When the Nazi's put their boots on the soil of Denmark, they decreed that all people of Jewish descent hae to wear a yellow star.

Watching the night stars, King Christian X, saw how specific stars are mixed in with all others. He has the idea to ride atop his horse throughout town while wearing a yellow star.

In addition to mandating the wearing of the yellow star, the Nazi's removed the Danish flag and replaced it with the Nazi swastika flag. King Christian immediately had a soldier remove the flag and re install the Danish flag. When the Nazi solider burst in his office demanding to know who did this, he boasted that the next day he will again remove the countries flag, and replace it. Unafraid of the boastfulness of the Nazi leader, he said that he would continue to replace the Nazi flag with the country flag. There also was a threat for the person who replaced the legit flag, or that person will be killed. Whereupon King Christian said "Then be prepared to shoot the King -- for I will be that soldier. "

.While there is no proof for this act of rebellion. But, as the author notes the following:

.The beloved King did indeed ride unescorted and unprotected throughout the streets of Copenhagen.
Stories of his bravery circulated throughout Europe.

.No Jews within Denmark were forced to wear the yellow star

. Among Nazi-occupied countries, only Denmark rescued the overwhelming majority of its Jews.

. Incredibly over 7,00 Danish Jews were smuggled to Sweden in fishing boats, carrying 12-14 each time.The group of rescuers where called Helsingor Sewing club.

Remarkably,

. Of the almost 500 Jews deported to the Nazi camp Theresienstadt, all but 51 survived.

Indeed it was the bravely of the Danish King, but also the people of that union who were incredibly brave, strong and successful.

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For more information regarding saving lives by carrying Jews out of the country in fishing boats, read the incredibly written Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, who is one of my favorite authors. ( )

I love this story! When the Nazis invade Denmark, King Christian has an idea to protect them. He takes daily rides through town on his big horse. One day, while on his ride, his subjects see something new added to his lapel. The next day, everyone is wearing a similar addition to their lapels. All the citizens of Denmark chose to wear the yellow Star of David in order to protect their Jewish friends and neighbors. ( )

Independent Reading Level: Grade 4

This book was beautiful and made me cry.

Because it is historical fiction.

Goodreads Review:
Without the yellow star to point them out, the Jews looked like any other Danes.

In 1940, Nazis occupied Denmark and King Christian X, beloved amongst his people, has to find some way to resist their overwhelming power. When the order goes out that all Jews must wear a yellow star on their clothes, the king has an idea that might just work. But it would take the faith and commitment of all Danes.

In this retelling of a World War II legend, New York Times best-selling author Carmen Agra Deedy poignantly remind us of the power of a good, wise leader. Paired with Henri S�rensen's arresting full-color portraits, this is a powerful and dignified story of heroic justice.

This picture book showed the courage Denmark and its king had during the Nazi threat in Ww2. The king of Denmark refused to deport any Jewish people to the camps, no matter how much hitler threatened him. I knew that certain countries had done this but I did not know exactly which nor had I ever read a picture book about it. I’m glad to have purchased this for my own library. ( )

This book focuses on the country of Denmark as the Nazi's were taking over. It is very useful to introduce this topic to younger students.

I really enjoyed reading this book for many reasons. First, I liked the language and writing style of the book. The book was very descriptive, clear, and well developed. I felt like I was experiencing the events in the story just by reading it. Second, I loved the illustrations because they were well detailed, appropriate, and enhanced the story. Lastly, the characters in the story were enjoyable and I have to say that King Christian is my favorite because although he is the king, he really sees himself as everyone else. He puts his people first before himself and shows what leadership is all about for the readers. In a time where Jewish people were going through such hardships with the Nazis, King Christian simple act of rebellion and courage served to unite his people against the Nazis.
For example, when the Nazis circulated the order that all Jews must wear yellow stars on their clothing. The King devised a way to protect them by wearing one himself.
Now if that doesn’t show the Kings act of courage then I don’t know what does. This story explicits a couple big ideas and messages to get out of the story and that is in times where there are hardships, bullying, or segregation, you need to be like King Christian and fight back and show that nothing scares you. Once you show that then everyone else will follow your lead.
I recommend all readers to read this book. This book definitely showed a happier alternative of when the Nazis took over then what actually happened. ( )

This a tale about the beloved King of Denmark who countered Nazi opposition in the name of his people. When the Jews were forced to wear yellow stars, all of Denmark Jewish or not wore the yellow stars. Although this isn't a true story, no Jews within Denmark were actually required to wear the yellow stars, and among all the Nazi-occupied countries Denmark rescued a majority of the Jews. These facts were in the back of the book. The theme of this story is that, 'we're all in this together". ( )

Children's author Carmen Agra Deedy tells a story of how King Christian X of Denmark inspired his fellow Danes to resist the Nazis during the Second World War. Although the story may be legend rather than fact, it reveals the true affection and respect of Danes for their king. The story is all the more powerful for its simplicity. ( )

In this book it tells the history between the Danish and Nazi. It tells the story of how the Danish King Christian protected his people of his city Danes and Jews. The first encounter he had with the Nazi was when they posted their flag on his palace and he took it down. They went to him and ask who took the flag down he told them and they threat hen to kill the next person who was to take the second flag down and he told them it will be him. The second encounter was when the Nazi told him he had to make all his Jews wear yellow stars, hint the book being titled the yellow star. He reacted by wearing a yellow star himself. This would be a good book for kids a little higher in elementary but not younger. My kids only wanted to talk about the animals they saw on the pages. ( )

This book tells of a great legend about a great man in our world's history in the country of Denmark. It has been said that there have been fewer kings as kind as King Christian X, and this story about his loyalty to his Jewish subjects in a time of controversy is a great one.

