Number the Stars

Copenhagen, October 1943. German soldiers stand on every corner, and ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen must pretend her best friend Ellen is her sister. The Danish Resistance is smuggling nearly seven thousand Jews to Sweden by fishing boat, and Annemarie's family is part of the chain. Lowry based the story on real events — the handkerchief soaked in rabbit's blood to confuse tracking dogs, the midnight drive to the fishing village of Gilleleje. For young readers, this is where courage becomes concrete: a dark harbor, a small boat, and the Swedish coast just visible across the strait.