Observe: There is a soldier in the middle of town, that is unusual.  

Notice: The soldier is addressing harmless schoolgirls running in the middle of town, as if he is going to reprimand them for breaking a rule.    

Wonder: What sort of world is this set in, where soldiers give commands to girls in the middle of town? Is it wartime?

Observe: The strong feeling of contempt that Annemarie has for the soldier is strange for a schoolgirl.

Notice: She uses the words “our country” which point to the fact that these soldiers are “other”, not Danish - suggesting that they are foreign occupiers who are unwelcome in her country. The perceived lack of effort in assimilation by learning the language is also significant and would seem to portray the soldiers as arrogant.

Wonder: What has happened to engender this sort of animosity from a school-going child, one we would associate with innocence, wonder and openness? Has Annemarie or her family members experienced ill-treatment from these soldiers? Her reaction is also curious - why does she have to conceal her true feelings? What does she fear?

Observe: How the ubiquitous presence of soldiers has become a normal part of life for Kirsti, for as long as she can remember.

Notice: The Nazi Occupation has gone on for so long that the soldiers have become a familiar sight. However, there is a clear difference between the fear experienced by Ellen, Annemarie and their mothers and the childish naivety demonstrated by Kirsti.

Wonder: How are the girls able to maintain this facade of normalcy in the midst of fear and uncertainty? What is the purpose of the presence of the soldiers in the midst of the civilian population? Is it for fear and intimidation as experienced by the two older girls and their mothers?

Observe: Mrs Rosen is asking the girls to always blend into the crowd and not draw attention to themselves.

Notice: Mrs Rosen wants the girls to blend into the crowd, and not draw attention to themselves. She does not want to give "them" any reason to remember their faces. "Them" here refers to the German soldiers that were at every street corner.

Wonder: Why is it important that the girls always remain invisible and "be one of the crowd"?

Observe: This is exactly the chapter title- Why are you running?

Notice: The reason that the girls are running is that they are both racing with each other.

Wonder: If 'Why are you running?' sets the stage as the alluding to what whole the story is all about? -of Ellen and her family 'running' away from the Nazis. Ellen had to leave to Uncle Henrik's place to escape the Nazis. There, she reunited with her parents and then they all left Denmark to Sweden.

Page 4 "But Kirsti reached up and pushed the soldier's hand away. "Don't," she said loudly.

Observe: Annemarie was being more cautious and held back when talking to the German soldier. Kirsti, displayed the nature of a young child, who is honest and fearless.

Notice: The contrast of the older child and younger child. Anniemarie probably knows the danger of the situation in Denmark. Kirsti, on the younger hand, being younger, is oblivious (or not?) to the danger.

This idea of knowing lesser will make one braver will again come up in the later part of the story as Uncle Henrik mentioned to Annemarie ," ...it is much easier to be brave if you do not know everything. "

Wonder: If Kirsti was created as a comic relief, as well as an unwilling 'heroine' in the first chapter? She somehow diffuses the hostility and tension in the encounter with the 2 German soldiers, with her unabashed behaviour.

Also, in the harrowing encounter with 4 German soldiers on her way to the dock to deliver Uncle Henrick's his 'lunch', Annemarie remembered in the 1st chapter of how Kirsti amused the soldier so she decided to act how Kirsti would to diffuse the tension, saving her own life.

Observe: The maths Annemarie is doing in her head as she lists the distinctive military accessories.

Notice: Annemarie's heightened alertness through intricate details and her stares. How time has slowed down through the use of repetition to create tension and fear.

Wonder: By staring at the rifles first, she might be assessing how dangerous the situation is, like how accurately the soldiers' shot could be within that range, etc, before she decides her next move.

Could the detailed description of the soldiers here be a foreshadowing of later conflicts?

Boots, helmets, rifles are all inanimate objects incapable of feeling emotions. By listing 'cold eyes' in this group, is the writer trying to imply that the soldiers are unfeeling objects too?

'She is pretty, like my own girl,' the tall one said in a more pleasant voice."

Observe: The soldiers laughing as they speak in fluent German, their home language.

Notice: The soldiers didn't take offence at Kirsti's rudeness, instead the tone of the tall one softened. This scene shows the humanness of the soldiers which contrasts the earlier part where Annemarie describes them by their military uniform and accessories. It also shows the complexity of roles a person plays in society.

Wonder: Could the soldiers be talking about their families earlier? Is this a deliberate attempt by the author to humanise the soldiers, that beneath the fear-striking uniform and rifle is a young father who misses his family and child(ren)?

De Frie Danske – The Free Danes – was an illegal newspaper; Peter Neilsen brought it to them occasionally, carefully folded and hidden among ordinary books and papers, and Mama always burned it after she and Papa had read it.

Observe: There was circulation of the newspaper - The Free Danes – in the country and it was illegal.

Notice: Though it was an illegal newspaper,  Peter Neilsen would go to great length to bring the newspaper for Mama and Papa to read it.  Having to burn the newspaper after reading suggest that Mama and Papa, including Peter Neilsen, would put their lives on the line just to get hold of the newspaper.  This act of theirs portrayed by the author suggests either an act of foolishness or bravery, depending on one's perspective, of these three characters in doing what was right in their views.

