Number the Stars by Lois Lowry Narrated by Blair Brown

1. BIBLIOGRAPHY Lowry, L. (Author). Brown, B. (Narrator). (2004). Number the Stars [Three CDs]. Listening Library, Unabridged CD - Library Edition. ISBN 9781400085552

2. PLOT SUMMARY
A Danish family risks their lives to save a Jewish family during the Holocaust. Ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen and her family help her best friend Ellen Rosen and family escape from German occupied Denmark. They take the families to her Uncle Henrik’s house north of Copenhagen in the North Sea. After a daring night escape from the Nazis, Henrik takes the Rosen family and others on a boat ride to freedom in Sweden.

3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Newbery Award winning Number the Stars is a historical fiction book based on many real events during the Holocaust. Lois Lowry blends in history in such a moving way that you often think the characters are real. In her author’s notes she describes how she walked the streets in Copenhagen and imagined how a ten year old would view events of World War II. She researched how Danish King Christian X helped the people of his German occupied country resist the Nazis. Lowry mentions how the Swedish scientists worked on fooling the German police dogs from sniffing out Jewish people by creating a powerful powder composed of dried rabbit’s blood and cocaine. The blood attracted the dogs and when they sniffed it the cocaine numbed their noses and destroyed, temporarily, their sense of smell. With well placed history packed scenarios throughout the book you get a feel for how the Danish Resistance helped save Jewish people. The details Lowry describes have you focused on the attitudes, values, and morals of the Danish people. Blair Brown brilliantly narrates this story often changing her voice to depict the little girls, grown women, men and the German Nazis. Hearing the intonation of her voice compels the listener to feel the suspense of the danger and excitement of the powerful story unfolding. This unabridged audio book is giftedly orchestrated.

4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S)
Nola Theiss (KLIATT Review, May 2004 (Vol. 38, No. 3)) This Newbery Award-winning children's book can be listened to by the whole family. While the main characters are only ten years old, their story is a universal one of man's inhumanity to man and also of the goodness and courage of others, willing to risk their own safety for their fellow human beings.
Jeni Menenedez (Audiofile, April/May 2004) With vocal versatility, Blair Brown portrays the soft-spoken Johannesens, as well as the loud, brutal Nazis. When important conversations take place, she lowers her voice to cue listeners to pay closer attention. The combination of Brown's steady voice and Lowry's dramatic story creates a mesmerizing production.
Awards, Honors, Prizes:
Charlotte Award, 1992 Winner Grades 3-5 United States
Jane Addams Children's Book Award, 1990 Honor Book United States
John Newbery Medal, 1990 Winner United States
National Jewish Book Awards, 1990 Winner United States
Sydney Taylor Book Awards, 1989 Winner Older Readers United States


5. CONNECTIONS
• Recommended for grades 4-8
• Another book that students can read that depicts the struggles a family faces during the Holocaust is The Diary of Anne Frank
• For younger students: A picture book of Anne Frank by David A. Adler
• Students can visit this website and put names, photographs and biographies of children who survived the Holocaust http://graceproducts.com/fmnc/main.htm
• Students can act out the daring escape by night moving around silently
• Guest speakers can be invited to discuss the Holocaust
• Other subjects can be researched about Denmark during World War II 1939-1945