Number the Stars Questions
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Number the Stars questions will help you study for your test over the Lois Lowry young adult book or just get a fuller understanding of the novel. Questions from some of the most memorable books in history bring the deepest meanings of stories to the surface.
Number the Stars Questions
What Is the Book About?
A Newbery winner in 1990, Number the Stars is a book of historical fiction told from a ten-year-old girl's perspective. It is set during World War II in Nazi-occupied Denmark. The Nazis are attempting to move the Jews of Denmark to death camps and ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen's family is part of the Danish Resistance, a group of normal Danish citizens who work together to help Jews get to Sweden without being detected. Annemarie's best friend, Ellen Rosen, has to escape along with about 7,000 others, and Annemarie has to do her part to help.
What Is the Book's Theme?
There are actually a few themes. One theme encompasses growing up. Another is the power of friendship. Still another is bravery. All are interlinked. Annemarie grows through the bravery she has to call upon to save her friend's life. Throughout the story, she's worried about whether she will be brave enough to do what needs to be done if she has to interact with the Nazis and when the time comes, she acts as if by instinct and appears innocent to them.
She listens as the adults she has looked up to lie to the Nazis to shield the Jews from danger, and then she listens to them brag about just how well they lied. This is new to a child, who is generally taught that lying is wrong. She learns about the gray areas of what is right and what is wrong, something that happens with mental and emotional maturity, usually achieved over the course of years. With her bravery and these gray areas of maturity, she transforms into a stronger, more adult version of herself over the course of the story.
On a larger scale, nearly the whole country of Denmark is fighting back in its own ways, along with the king, to keep from being consumed by the occupation of the Nazis and to save the Jews. There is the Danish Resistance group, for example, plus the king who rides through the streets every morning
What Is the Setting?
The story is set in Denmark during World War II (the story starts in 1943). Denmark's King Christian X has surrendered his land to Germany in order to avoid the inevitable bloodshed and misery that would come with a battle that Denmark would surely lose in the end. The Nazis occupy Copenhagen.
What Are Some of the Symbols Used Throughout the Book?
The Star of David: This symbolizes friendship. First, Annamarie takes a Star of David pendant off Ellen's neck to protect her from the Nazis. After Ellen has escaped and the war has ended, she pulls it out and puts it around her neck until Ellen can come back for it. Other things the Star of David stands for in the book are Annemarie's new, wider outlook on life, and the hopelessness of the Jews as they're forced to hide their religion.
The seashell: The seashell symbolizes protection and the way things sometimes aren't as they appear. The characters are seeking protection (or working to protect their friends). Some of the characters are not what they appear to be on the surface.
The woods: These symbolize Annemarie's passage into adulthood. When she's crossing through them in order to help her friends, she is embracing a bravery that comes with having to complete a dangerous adult task.
What Is the Tone?
The tone is no-nonsense, which mirrors the serious subject matter.
Who Is the Protagonist?
Annemarie Johansen, the ten-year-old girl.
From Which Point of View Is the Book Written?
The book is narrated in the third person omniscient, but the point of view is Annemarie's.
What Is the Book's Climax?
Annemarie has to get a very important envelope to her Uncle Henrik at the boat right before the escape. She has to travel through the woods to get there in time, but the Nazis stop her.
Name a Case of Foreshadowing in the Story
The mention of Little Red Riding Hood in the story foreshadows the scene where she's carrying the very important envelope through the woods to the boat destined for Sweden when the Nazis stop her.
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