Genre: Middle Grade Historical Fiction (Age 9 and up)

Amazon.com Review

The evacuation of Jews from Nazi-held Denmark is one of the great untold stories of World War II. On September 29, 1943, word got out in Denmark that Jews were to be detained and then sent to the death camps. Within hours the Danish resistance, population and police arranged a small flotilla to herd 7,000 Jews to Sweden. Lois Lowry fictionalizes a true-story account to bring this courageous tale to life. She brings the experience to life through the eyes of 10-year-old Annemarie Johannesen, whose family harbors her best friend, Ellen Rosen, on the eve of the round-up and helps smuggles Ellen’s family out of the country. Number the Stars won the 1990 Newbery Medal.

I first read/heard this book in college when John Smith, my Teaching Reading professor, read it aloud to our class. I fell in love with it, bought it, and have read it to all the elementary students I taught and my own children. You know it’s a good story when you can read it that many times and never tire of it. Any book by Lois Lowry is a good pick. If you like dystopian fiction you may also enjoy The Giver as much as I did.