Flashcards for Number the Stars

Annemarie Johansen

Annemarie Johansen is a ten-year-old girl living in Denmark in Number the Stars.

character

Ellen Rosen

Ellen Rosen is Annemarie Johansen's Jewish best friend, and her danger fuels the novel's main moral dilemma.

character

Kirsti Johansen

Kirsti Johansen is the youngest of the Johansen sisters—just five years old, fearless, and blissfully unaware of the true dangers posed by the Nazi occupation.

character

Lise Johansen

Lise Johansen is the oldest daughter in the Johansen family, but she never appears alive in the present timeline of the novel; she was killed by Nazi soldiers two years before the story begins after she and Peter Nielsen joined the Danish Resistance.

character

Mama Johansen

Mama Johansen serves as the emotional and moral anchor of the Johansen family in Lois Lowry's Number the Stars.

character

Mr. Rosen

Mr. Rosen is Ellen's father and one of the Jewish adults whose life is directly threatened by the Nazi occupation of Copenhagen in Lois Lowry's Number the Stars.

character

Mrs. Rosen

Mrs. Rosen is Ellen's mother and a significant character in Lois Lowry's Number the Stars.

character

Papa Johansen

Papa Johansen is the quiet, steady head of the Johansen family in Lois Lowry's Number the Stars, which takes place during the Nazi occupation of Denmark in 1943.

character

Peter Nielsen

Peter Nielsen is a young Danish Resistance fighter in Lois Lowry's Number the Stars.

character

The German Soldier

The German Soldier is not a specific individual but a recurring, composite figure representing Nazi occupation in Lois Lowry's Number the Stars.

character

Uncle Henrik

Uncle Henrik is Mama Johansen's brother, a fisherman who lives along the Danish coast near Gilleleje.

character

“Be one of many. Be sure they see you as one of many.”

In Lois Lowry's Number the Stars, Annemarie's father, Mr. Johansen, gives her important advice as she gets ready to deliver a vital packet to the fishing boat that will help smuggle the Rosens and other Danish Jews to Sweden.

Mr. Johansen (Annemarie's father)

“It is important to be one of many.”

This quiet yet impactful line is delivered by Annemarie Johansen's father, Mr. Johansen, in Lois Lowry's Number the Stars (1989).

Mr. Johansen (Annemarie's father) · Chapter 3

“The stars are not numbered. They are beyond counting.”

In Lois Lowry's Number the Stars (1989), Annemarie Johansen, the young Danish protagonist, reflects on how the stars are beyond counting.

Annemarie Johansen · Chapter 17 (approximate)

“It was not so much that Annemarie was afraid. It was more that she was uncertain.”

This line appears early in Lois Lowry's Number the Stars (1989), a historical novel set in Nazi-occupied Denmark in 1943.

Narrator (third-person limited) · Chapter 1

“She was ten years old, and not at all sure that she was brave.”

This line appears in the opening chapter of Lois Lowry's Number the Stars (1989) and provides a quiet, honest introduction to its protagonist, ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen.

Narrator (third-person, focalized through Annemarie Johansen) · Chapter 1

“I think that all of Denmark must be bodyguard for the Jews.”

This line is spoken by Annemarie Johansen's father, Papa, in Lois Lowry's Number the Stars (1989), which takes place during the Nazi occupation of Denmark in 1943.

Papa (Annemarie's father) · Chapter 3

“She was not afraid. Papa had said so, and he was always right.”

This line is from Lois Lowry's Number the Stars (1989), a historical fiction novel set in Nazi-occupied Denmark.

Annemarie Johansen (narrative thought) · Chapter 15 – My Dogs Smell It

“For the first time in her life, Annemarie did not sleep well.”

This line appears near the opening of Lois Lowry's Number the Stars (1989), a historical novel set in Nazi-occupied Copenhagen during World War II.

Third-person narrator · Chapter 1

“How could one ordinary girl be brave enough to do what needed to be done?”

This reflective question is found in Lois Lowry's Number the Stars (1989), a historical fiction novel set in Nazi-occupied Denmark in 1943.

Narrative voice / Annemarie Johansen (internal reflection) · Chapter 15 (approximate — late novel climax)

“You are so like Lise, Annemarie. I have always seen it.”

In Lois Lowry's Number the Stars, Mama (Mrs. Johansen) says this line to her younger daughter Annemarie during a quiet and emotional moment.

Mama (Mrs. Johansen)

The Casket

In Lois Lowry's Number the Stars, the casket in the Johansen living room symbolizes deception, sacrifice, and the extraordinary measures ordinary people take to protect the innocent.

The Handkerchief

In Lois Lowry's Number the Stars, the handkerchief symbolizes the quiet courage of everyday people standing up against Nazi oppression.

The Sea

In Lois Lowry's Number the Stars, the sea represents freedom, danger, and the delicate line between oppression and escape.

The Star of David Necklace

In Lois Lowry's Number the Stars, Annemarie's care for Ellen Rosen's Star of David necklace reflects the heavy responsibility and bravery involved in safeguarding Jewish identity during Nazi occupation.

