Diary

Of

Anne Frank

By: Otto Frank

Summary: The Diary of Anne Frank was written over a two-year period. She names her diary “Kitty.” In her diary she talks about her innermost feelings. She talks about her life while she is hiding with her family in a secret attic of a building where her father Otto used to work. Most of the diary is of her daily routine, her mother, father, sister, the Van Daans, and Mr. Dussel. She talks about the deep love for her father and the distance she feels between her and mother. As her grow for Peter Van Daan she starts to discover her sexuality. Suddenly she falls in love with Peter she embraces her growing love and desire for peter. She starts to have conflicts of emotions of: Depression, despair, cheerfulness, pleasure, misery, and hope for the future, desire, love, survival, and deprivation. Before she can finish her ‘Kitty’ they are caught by the Gestapo and sent to different concentration camps.

Illustration and Art: On the front cover you see a picture of Anne Frank at the desk at school. The next page is dedicated to her father who got her story out, Otto Frank; under the photo she said, “Daddy’s nicest photograph.” The book is loaded with pages of Anne Frank diary. The one I liked the most is Anne writing in shorthand and secret codes. There are many photos/illustrations of the annex (floor plans) where they stayed to show you how they lived for two years in hiding at 263 Prinsengracht. There is a timeline of loose sheets of her diary. There are many photos of Anne family, the Van Daans, and Mr. Dussel.

Evaluation by Genre: Diary, Historical nonfiction. It talks about the real life a adolescent girl. Anne speaks in first person as she addresses her diary as her friend Kitty. She writes her personal feelings down not knowing years later they entire world will dive into her personal life.

Major conflict of the story: Is the perils of hiding to escape the Nazi persecution of the Jewish people; the struggle in Anne’s life and her understanding of World War II.

  Major characters in the story: Anne Frank, who wants to become a writer, starts by writing in her first and only diary named “Kitty.” Anne grows from an innocent little girl to a tempestuous, precocious, petty teen-age girl. At fifteen she feels she becomes a woman by falling in love. She eventually gets caught and dies of typhus. Margot Frank, Anne’s older sister who gets very little attention in Anne’s diary. Anne thinks she is the pretty one. She too dies of typhus. Otto Frank, her father who is adored and loved by Anne. He is the head of the family and all the decisions all by him. He is the only family member to survive the Holocaust. Edith Frank, Anne’s mother who Anne feels she has nothing in common with, she struggles to understand her mother. Edith dies in a concentration camp due to starvation and exhaustion. Mr. Van Daan, Friend of Otto Frank, he causes friction in the attic because of his selfishness, and anger towards his wife. He dies in a gas chamber. Mrs. Van Daan is described by Anne as petty, stingy, flirtatious and disagreeable woman. Her death is unknown. Peter Van Daan is the teenage son of the Van Daans he is quiet, lazy, timid, honest, and sweet to Anne. Peter has strong feeling for Anne, he give her, her first kiss.  They are caught and he is sent to a concentration camp where he dies. Mr. Dussel, acquaintance of the Franks, he is a dentist, and a hypochondriac; who shares the room with Anne. He is also sent to a concentration camp where he dies. Mr. Kugler and Miep, they both are associated with Otto Frank. They help with foods, news, and supplies for the two years. Miep died recently at the age of 100, in the year 2010.

Motivational Activities: (a) Ask the children to analyze the front cover as well as all the photos in the book and list three things they know about the book without reading it yet. (2) Ask the children to list the similarities and differences of all the characters in the book. (3) Ask the children to write a letter to Anne Frank.

Reader Response Questions: (1) The story is written in what point of view? (2) What was the first item Anne packed in her backpack? (3) Why did the family have to put on so many clothes? (4) Who is Kitty? (5) Where did the Franks hide and who came with them? (6) Who helped the Franks for the two years they were hiding in the Annex? (7) What did Anne talk about in her diary? (8) If you were Anne what would you have done in her situation?

Personal Comments: I love this book because grown-up never see that through their actions how it affects a child. We get to see a child’s view of the war, the racism of Jews and the destruction of the family unit. It is a must read for age appropriate children.

This Non-Fiction book shows Informational sources that explain the subject. This book is designed to inform the reader. It covers diverse topics ranging from: poverty, race, culture, ethics, school, work, home, and play. It also provides knowledge about  a child in hiding because she is a Jew. It enables students at different reading levels to engage in this book. It presents detailed information about its subjects through a brief straight forward text and carefully composted illustrations (photographs). (Literature and the Child, 117).

Cited

Whitman Galda, Lee, Bernice E. Cullinan, and Lawrence R. Sipe. "Literature and the Child." , 7th Edition by Lee Galda, Bernice E. Cullinan, Lawrence R. Sipe (9780495602392). Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, n.d. &, 1998. Print.

 Frank, Anne, Otto Frank, Mirjam Pressler, and Susan Massotty. The Diary of a Young Girl: The Definitive Edition. New York: Doubleday, 1995. Print.
Posted by: Terry M. Wheaton