Wonder: I wonder what was printed in the newspaper that could suggest the danger that the characters would put themselves into.  I also wonder and marvel at the sheer amount of logistic and the high level of trust in the staff involved, from covering the news to getting the newspaper to be printed and circulated, without being detected by the authorities.

“When will there be cupcakes again?”

“When the war ends,” Mrs Johansen said.

Observe:

War in the country has caused the family not to have cupcakes, like they used to.

Notice:

War could take away the simple joy of having cupcakes from a child.  The effects of war on infrastructures are visible and easily noticed by many.  However, the intangible effects like robbing of a child’s simple joy of having a cupcake could largely go unnoticed and it could be the attempt by the author to bring out the devastating effects of war on the intangibles that are not visible and not talk much about by many.

Wonder

I wonder what the author has gone through in her life experiences to be able to bring out such great insights on the effects of the war.  

Observe - the children were very used to the presence of the German soldiers

Notice - as far as Kirsti was concerned, she did not know when the German soldiers came into their country but they were already there when she was old enough to remember things

Wonder - I wonder if her parents had spoken to her about how life was like before their country was invaded

"She told her mother and Mrs Rosen of the incident, trying to make it sound humorous and unimportant. But their uneasy looks didn't change."

Observe: Annemarie knew she had to inform her mother about her encounter with the soldiers. She tried to make light of it, knowing they would worry.

Notice: Annemarie was mature enough to understand the possible dangers of her earlier run-in with the German soldiers but did not want her mother to know how terrified she had been. Everyone was extremely wary of every encounter with the soldiers.

Wonder: What bad experience could Annemarie's mother had had with the soldiers to make her so uneasy and perturbed?

"If he has such a pretty little girl, why doesn't he go back to her like a good father?" Mrs Johansen murmured, stroking Kirsti's cheek. "Why doesn't he go back to his own country?"

Observe - Mrs Johansen hoped the German soldiers would leave Copenhagen.

Notice - Mrs Johansen did not accept the German soldiers in her homeland even after so many years.

Wonder - Would she dare to turn her thoughts into actions and chase them away?

Observe: A soldier, from the opposing side, talking to an innocent, naive, little girl during a time of war.

Notice: The soldier who had seemed intimidating had softened, making him more humane.

Wonder: Will he remember Kristi? Will Kristi encounter some form of danger in future and he will step in to help her?

Observe: The life that Kirsti is experiencing now, to her, was normal. She had been growing up in that kind of environment.

Notice: Kirsti was unaware of the tension and anxiety felt by the people around her.

Wonder: Will Kirsti eventually cause some form of damage to the people around her? When Kirsti grows older, how will she be like? Will her views of her and the world change?

..."Jews?" Annemarie repeated. "Is Mrs Hirsch Jewish? Is that why the button shop closed? Why have they done that?"...

Pg 38

...Then suddenly, she sat upright, her eyes wide. "Mama!" she said. "Papa! The Rosens are Jewish, too!"

Observe:

That Annemarie did not realise why Jews (like the Hirsch family) and their livelihoods are being persecuted, and the sobering realisation dawned upon her that the Rosens (whom she closely interacts with) are Jews and its resulting implications.

Notice:

How we view and relate to others is often beyond their race, religion and/or nationality, but rather, interpersonal relationships are established through daily and frequent interactions, and grown familiarity with a fellow person.

Wonder:

Even though people are affected emotionally about what they feel is the senseless and illogical treatment of Jews during the Holocaust, we wonder what are the extent and lengths that people would go to, to help and shield the Jews from persecution.

Observe: A German solder approached Annemarie, Ellen and Kirsti on their way home from school. The soldier reached out and stroked Kirsti's hair. Annemarie was afraid and prayed that Kirsti's reaction would not land them in trouble.

Notice: The presence of the two German soldiers was nerve wracking to Annemarie but not Kirsti. Annemarie must have heard or known about the atrocities the German army had inflicted on her countrymen. It seems instinctive that she knew the German soldiers were dangerous.

Wonder: What kind of information she had received from the adults in her family or at school about Germany?

Observe: Kirsti, unlike Annemarie, did not seem to be afraid of the German soldiers. She considered them a part of the landscape of her surroundings. She considered them insignificant. She did not consider them dangerous. She even pushed the soldier's hand away when he reached to stroke her hand.

Wonder: What was Kirsti not afraid of the German soldiers? Perhaps she had never heard about the atrocities committed by the Nazis?

Go forward from these posts to help consolidate what the class understands about war to help step into text. More importantly, direct attention to these situations would lead to the conflicts that arise in the story, and how the characters would need to respond (e.g. facing fear to do what they need to protect Jews, to do what is right), or what it shows about characters when they respond as they did. All these would enrich understanding and discussion of themes such as taking a stand, or bravery.

I would definitely refer to some of these posts as I go into Sessions 3 and 4 for this class.

Observe: Both Mr Rosen and Annemarie were curious about the contents of the package but both did not voice out their thoughts aloud.

Think: They realised the importance of the package though not knowing what the content of the package was. Annemarie and Mr Rosen seem to instinctively know that the package has something to do with the rescue effort taking place that night.

Wonder: I wonder if they knew what big of an impact the package would be in the few hours after that scene when the German soldiers boarded uncle Henrik's boat.