Summary: For centuries, the Star of David was a symbol of Jewish pride. But during World War II, Nazis used the Star to segregate and terrorize the Jewish people. Except in Denmark. When Nazi soldiers occupied his country, King Christian X of Denmark committed himself to keeping all Danes safe from harm. The bravery of the Danes and their king has inspired many legends. The most enduring is the legend of the yellow star, which symbolizes the loyalty and fearless spirit of the king and his people.
Critique: I liked the book. I liked the theme of being an advocate and standing up for a group of people who were being treated unfairly.
Craft Elements: The first two pages of the book emphasize the unity of the Danish people. At the same time, the author points out that all Danes were not the same. Talk with students about the different kinds of people shown in these two illustrations – different ages, gender, occupations and so forth.
Continue this discussion as you read the third page. Who is the guest in the picture? Note that either of the men in the conversation could be the guest because many different kinds of people live freely in Denmark.
After reading the fourth page, ask your students how they think the Nazis will respond to the removal of the flag? Why do they think this will happen?
After reading the fifth page, ask the students whether the Nazis had made a smart decision in allowing the flag to remain down? Why do they feel this way? As you read the page where the king is pondering his decision (before he goes onto the balcony), ask the students what they think the king will do? Why might he choose to do this? After reading the next to the last page, ask the students what the king did and what it meant. On the final page, all of the Danes are wearing yellow stars. What message does this give to the Nazis?

'The Yellow Star' was great! It was refreshing to read a story about people who were willing to come together to support each other. It made me believe in humanity and I wish that people today could do the same thing for people who are oppressed.

I found this book entertaining but not my favorite. I could not seem to find the main message within it. It was more of a non-fiction book about a heroic king of Denmark during the beginnings of the Nazi rein over Europe. It was nicely laid out for children with simple explanations of the history of what was happening at the time. I found it to be a good history lesson. ( )

I really enjoyed this story. The first reason I enjoyed this story was because of the plot. World War II is a time period that I find fascinating so it was nice to read a little back story on an event of defiance against the Nazi’s. This was seen when the king would send a soldier day after day to take down the Nazi flag hung in the city. I labeled this book as Historical Fiction because in the authors’ note, he claimed that no factual proof could be found that this event actually happened. The next reason I enjoyed this story was because of the illustrations. The pictures were very well done and mirrored the mood of the story. They were precise and had a serious tone to them, such as the image of the king riding through town with his yellow star on. The third reason I enjoyed this story was because of the topic. This book will force children to think about a difficult situation and is a great example of how to face adversity. This was shown when the king had to come up with a solution to the yellow star problem. He couldn’t allow his Jewish citizens to be killed so he came up with a peaceful plan to save the lives of many people. ( )

I wasn’t fond of this book at all. It didn’t catch my attention and I found myself skimming through the words rather than fully reading them. The illustrations were soft with darker colors, depicting the mood of the characters. The yellow star however, was bright and shiny. The language was very descriptive and discussed problems between the Jews and Germans. The characters were believable, especially the King Christian X of Denmark because he was depicted as the type of person everyone looked up to. Throughout the story, the yellow star was the main symbol and as a reader, we know it must be important because it’s the title of the book. Also, everyone ends up wearing this star on their clothing as a symbol that they are Jewish. This story pushes readers to think about the differences between the Jews and the Nazis and how they treated each other. The big idea of this story is to explain the story of King Christian X of Denmark and how he showed a sense of bravery to his people after the Nazis invaded his country. ( )

This book follows an old tale about a small town in Denmark during World War II. After the King is told by Nazi’s that all Jewish people in the town must wear the star of David, he becomes distressed as he doesn’t want to segregate his people but also knows if he doesn’t make them wear the stars they will be in more trouble with the Nazis. Finally, the King decides to have the whole town, even himself and those who aren’t Jewish, wear the star. This story greatly represented rising to adversity and the importance of fighting for human rights. I really enjoyed this book because it followed a different side of the war that is not often talked about. I really enjoyed hearing how not only the town stuck up for their people, but so did the king. One of my favorite parts of the book was how the author used the illustrations to tell his story. The author never came out and said that everyone in the town decided to wear the stars, he just showed it through the illustrations. You could also tell the kings internal struggle through his emotions in the illustrations. There was also an illustration of a leaflet which was helpful to me since I had never seen one from that time period. Another part of this book that helped me enjoy it and enforced the central meaning of the book was at the end when the book asks the reader “what if this happened?” and “what if you lost your human rights?”. This really made me stop and think while at the same time realizing the importance of the message the author was making. Finally, the authors note at the end really added to the meaning and interest of the story. I liked this part because it said that this story was a legend but then went on to tell all the true facts that did happen in this story and in others. ( )