The Stars

In Lois Lowry's Number the Stars, the stars represent the immense and invaluable worth of every human life, especially those of the Jewish people who faced Nazi persecution.

Dramatic Irony

In Number the Stars, Lois Lowry creates dramatic irony by maintaining Annemarie's innocent perspective as a ten-year-old, while the reader is aware of the life-threatening dangers surrounding her.

Suspense

In Number the Stars, Lowry creates suspense by placing her ten-year-old narrator, Annemarie, in scenarios where the reader grasps the life-and-death stakes before Annemarie does.

Foreshadowing

In Number the Stars, Lowry carefully weaves in foreshadowing, allowing a sense of dread to build before the threat is clearly identified.

Simile

In Lois Lowry's Number the Stars, simile serves as a subtle bridge between the innocence of childhood and the harsh reality of Nazi-occupied Denmark.

Tone

In Number the Stars, Lois Lowry maintains a tone of quiet courage that turns what could easily become melodrama into something much more unsettling.

Imagery

In Number the Stars, Lois Lowry employs vivid imagery to convey the intense fear and warmth of life in Nazi-occupied Copenhagen.

Symbolism

In Lois Lowry's Number the Stars, symbolism carries the novel's deepest moral weight in a subtle way.

Motif

In Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, the motif of stars — small, countless, and individually insignificant yet collectively immense — runs throughout the novel to highlight the theme of courage in times of oppression.

lanky

Tall and thin in an awkward, ungainly way, with long limbs that seem too long for the body.

adjective · Chapter 1

stocky

Short and solidly built, with a broad, sturdy body — the opposite of tall and slender.

adjective · Chapter 1

Star of David

A six-pointed star that is the symbol of Judaism; in the novel it appears on the yellow badge Jews were forced to wear under Nazi occupation.

noun · Chapter 1

Wehrmacht

The regular armed forces of Nazi Germany during World War II, whose soldiers occupied Denmark and patrolled its streets.

noun · Chapter 1

rationed

Strictly limited in supply by the government so that scarce goods — food, fuel, clothing — are distributed in fixed, small amounts to each person.

adjective · Chapter 2

synagogue

A Jewish house of worship and community gathering, equivalent in function to a church or mosque.

noun · Chapter 3

New Year

Here refers to Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, a solemn holy day that falls in autumn — not January 1st.

noun · Chapter 3

Resistance

The secret network of ordinary citizens who worked against the Nazi occupiers through sabotage, smuggling, and hiding people in danger.

noun · Chapter 4

sabotage

Deliberate destruction of machinery, railways, or supplies to weaken an enemy's power or slow their operations.

noun · Chapter 4

Rosh Hashanah

The Jewish New Year, a high holy day observed in early autumn, marking the start of the Days of Awe and a time of reflection and prayer.

noun · Chapter 4

congregation

The group of people who regularly worship together at a particular synagogue or church; the assembled community of a religious body.

noun · Chapter 4

casket

A coffin — the long box in which a dead person is laid for burial; in the novel a closed casket conceals something other than a body.

noun · Chapter 10

hearse

A vehicle specially designed to carry a coffin, used in funeral processions to transport the dead to burial.

noun · Chapter 10

psalm

A sacred song or poem from the Hebrew Bible, traditionally sung or recited during Jewish and Christian religious services.

noun · Chapter 10

mourners

People gathered to grieve and pay their respects at a funeral or in the period of bereavement following a death.

noun · Chapter 10

havoc

Widespread destruction, chaos, or disorder — used to describe the devastating disruption caused by war or sudden violence.

noun · Chapter 11

handkerchief

In this novel, a specially treated cloth packet whose scent confuses and neutralizes the tracking ability of German police dogs.

noun · Chapter 15

dried blood

One of the substances coating the handkerchiefs used to destroy the dogs' sense of smell — part of the secret chemical mixture that protected escaping Jews.

phrase · Chapter 15

swastika

The hooked-cross symbol used as the emblem of Nazi Germany, appearing on flags, armbands, and uniforms of the occupying forces.

noun · Chapter 1

curfew

An official order requiring people to stay indoors after a set hour at night, enforced by the occupying soldiers with serious penalties for disobedience.

noun · Chapter 2

Hanukkah

A Jewish festival of lights lasting eight days, celebrated in winter by lighting a special candelabrum called a menorah; mentioned as part of the Jewish life depicted in the novel.

noun · Chapter 4

anesthetic

A substance that causes loss of feeling or consciousness; here used in the powder on the handkerchiefs to deaden the dogs' sense of smell.

noun · Chapter 15

tantalize

To tease or torment someone by keeping something desirable just out of reach, raising hope without satisfying it.

verb · Chapter 2

imperious

Behaving in a commanding, arrogant way that expects immediate obedience, as if one has absolute authority over others.

adjective · Chapter 5

contemptuous

Showing open disrespect or scorn toward someone, treating them as worthless or beneath consideration.

adjective · Chapter 1