book was very well written. The author described the characters and their feelings very well. She organized the book well and presented the information in a suspenseful manner. The following is one of the great quotes from the story. “Annemarie, it is sometimes better not to know the reasons for the things we do, and to never know throughout your whole life.”