Anne Frank

by Josephine Poole

Overview

How did an ordinary little girl come to live such an extraordinary life? This picture book biography tells the incredible story of Anne Frank for a younger audience.

Anne Frank's diary telling the story of her years in hiding from the Nazis has affected millions of people. But what was she like as a small girl, at home with her family and friends; at play and at school? In the first half of the book we meet Anne as a small child growing up with her family in Germany. Then we follow her flight to Holland to escape the Nazis; the German invasion and the gradual isolation, then outright persecution, of the Jewish population which forces the family into hiding; the years in the Secret Annex; and her last heart-breaking journey.

Told with haunting, meticulously researched illustrations, this is the ideal introduction to Anne Frank's story.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780099409762
Publisher:	Penguin Random House UK
Publication date:	01/02/2020
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	9.50(w) x 10.20(h) x (d)
Age Range:	10 - 12 Years

About the Author

Josephine Poole is the renowned author of several books for children and young adults. Her first book was published in 1961, and she has also written extensively for television. She lives in Somerset.

Angela Barrett is one of the most highly acclaimed illustrators in the country. She studied at the Royal College of Art and has illustrated a number of picture books, including a retelling of Anne Frank that has been translated into 12 different languages. Angela has won the Smarties Book Prize and the WHSmith Illustration Award. She lives in central London.

Editorial Reviews

Viewed from a sensitive, child-oriented perspective, Anne Frank becomes less of an icon or school subject and more of "an ordinary little girl, someone you might sit next to in class." Poignant, realistic illustrations and prose depict Anne's life before and during the Holocaust while revealing the broader human impact of historical events. One powerful scene shows children watching Nazi soldiers hang posters of Hitler; another depicts Jewish shopkeepers ducking flying glass from their smashed windows. Tactfully edited for young readers, this biographical picture book is thought-provoking and moving, yet never maudlin. (ages 8 to 12)
Child magazine's Best Children's Book Awards 2005

Poole and Barrett's (Joan of Arc) third collaboration tells of Anne Frank's childhood up through the moment her family's hideout is raided by the Nazis, and serves as a kind of introduction to the heroine's diary: "The story of Anne Frank begins with an ordinary little girl, someone you might sit next to in class." Compassionately, calmly, Poole shades in the circumstances that led up to the Holocaust, describing the poverty of the Weimar Republic and Hitler's hate campaign against the Jews: "He accused the Jews of grabbing the best jobs.... And it wasn't fair, because Germans were special-the finest race in the world!" Anne's father finds work in the Netherlands, but the Germans raid there, too. Barrett's gouache paintings begin with a sunny scene of Anne's nursery, and gradually lose their color as Nazism overtakes Europe; by the end of the story, the pictures of the family in their hiding place have faded to dark grays, browns and somber greens. Yet the illustrations maintain a certain softness; one last close-up shows Anne's face, frightened but controlled, as the SS officers take her away. This visual approach keeps youngsters at a safe distance, along with a focus on Miep, Mr. Frank's secretary, who saves Anne's diary and returns it to Mr. Frank after the war: "Anne Frank was no more than a girl, and her short life had come to an end. But her story was just beginning." The green leaves of spring unfurl outside the window as Miep hands him the bright red diary-offering readers a picture of redemption and hope. Ages 8-up. (Aug.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Gr 3-5-In this moving picture-book biography, the familiar yet compelling story is told with simple poignancy and dignity. The famous diary is barely mentioned until well into the text; Poole has chosen instead to focus on Anne herself, and the fact that she was an ordinary girl born into extraordinarily difficult times. Although her elfish personality and sensitive soul are certainly alluded to, particular care is given to creating a context for the circumstances of her confinement and tragic demise. Both the text and illustrations quickly create a sense of foreboding. Spreads are dominated by Barrett's realistically rendered paintings done in subdued tones: Hitler's face looming large over small children in the street; broken glass flying through a storefront owned by a Jewish merchant; Anne and her friends denied entrance to the cinema; the girl's tearful good-bye to her beloved cat as she and her family prepare to go into hiding. At this point in the story, the details of her life as revealed in her diary are clearly explained but not sentimentalized or dwelt upon. The author details the difficulties of confinement, Anne's blossoming love for Peter, and the ultimate betrayal and capture of those hidden in the "secret annex." Anne's death from typhus receives one sentence, balanced against the survival of her father and especially her diary, which was placed in his care and ultimately given to the world. For those looking to introduce Anne's writings or her story, this beautifully presented book is a worthy choice.-Teri Markson, Stephen S. Wise Temple Elementary School, Los Angeles Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Poole introduces Anne Frank, one of the most recognizable figures of Holocaust history, to younger audiences in this picture-book biography written in succinct and candid language. The retelling of her brief, yet important life begins with birth, quickly moves to the increasing anti-Semitic political environment in her native Germany, her family relocation to Amsterdam, their hiding and Anne's writing. Barrett's detailed expressive paintings blend beautifully with the simplified text to suggest the nature of Anne's life, dreams, frustration and optimism. The use of dark grays and browns accentuates the morose atmosphere of the annex's stifled environment and mood of this child made extraordinary by the circumstances of her life. In addition, Barrett has captured a likeness to at least Anne and her father, leaving the reader with a last haunting look on Anne's face as she is taken away by the SS. Poole's explicit, poignant last line alludes to the importance of the diary and Anne's legacy: "Anne Frank was no more than a girl and her short life had come to an end. But her story was just beginning." (chronology, author's note, Web site) (Picture book/biography. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews