Illustrated by Henri Sorensen
The Yellow Star tells the tale of a legend of the Danish King's defiance of the Nazis. After Nazis started to occupy the border of Denmark, The Danes' beloved King took the Nazi flag down from the palace. The Nazis told all the Danish Jews to sew a yellow star to their clothing at all times. King Christian X rode his horse, unarmed, through the streets of Denmark's capital wearing a yellow star himself. Soon, every Dan wore a yellow star and stood united.
Impact on me:
This story had so few words and did not force emotions on the reader, but boy did it draw emotions out of me as a reader! What an incredibly inspiring story that really helped me to see the overwhelmingly good in humanity during such terrible, dark times. Though this story was a legend, there is obviously truth to the King's and the Danes' resistance to the Nazis. The documented facts at the end of the story show me what a kind and loyal community the Danish government created in the entire country.
Book Reviews:
When the Nazis direct all Danish Jews to wear yellow stars, King Christian responds by wearing a star himself, inspiring other Danes to follow along. While this tale turns out to be only a legend, it captures the dignity of the Danish people and their remarkable resistance to the Nazis. Illustrated with realistic oil paintings.
The Yellow Star: The Legend of King Christian X of Denmark. (2007). School Library Journal, 53(3), 63.
Although there is no factual account that this story happened exactly as it was told, there is a lot of evidence that King Christian and the Danish people saved thousands of Jewish lives. An inspirational story, this book is useful not only for Holocaust education; it also serves as a reminder that we can and should stand up for what is right and battle forces that are evil.
Heller, H. M. (2001). The Yellow Star: The Legend of King Christian X of Denmark. Multicultural Review, 10(1), 97.
In the Library:
This book can be used in both Social Studies and English classrooms when students are learning about World War II and/or the Holocaust. The librarian can read individual classes this book followed by a discussion that integrated their classroom learning with the book just read to them. This book is recommended for grades 3-5, but I feel that this book could be used at the middle school and high school level to give a depressing lesson on Nazi Germany a silver lining and give students hope. After the librarian reads this book, an elementary class can create yellow stars and write their nationality or simply their hometown on the star to show how the class is different, yet united. This would be a fun real-life extension of the book.
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