Cover:
Bibliographic
Information:
Title: The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition
Author: Anne Frank
ISBN: 978-0385480338
Publisher: Anchor Books
Copyright: 1952
Reader’s
Annotation:
One girl describes the difficulty of being a teen
while in hiding.
Summary:
Anne Frank and her family went into hiding in
Amsterdam, as a result of the increasingly stringent and dangerous actions
being taken against Jews during World War II.
Anne and her family move into a secret attic space in the annex of the
building where her father worked. In her
diary, Anne recounts the hardships of having to live in hiding, and discussed
the other people living in the annex with her.
There is also a discussion of how her father’s coworkers assist in
keeping the Frank family’s residence a secret.
Critical
Evaluation:
Written in the form of a diary, this book now serves
as a memoir of one girl’s experience trying to survive during World War
II. While the book is translated from its
original language, the text is still in the words of Anne Frank herself, which means
we get a firsthand account of what was going on in the world during WWII, as
well as the unique experience of the Frank family living in hiding.
One of the notable things about the writing in the
book is that it not only discusses the unusual circumstance of the family’s
wartime life, it talks about typical, everyday frustrations a teen girl may
encounter. Anne speaks about her
relationship with her family members, and voices honest frustration about her
relationship with her mother. Anne also
talks about the changes her body undergoes as she matures. Anne’s writing captures how very lonely she
feels, a feeling to which most teen readers will relate.
Author
Biography:
Born in the city of Frankfurt, Germany,
she lived most of her life in or near Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Born a German
national, Frank lost her citizenship in 1941 and thus became stateless. The
Frank family moved from Germany to Amsterdam in the early 1930s when the Nazis
gained control over Germany. By May 1940, they were trapped in Amsterdam by the
German occupation of the Netherlands. As persecutions of the Jewish population
increased in July 1942, the family went into hiding in some concealed rooms
behind a bookcase in the building where Anne's father worked. In August 1944,
the group was betrayed and transported to concentration camps. Anne and her
sister, Margot, were eventually transferred to Bergen-Belsen concentration
camp, where they died (probably of typhus) in February or March 1945, just
weeks before the camp was liberated in April.
Genre(s):
Non-Fiction, Memoir
Non-Fiction, Memoir
Curriculum
Ties:
Pennsylvania State Standard - CC.1.2.11-12.LRead and comprehend literary non-fiction and informational text on grade level, reading independently and proficiently.
Booktalk
Ideas:
A discussion on what it means to be a refugee in
wartime, and modern examples of refugees
A discussion about the atrocities committed as a
part of the Holocaust, not only against Jews but against other groups of people
as well.
Reading
Level:
Lexile 1080
Interest
Age:
12 and up
Challenge
Issues: Could be
challenged based brief discussion of sexuality, and dark subject matter
relating to the Holocaust and war.
If
this book were challenged I would:
· Listen to the concerns of the person raising
the challenge
· Consult the library’s collection
development policy
· Explain how this work meets a library
need based on the collection development policy
· Consult YALSA’s Dealing with Challenges to
Young Adult Materials
· Consult reviews on VOYA, Amazon,
Common Sense Media, and Kirkus
· Discuss any awards or notable
commendations the book received
· Explain the library’s commitment to
intellectual freedom as discussed in the ALA Library Bill of
Rights
· Give the patron the procedure for a
formal challenge should they seek to pursue it
Why
was this book selected:
It is important that a well-rounded teen collection
contain all types of materials. While,
in general, teens do not check out many non-fiction items, there are some titles
that stand out as classics, and this is certainly one of them. Teens are often quite interested in history,
and World War II/the Holocaust seems to be an area of particular interest to
teens. For me personally, I first became
fascinated with the Holocaust as a teenager, and then that interest stayed on
through my adult life. I think many
teens want to read about the Holocaust in an attempt to understand how such an
extreme tragedy could occur. Anne Frank
is one of the most notable victims of the Holocaust, in part because of this
book. Her words offer teen readers a
unique first hand account of the hardships of trying to survive the war. I cannot imagine not having this title as a
part of any teen collection.
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