As we reflect on all that we have to be thankful for this weekend, Dr. Rebecca Chatham-Vazquez reflects on a classic by Lois Lowry: Number the Stars. Here's hoping all of our readers find time to unwind and hide away with a YA novel this weekend!
 | Dr. Rebecca Chatham-Vazquez is an assistant professor and the director of English Education at North Dakota State University, where she is living her dream, teaching Methods courses and Young Adult Literature and mentoring preservice English teachers. She is in her 16th year of teaching and loves it just as much now as she did on day one. She has taught and worked with pre- and in-service teachers in Montana (very rural), Arkansas (urban), Arizona (urban and rural), and, now, North Dakota (urban and rural). She has been a member of NCTE since 2008, and is a strong supporter of professional organizations like NCTE, its state affiliates, and ALAN. Her research interests include teacher education, rural teacher support, YAL, and methods of teaching reading. She can be reached at [email protected] |
Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
 Lois Lowry | For the last pick this month, I wanted to revisit a classic: Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, who has inspired us all with her words over the course of her writing and speaking career. I’ve probably read this book more than ten times, but, reading it this time around, it has really been sitting with me. Lowry tells us the story of Annemarie, a young Danish girl who must become brave in the face of Nazism. At first, the Nazi soldiers in Copenhagen are just an inconvenience. Then, all of a sudden, they become scary, especially when Annemarie learns that her best friend is truly in danger. Annemarie, of course, doesn’t have the political or social knowledge of what is happening across Europe, but she does know that she loves her best friend, that her best friend needs her, and that her (Annemarie’s) parents are involved in something bigger than themselves. Annemarie faces her fears, thinking only of the success of the mission, of the safety of Ellen. |
| Lowry takes us through just a fews days of Annemarie’s life, but these are days that will change her – and, one hopes, the reader – forever. Lowry illustrates that every one of us has something to contribute. Pick up this book if you are needing a reminder of the goodness of people in the world, if you need inspiration to keep doing the things YOU can do in the face of so much hate in this world, and if you need a reminder, as we enter the holidays and the season of giving, that one person actually can make a difference. Purchase your own copy here. |  |
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