Number the Stars tells the story of the Danish rescue of Jews during World War II through the eyes of ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen. Lois Lowry's Newbery Medal-winning novel follows Annemarie and her family as they help smuggle her best friend Ellen and other Jewish Danes to safety in Sweden while German soldiers occupy Copenhagen. The book captures a child's perspective on war: confusion about why some people are persecuted, fear of soldiers in the streets, and the gradual understanding that adults are engaged in dangerous resistance. Lowry based the novel on the true story of the Danish resistance, which managed to evacuate nearly the entire Jewish population—approximately 7,000 people—in fishing boats across the Sound to neutral Sweden. The narrative explores themes of courage, friendship, and what it means to take risks for others. Lowry's accessible prose makes the story appropriate for young readers while treating its serious subject with appropriate gravity. For middle-grade readers and their families, the book offers an introduction to Holocaust history through a story of rescue and resistance, demonstrating that ordinary people can make extraordinary choices under pressure.