Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Final Post - End of Book Thoughts

Your journey with Number the Stars has come to an end. I hope you enjoyed it. I want you to spend some time reflecting on the book. Think about the characters, time period, the main events in the story.

  • What did you enjoy most about the book? 
  • Was there anything you didn't like about the book? 
  • What did you think about the way the story ended? 
  • Was there anything you wish would have happened that didn't? 


Please use specific details from the story to support your thinking. Be honest about your feelings and thinking, this is your time to reflect on your book. Make sure to answer ALL questions.


7 comments:

  1. What I enjoyed most in the book was when Thor #the kitten made a rainstorm in the house. I enjoyed it most because it was one of the funniest parts in the story and I think the story could use some more funny parts because it's so serious. I did not not like anything in the story because it was explained so well.I think this because the story had a lot of detail and I think it makes sense and you read on and it makes sense. I loved how the story ended. All though it was sad the war was over the Nazis were gone and all the people could be free. I wish Lise didn’t get killed because she was such a nice person and I want to see what she would do in the story and how she would act.

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  2. I enjoyed that this book really showed the reality. Other books about hard situations didn’t show what was most likely to happen. In Someone Named Eva, Millida does get to see her mother again in the end, although she was all beat up which was real, she did get to see her mom and she was still alive. But, in Number the Stars, both Peter and Lise die which was probably close to something that did happen, and they were both killed because they were part of the resistance and the military and Nazis found them. This book really showed what was true during World War II.

    The only thing I didn’t like about the book was that they could have added more to the ending. In the very last chapter, when Annemarie is 12, instead of that they could have done five years later, “Ellen is that really you? I missed you soooooo much!” Or something when the war is over just so you would be satisfied with the happy ending and the reality because if Ellen was a Jew and she fled to a country with no Nazis, she had a good chance of survival.

    The story ended with like a cliffhanger because you really wanted to know does Ellen ever come back? Was Sweden raided with Nazi bombs and captured too? You just had no idea of what was to become of Ellen and the Rosens. It was very mysterious and full of wonder. I really liked this ending because if Ellen was killed sometime along the story, I would not want to know because I don’t like the thought of someone being killed just because they’re different.

    There was nothing that I didn’t like about this story. I think it was great that it really explained what was going on and not just saying, “Then, I took the basket to Uncle Henrik. Then, I went home through the path.” It really gave great detail about what was going on and you were stuck guessing what was going to happen at the end of each chapter. Over all, I liked what happened in this story.

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    Replies
    1. Lindi I agree that they could of added more to the end but I thought that it could of been like right away Annemarie pulled out Ellen's necklace and ran to her or something like that

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  3. What I enjoyed most in Number the Stars was the very beginning of the book. I liked this because the author just jumps into the story and that excitement continues. For example, the book started off with Ellen and Annemarie running on the street. That excitement grew when the soldier said “Halte”. This chapter ended when Mama was telling Kirsti that cupcakes will come back when the war ended. I just wanted to keep reading. That’s another thing I liked about the book. Each chapter ended in a cliffhanger. For example, at the end of chapter 10 the text reads, “First he closed the windows. Then he went to the casket and opened the lid.” After that I just wanted to read more. It was super hard to stop!
    The only thing I didn’t like about the book is how short it was. I think in some places there could have been more detail. For example, at the beginning of the story I wanted to know more before the book jumped into Annemarie and Ellen getting caught by the soldier. I didn’t just want to know the girls were friends, I wanted to know how they became friends and what their life was before the war started. Other than that I really liked Number the Stars.
    I didn't like the way the story ended. It was too quick of a point to stop. The last sentence before the afterwards part tells that Annemarie will have the Star Of David necklace until she and Ellen see each other again. I wanted to know when they saw each other and how that went. I want there to be another book after Number the Stars, so I can see Annemarie and Ellen get back together when they are older.
    What I wish would have happened was more time reading about Kirsti. I would have liked to see how she reacted when Mama broke her ankle. The story would have been even better if Kirsti could have been more involved in it. For example, the end of the book jumps two years ahead in time. I would love to know what Kirsti liked at that point. After all she was seven then. It would be cool to know this. All in all, I really liked Number the Stars. It’s a great book.

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  4. Sarah,
    I agree that I would have liked to have seen Lise in the story. I disagree that there weren't more funny parts. For example, it was pretty funny that Kirsti kept asking for cupcakes with pink frosting. I agree that the story was written with a lot of detail and I really liked it, too. Great job on your post this week!

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  5. Final blog post
    By Abby Olsen


    One of the ways that I really enjoyed Number the Stars was that all of the excitement , what I mean by this is that when Annemarie and her family is hiding Ellen and the Nazi soldiers came to her house i was at the tip of my seat saying in my head what will happen next I was making predictions in my head every two second in that chapter. At the end of that chapter I was into it when the author wrote “ Annemarie looked down and saw that she was holding the necklace so hard she imprinted the Star of David into the palm of her hand. The part where Uncle henrick was in the barn milking the cow and he told Annemarie what was really happening that there was no Aunt Birte and that him and her mama were lying to her just to make her stronger like him and your mother at least that is what Uncle Henrik said. I also LOVED the part when Annemarie was looking for Mama and she wasn't in her room, and Annemarie found out that mama had been running and she tripped on a root and fell and sprained her ankle. The most important part that I liked the most is when she was running through the woods and she was narrating Little Red Riding Hood on her was to deliver food ( the package) to Uncle Henrik and she runs into the four Nazi soldiers and the two dogs, And she thinks like she is just like Little Red Riding Hood.
    I don’t really think that I didn’t exactly not like this part but I think the end could have used a bit more like this, 5 years later, Annemarie's eyes widened as she saw a large boat pull up to the shore of Denmark by Uncle Henrik’s house. As Ellen sprang from the boat running over to Annemarie giving her a tight squeeze her parents followed. Annemarie could not be happier to see Ellen in her entire life. They were both now 15 a lot taller than the last time they saw each other but even age can’t outgrow a friendship.

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  6. Thank you for the opportunity to participate in the book club. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book, discussing it at home with Sophie, and reading the all the blog posts. I'm hopeful that there will be more book club opportunities like this next year!
    What I enjoyed most from reading Number The Stars was learning about the inspiring strength and compassion of the characters. How brave they all were! That the people of the little country of Denmark could successfully smuggle 7,000 people across the sea to Sweden to safety is an amazing undertaking. Our lives are so different from the lives of those who lived in 1943. The Danes worked together without cell phones, computers and other conveniences to help one another. This "sense of community" and their willingness to put their own lives on the line to help one another, continued after the Jewish population was safe in Sweden. "For nearly two years, now, neighbors had tended the plants and dusted the furniture and polished the candlesticks for the Jews who had fled." "it is what friends do," Mama had said. That is one of my most favorite sentences in the book!
    I also enjoyed reading the descriptions of the Johansen's simple apartment and the farm. Everyone in 1943, had so many fewer possessions than many families have today. Yet, Mama has such fond memories of her happy childhood on the farm and Ellen and Annemarie were very content to play with their simple paper dolls. The Rosens and the Johansens and so many other families lived through a difficult time, with very little food and possessions, but they had each other. Good friends and family do matter most!
    LIke many of you wrote, I'd like to know more. I'd like to read about the girls meeting again and getting to run down the street together after school. I'd also like to know that Mrs. Rosen and Mrs. Johansen were able to enjoy sipping coffee together, again! I'd like to imagine that the story continues as Abby described!

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