The Yellow Star: The Legend of King Christian X of Denmark tells the story of the King of Denmark and how he protects and stands up for his people during the Holocaust. The story’s main message is one of hope and strength. I really enjoyed this book. One thing that I really enjoyed about this book was the difference in the illustrations. When the book focused on things happening in Denmark, the illustrations were beautifully colored. When the book focused on the Nazi camps and when King Christian thought about what might happen to Denmark, the illustrations were presented in dark brown. The contrast in the illustrations separated the positive images from the negative ones. Another thing that I really loved about this book was the plot itself. I loved how the book began by saying that everyone in Denmark were Danes and then ended with the same thing. The book began by describing the subtle physical differences between the Danes of Denmark such as some were stout, or tall, or fat, or thin. When the Nazis make the Jewish people wear the yellow stars on their clothing, King Christian wears one as well even though he is not Jewish. All of the people in Denmark follow suit so that the Nazis will not be able to tell who is Jewish. The book ends the same way it began because King Christian shows the people that their minor differences do not matter because they are all Danes. ( )

This was a simple, powerful book and I loved it. I had no idea about King Christian X of Denmark, or his resistance against the Nazi regime. I was really moved by his efforts to protect his people and the integrity of his country. This was a simple text that almost any reader could comprehend. This was a great book. ( )

This picture book is based on the true story of King Christian's bravery during Nazi occupation. As the Nazi forced the Jewish Danes to wear a yellow star, King Christian and other Danes wore the stars as well. ( )

Carmen Agra Deedy tells a legandary story of King Christian X of Denmark. During World War II, the Germans invaded Denmark and told Jewish Danes that they would have to wear the Yellow Star of David on their coats. It is believed that the King insisted that his people all be treated the same and if they wore the star, he would wear the star. Grades 2 - 5. Can be used with Number the Stars book. ( )

Deedy, Carmen A, and Henri Sørensen. The Yellow Star: The Legend of King Christian X of Denmark. Atlanta, Ga: Peachtree, 2000. Print.

“The Yellow Star” is a picture book that is considered part legend and part history. The book describes the events that took place in Denmark during the World War II. The main character of the story, King Christian X, tried to protect Jews and his country from the Nazis by refusing to tolerate their regime and follow their rules. The King X showed his courage to his people in many ways. Everyday he rode down the streets of Denmark to greet Danes without any guards or weapons to protect himself. In one occasion, when the Nazis put their flag on top of his palace, he took it down but the Nazis threatened to kill anybody who would try to put it up again. The King was willing to give up his life, if they persisted and Nazis gave up. But the most significant part of the story depicts the Kings decision to wear the yellow star to show unity with the Jewish citizens of his country. By showing the courage to his people he was able to give them hope and strength to resist the the Nazis.
“The Author’s Note” at the end of the book is very important, because it shows which parts of the story are factual and which ones are fictional. Even though the story about the King is considered a legend, many of the details are from actual events that took place. I would recommend this great story to be read in grades 3-5 as part of a unit on WWII and Holocaust. ( )

Retelling: In this story the King of Denmark, King Christian X, found a surprising and inspiring way to protect the Jewish Danes from the Nazis.

Thoughts and Feelings: I appreciated the compassion the people of Denmark had for their king, particularly after I saw how bravely he dealt with the Nazi occupiers.

NO OF PAGES: 32 SUB CAT I: Children's Resources SUB CAT II: Holocaust SUB CAT III: DESCRIPTION: Although it is billed as "legend," Deedy's (The Library Dragon) WWII story raises disturbing questions regarding the importance of historical accuracy. Here Denmark's courageous King Christian responds to the Nazi edict that all Jews must wear a yellow star by wearing a yellow star himself, and his act inspires his subjects to do likewise. Deedy's writing is vivid and lyrical, but in an afterword she acknowledges that her story is "unauthenticated" and that no Danish Jews were "forced" to wear the yellow star. As Ellen Levine points out in her recent Darkness Over Denmark (Children's Forecasts, June 26), the order about the star was never issued in Denmark. Where Levine cited the false story of the king's yellow star to explore the facts about Danish resistance to the Nazis, this book, in perpetuating a myth, clouds history; it also deflects from the country's most famous act of resistance in rescuing the overwhelming majority of its Jews (the afterword reports that Danes smuggled over 7,000 Jews to Sweden in fishing boats). Ultimately, despite the graceful prose, the insight offered into a dark era and Danish artist Sorensen's magnificent oil paintings, the book's fundamental flaw is difficult to overlook. Ages 8-12. (Sept.)NOTES: Purchased from Old Orchard Books through Amazon.com. SUBTITLE: The Legend of King Christian X of Denmark