We must never forget...

I got this note from a parent today:

Dear Ms. Literacygirl,
J has read Number the Stars by Lois Lowry for her historical fiction book share project.  She has completed her speech and we have had some very thoughtful conversation about the book.  We have discussed meaningful book share projects, but in this case it seems that the most meaningful thing to do is to make a donation to the Holocaust Museum and have J discuss why she chose this (history tells us we must never forget) with the class.  I know this is not on this list, so I wanted to get your approval on this first.  We just had some very interesting talks because of this book, and I wasn't sure that presenting a word search was as meaningful. 
 
Thanks,
 
Mrs. A S

It's nice to see a book having a lasting impact on a family! Isn't that what reading is all about?


Number the Stars summary:
"How brave are you, little Annemarie?" Uncle Henrik asks his ten-year-old niece. It is 1943, and to Annemarie Johansen, life in Copenhagen is a complicated mix of ordinary home and school life, food shortages, and the constant presence of Nazi soldiers. Bravery seems a vague virtue, one possessed by dragon-slaying knights in the bedtime stories she tells her younger sister, Kirsti. Too soon, she herself is called upon for courage.

As the German troops begin their campaign to "relocate" all the Jews of Denmark, the Johansens take in Annemarie's best friend, Ellen Rosen, and pretend she is part of the family. Ellen and Annemarie must think quickly when three Nazi officers arrive late one night and question why Ellen is not blond, like her sisters.

Through Annemarie's eyes, we see the Danish Resistance as they manage to smuggle almost the entire Jewish population, nearly 7000 people, across the sea to Sweden. In this tale of an entire nation's heroism, Number the Stars reminds us that there is pride and human decency in the world even during a time of terror and war.