Number the Stars (1989 original; edició 2011)

Jan Mark (Carousel 15, Summer 2000)
Morally speaking, Denmark had a 'good war' after it surrendered to the Nazis in 1940. Notably absent from factual and fictional tales of derring-do, the very real heroism of its civilian population is celebrated in Lowry's quiet but stirring story, based on real events, which tell of one family's successful bid to send their Jewish friends to safety in neutral Sweden. Instead of comic-strip heroics with implausible intervention by implausible kids, she gives us a situation in which children must be included because they cannot be excluded, fearfully endangered but willing parties to an ethical struggle. The happy ending is entirely credible, even to those old enough to know what might have happened instead. Category: Older.

CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center Choices, 1989)
Ten-year-old Annemarie, living in occupied Denmark during World War 11, must test the limits of her own courage when she and her family assist their Jewish friends in their escape from the Nazis. Flawlessly interwoven into her personal account are details of the historic and heroic Movement in which Denmark, as a nation, successfully resisted the attempts of the Nazis to exterminate Danish Jews. With their varying degrees of knowledge, each character represents a model of courage in a fast-paced story about individual and collective response to evil. Honor book, 1989 CCBC Newbery Discussion. CCBC Category: Fiction For Young Readers. 1989, Houghton Mifflin, , $12.95. Ages 8-12.