Number the Stars — Chapter 14

About This Passage

All chapter long, Annemarie has been telling herself the Red Riding-Hood story to keep her courage up. In the fairy tale, a wolf rustles in the bushes and growls. Now, suddenly, the story comes alive in the real woods — except instead of a make-believe wolf, soldiers and dogs step out of the bushes. Copy this passage to feel how Lowry layers fairy tale and reality, and how she lets the chapter end exactly at the moment of meeting.

Narration Prompt

Retell chapter 14 in your own words. Begin with Annemarie stepping into the cold dark woods at the start of her run, move through the Red Riding-Hood story she tells herself, the choice between road and forest, the meadow memories, and end with the moment she rounds the turn and meets four armed soldiers and their dogs.

Discussion Questions

1. Annemarie tells herself the Red Riding-Hood story all the way through the dark woods, even though she is past the age when most older sisters need bedtime stories. What in the story tells you why a familiar story might be exactly what she needs right now? How do you know she has carried this story with her on purpose, not by accident?
2. When the path divides, Annemarie chooses the harder, darker route deeper into the woods instead of the easier road. What in the story tells you why the harder way is the wiser way today? How do you know Lowry is teaching us about the difference between "easy" and "right"?

+ 3 more questions in the complete study guide