Number the Stars By: Lois Lowry

This book won Lois Lowry her first Newberry and it is obvious to see why. This is the story of a girl and her best friend growing up in Denmark during the German occupation. The main character is 10 years old. Her best friend is Jewish. I will neither spoil the story nor waste your time by summarizing the plot. I will say that this book is a must read. Lois Lowry has become one of my all time favorite authors during this semester. I have now read six of her books and fully intend to read the others. She is a master of leading the reader, child or adult, gently by the hand into the depths of human cruelty and inhumanity. She shows us the evil in the world and in the hearts of men, not to shock or scare us but to enlighten us to the human condition. Although all of her work I have read so far deals with this darkness, she always gives us a light. Her heroes exemplify the best humanity has to offer. They are able to overcome the evil in the world and remind us all that there is still hope for us as a race. What is even more striking is that her heroes are children. These children are not just fighting the school yard bully they are fighting society, Nazis, beasts in the forest, demons in the night. At the risk of sounding "preachy", doesn't the Bible say, "and a child shall lead them"? Her characters are brave, loyal, and intelligent, and they give us a brilliant light with which to see in the dark.