Lois Lowry - L-i-t Guide Literature in Teaching Number the Stars

Pros: wonderful coming of age story, worthy tribute to the Danes who saved their Jewish neighbors

Cons: doesn't really convey the horrors of the Holocaust

The Bottom Line: A gentle way to introduce children to the Holocaust and a fitting tribute to the many Danes who hid Jews from the Nazis, read this book.

Review: And it's Eichmann and Himmler are turning the screws
The Fuhrer they say grows impatient
"How can it be Denmark's Jews still walk free
After three years of kind occupation?"
We will take them like sheep in their beds as they...

Pros: A very important story, told impeccably.

Cons: Because it emphasizes female characters, this book may appeal more to girls than boys.

The Bottom Line: Lowry succeeds magnificently in making a powerful Holocaust tale accessible to young readers.

Review: How many nine-year-olds know where Denmark is? Or even what it is? How many of them know that Denmark surrendered to the Germans in 1940? Or that the Nazis occupied this small kingdom? What are Nazis anyway? And aren't kingdoms just magical places...

Pros: Excellent exposure to life as the Holocaust looms

Cons: None

The Bottom Line: This is a great way for children to learn about the Holocaust and the need for good people to not be silent in the face of evil.

Review:
This book provides a wonderful opportunity for both kids and parents to read a good story together and study history from a children's perspective.

I always enjoyed reading historical novels, even as a kid, and my daughter, who isn't...

Pros: beautiful book, well written, perfect for young inquisitive minds

Cons: harsh subject matter

Review: I thought that I had made a mistake. I had taken my daughter, aged 9, to the movies and we saw Jakob the Liar. The previews didn't seems to have anything in it that would suggest it was anything but some guy making the worst of a crappy...

Pros: perfect introduction to the Holocaust for young readers

Cons: none

Review: Having been hugely impressed with Lois Lowry's Newbery Medal winning novel, The Giver, I decided to read her other Newbery Medal winner (1990), Number the Stars. I was not disappointed.

While the story is composed of...

Pros: Great story, suspenseful.

Cons: none

Review: I received this book from an unlikely source. My 65 year old father. His reading interests usually are limited almost exclusively to Sci-Fi and Kurt Vonnegut. So I was surprised when he handed me this book which was obviously a childs book. He told...

Pros: concise; easy to read

Cons: none

Review: Teaching children about the Holocaust is not an easy thing to do.. especially 90 12 year old children.. in the year 2000. World War II is as far removed to them as the Civil War or even Ancient Rome. Most sixth graders enter my classroom never...

Pros: Excellent children's literature...

Cons: Some bleeding-hearts tried to ban it...

Review: Lois Lowry tackled a hairy beast when she slammed the architects of the Holocaust into the realm of kiddie books. Yet she did it with such style and finesse that the Nazis become man-eating ogres, Annemarie and Ellen are best friends trying to...

Pros: Tells a story of courage and friendship that is not only entertaining but educational

Cons: none

The Bottom Line: This is a wonderful book for everyone

Review: As the story begins you are introduced to two best friends, Annemarie Johansen and Ellen Rosen. They are living in Denmark during the times of German occupation. At first they are able to live normally minus a few luxeries, but as the story develops...

Pros: The afterword; the title's source; Lowry's style

Cons: The situation, of course!

The Bottom Line: NUMBER THE STARS will not leave you untouched.

Review: Not even the homeland of Hans Christian Andersen was untouched by tragedy, including tragedy perpetrated by the Nazis.

Even before 10-year-old Annemarie Johansen, her little sister Kirsti, and their friend Ellen Rosen are stopped by...