Teaching Number the Stars in 2025: Why Lois Lowry’s WWII Classic Still Matters in a World at War

Writing and Teaching with Number the Stars: Lessons in Storytelling and Empathy

When news of war and displacement, from the Israel-Iran conflict to global refugee crises, arrives daily, Lois Lowry’s Number the Stars can show us a model for how stories humanize history. For writers, mentors, or teachers guiding emerging authors, this historical fiction is a study in narrative clarity, moral tension, and the power of perspective.

Set in 1943 Copenhagen, this Newbery Medal-winning novel follows 10-year-old Annemarie Johansen, whose family risks everything to protect their Jewish neighbors. Lowry’s story demonstrates how small, quiet acts of courage can resonate more deeply than grandiose heroism. Lowry’s novel offers rich opportunities to explore:

• Narrative Perspective: Using a child narrator to make complex historical events accessible, without oversimplifying moral stakes.

• Tension and Restraint: Crafting suspense through ordinary actions rather than overt violence.

• Moral Complexity: Showing how ordinary people make extraordinary choices, prompting reflection on ethics and empathy.

• Connecting Past to Present: historical fiction illuminate contemporary issues in raising the stakes for What a writer can do? What are our choices in this, our lived time and space?

Character, Dialogue, and the Inner Life of History

in Number the Stars the Johansens are ordinary people thrust into historical extremity, yet through Lowry’s careful crafting, readers feel their fear, hope, and quiet determination. Study how their ordinary voices carry their story extraordinarily.

Ordinary Faces, Extraordinary Stories
Annemarie’s bravery is grounded in everyday reality: holding her breath, pretending nothing is amiss, walking calmly down streets under occupation. Lowry makes tension arise naturally from ordinary circumstances rather than melodrama, rooting plot and suspense in character behavior.

Dialogue as a Portal to Emotion
Lowry’s dialogue is sparse but precise. Conversations between Annemarie and her family, or with the Rosens, reveal fear, courage, and ethical reflection without heavy exposition. Examine how subtext and pauses in speech carry as much weight as action, an invaluable lesson in writing scenes of tension.

Internal Life Meets External Events
Through Annemarie’s thoughts and reactions, the reader experiences moral dilemmas firsthand. Internal narrative intersects with historical reality: a child’s fear, confusion, or courage becomes a lens for understanding larger historical events. In writing your own, ask: How does my character experience history from the inside out?

Prompting History in Writing

• Choose a historical event and write a scene from the perspective of a child or ordinary person living through it.

• Focus on small gestures and dialogue that reveal inner conflict and courage, rather than narrating facts alone.

• From Number the Stars discuss how restraint and focus heighten emotional resonance, can you do this on your text?

Companion Reads for Character and Voice

1. Inside Out & Back Again by Thanhha Lai

   • A verse novel told from a young girl’s perspective during the Vietnam War exodus

   • Lessons in voice, brevity, and conveying emotion through poetic language

2. Refugee by Alan Gratz

   • Interwoven stories of children facing modern displacement

   • A model for alternating perspectives, creating empathy through multiple voices

More Discussion Prompts

• How does a child narrator shape the story’s emotional impact? Why do you think the author chose a young girl as the narrator?

• How do Annemarie’s small acts of courage compare to more dramatic forms of resistance?

• How do the Johansens’ choices reflect or challenge the idea of “ordinary” heroism?

• What parallels can we draw between WWII Denmark and today’s global conflicts?

• In what ways does literature help us understand the emotional cost of war?

• How does Lowry convey fear, courage, or hope through subtle gestures rather than dramatic action?

• How do dialogue and thought reveal what a character cannot say aloud?

• What strategies can writers use to make ordinary characters compelling amidst historical events?

• How do characters’ internal conflicts mirror the external dangers they face?

• How can mentors guide writers to balance historical accuracy with emotional truth?

Other Books for Mentorship

Pair Number the Stars with contemporary news or personal stories of resistance. Consider: Who are the modern “helpers”? How can small acts of courage ripple through a narrative? Look at history and literature as living, breathing material for storytelling.

Suggested Companion Reads for Writers

1. They Called Us Enemy by George Takei (Graphic Memoir)

   • Explores internment camps through a visual, first-person lens

   • Great for examining point-of-view, memoir structure, and historical voice

   • Sparks reflection on government power, resilience, and ethical storytelling

2. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

   • Narrated by Death, blending poetic language and historical events

   • A model in metaphor, voice, and sustaining tension over a longer narrative

   • Encourages writers to experiment with narrative framing and perspective