Most readers know Ms. Lowry for her book The Giver, and perhaps its sequels. Those books are generally considered teen or young adult, but younger readers often discover them too. They have that dystopian bent that is so appealing in fiction. They are relatable, and yet not, and in the process get their readers thinking about things they never would in their own lives.

Number the Stars does the same, and while being focused on a younger reader, appeals even to seasoned readers…like me. Unlike The Giver, this is not dystopian, but a fictional version of a true event, seen through the eyes of a young girl very like so many real young children at the time.

Ten-year-old Annmarie lives a child’s life in Nazi occupied Denmark. While her life goes on pretty much as it did, for adults that is not the case, and now, that reality is intruding into the lives of even the children when the Nazis begin their relocation plans for Denmark’s Jewish citizens. Annmarie’s best friend, Ellen, is Jewish. Up until now, for Annmarie, that has only meant an introduction to the fascinating traditions of her friend’s culture and religion.

For a child, the idea that her friend and her family would ever be singled out by the Nazis is something out of a storybook, not real. But suddenly it becomes very real, and Annmarie becomes part of a rescue operation she never imagined existed.

For readers unfamiliar with the facts, the Danish people stepped up in an amazing way, saving the lives of the vast majority of Jews in Denmark by hiding them and helping them to escape to Sweden. While the facts of the history are amazing, Number the Stars goes a step further and explores what it looks like for a young girl to discover her courage, even when she doesn’t feel she’s brave. Annmarie will find out that you can be brave, even when you are afraid.

I think this book has made many a ten-year-old, along with readers of all ages, consider what it means to find courage in yourself that you never thought was there. It’s a lovely story, simply but beautifully told, tense in places, but uplifting in the end. I’d recommend it to anyone who loves a tale well told and an unexpected education.

Click HERE to find Number the Stars on Amazon