Literary Devices in Number the Stars
Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Setting
Not-So-Glamorous Historical Background Denmark in 1943 wasn't the happiest place in the world. Like most other parts of Europe during World War II, the country was under German occupation. This mea...
Narrator Point of View
In Number the Stars, we know exactly what Annemarie knows and nothing more. And considering how much she's left in the dark, this is a pretty big deal. It means that we really get to see the world...
Genre
Let's get the obvious stuff out of the way. We've got a young main character (Annemarie is ten years old); straightforward, plain language; and a topic (saving your best friend from danger) that's...
Tone
In Number the Stars, there's never any question about what's right and what's wrong. All the Danish characters we meet share a united front: what the Nazis are doing is terrible, and the Danes must...
Writing Style
It's a challenge to find a subject that's more complicated or emotionally raw than the Holocaust. But Number the Stars approaches the ideas of Nazism, Resistance, persecution, and morality just as...
What's Up With the Title?
Get ready for a shout-out, Bible-style. The phrase "number the stars" comes from Psalm 147:4, when a guy named Peter reads these words out loud to a bunch of people who are in some major danger:O p...
What's Up With the Ending?
The end of Number the Stars lines right up with the end of World War II. This seems like a natural stopping point, because at the end of the war, the different threads of the story can all be woven...
Tough-o-Meter
Number the Stars uses simple language to tell a complicated story. The heroine, Annemarie, is ten years old, and we get the story mostly through her lens. So fifth graders on up should be able to g...
Plot Analysis
Just Two Normal GirlsAnnemarie and Ellen are ordinary girls living in extraordinary times (1940s Nazi-occupied Denmark). They don't have many luxuries, and they can't even run down the street witho...
Trivia
Number the Stars won the 1990 Newbery Medal. Let's just put it this way: Lowry's in really good company. Including herself, actually. She won another Newbery in 1994 for The Giver. Now that's some...
Allusions
Psalm 147:4 (the title, 10.34, 10.36)The Bible (10.32, 10.40)Hans Christian Andersen (2.2) Hans Christian Andersen, "The Little Mermaid" (2.3)Gone With the Wind (4.1, 4.26, 4.29)Thor (8.4)"Lit...