When the Nazis invaded Denmark in the 1940s, Jewish families were generally left alone, but all of that changed suddenly in 1943, and when the call went out to round up Denmark's Jewish families, thousands of non-Jewish Danes worked to smuggle their Jewish friends and neighbors across the water to neutral Sweden, and safety. That true series of events forms the basis of NUMBER THE STARS, Lois Lowry's popular book for middle-school readers. Annemarie Johannsen's family lives in Copenhagen, downstairs from her best friend, Ellen Rosen. When the call-up for Ellen's family goes out, Annemarie's family springs into action, spiriting Ellen away to the shore, in preparation for the journey across the sea. But before they get that far, Annemarie will have to step into the fray,and put her own life at risk for the sake of saving her friend.