Diary of a Young Girl - Anne Frank

[OhTheTastyNuts]

DS1 is 10.5 and we've just finished reading the Once/After/Then/Now/Maybe books by Morris Gleitzman. He has really enjoyed them and would like to read more about WW2.

I was wondering if the Diary of Anne Frank might be suitable? Or is he a bit too young?

We read together before bedtime so we can talk about what is happening and how the characters might be feeling. I skipped over a couple of bits in 'After' where there was discussion about someone being skinned alive with a knife, but that was mainly because DH was listening and he felt that the whole series was a bit too grown up for DS (DS strongly disagrees!)

If Anne Frank isn't suitable, do you have any other recommendations?

Thanks!

I think he’s a bit young, not because of the Nazi context, but because from what I remember there’s a fair bit about her going through puberty, her changing body and developing feelings for the boy from the other family they live with. I feel like a 10 year old boy might be a bit grossed out by that!

The Silver Sword is a fantastic option. I remember reading it in my last year of primary school and loving it, so it’s definitely age appropriate.

How about goodnight Mr Tom? I used to love that at a similar age

If you're reading with him, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas would be ok age wise (normally a y7/8 text)

Goodnight Mr Tom is fantastic. I first read it at that age and still read it now. The film is terrible though so don't bother with that!

Thanks for the recommendations!

I have mixed feelings about The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas. I think it's too focussed on Bruno's family so your sympathy lies with them rather than with the Jewish people in the camps. I get that it's a work of fiction but I think it's quite problematic from a historical/ethical POV.

I'd forgotten about The Silver Sword! I read it in yr 6 too

As pp said, there's bits about sex and puberty. I would be tempted to save it until he's a bit older but perhaps more because I think it's an absolutely brilliant book and the more mature he is and able to appreciate her writing, the better. I have just re-read it and I love it so much. I love her, what a gift to the world her diary is.

Yes there's a lot of stuff about her and Peter which he might not appreciate yet!

Could try When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit by Judith Kerr?

As pp said Michelle Magorian is good - Goodnight Mr Tom or Cuckoo in the Nest are both WWII

My 7&9yos have a book about Anne Frank, which they've read and we've discussed. They understood the 'war' bits fine.
I would read ahead in the Diary, and skip over any unsuitable puberty bits if you think he's too young.

@LaViudaNegra

As pp said, there's bits about sex and puberty. I would be tempted to save it until he's a bit older but perhaps more because I think it's an absolutely brilliant book and the more mature he is and able to appreciate her writing, the better. I have just re-read it and I love it so much. I love her, what a gift to the world her diary is.

I love her too, there is a documentary about her with Judy dench (I think!) on Netflix but I haven't been able to watch it yet. I found visiting the house incredibly emotional, the things those poor families went through. Lest we forget indeed with the way things are going all over the world recently!

My son (9) is reading 'my secret war diary by Flossie Albright'. He loves it (not usually a keen reader), it is an account of world war 2 in the eyes of a 9 year old British girl whose dad goes off to war.
It is set out like a real diary with letters, photos and attachments.

I've read some to him and I must say it is brilliant.

I'm a history teacher - I'd really recommend:
Goodnight mister Tom
The Silver Sword
The Dolphin Crossing
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit
The amazing tale of Adolphus Tips
I am David
The Endless Steppe
All wwii and very readable, with some quite challenging issues in all of them and some touching on the more challenging themes in Anne Frank. Please not the boy in the stripped pyjamas- it's an awful book and hated by history teachers!

I wouldn't do Anne Frank yet - not just because of the holocaust theme but also some very complex teen emotions.

Michael Morpurgo- Friend or Foe, tells the story of two boys of primary school age who are evacuated and see a plane come down. The children in our yr 6 enjoyed it because they could identify with the dilemmas the boys faced, around friendship and gratitude.

I probably first read Anne Frank aged about 14 or so but I really didn't fully appreciate it until I was an adult. I really like some of the stories and memoirs she wrote separately (published as 'Tales From The Secret Annex'). There's a whole part about when she started at secondary school and the trouble she got into for talking to much and her friendships - especially with Hannelie. But again I wouldn't have really appreciated these stories at the age of 10 They aren't really about 'The War'. It's a teenage girls diary. It ends when they are arrested. We (the reader) knows what will be coming for the family but that horror isn't really part of the book.
Save it for when he is older.

Re The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas was an opportunity to talk about how events are distorted depending the viewpoint told from, rather than as historically accurate account - that's why I said if your reading with him

In terms of viewpoints, there's the story of Rose Blache. About a young German girl and her changing perspective of the war - it is inferred that she is shot at the end though, which is why I didn't suggest it initially. Maybe read it first to assess whether it would be too upsetting for him.

My 11 years old just read this and said she found it hard going and she's an above average reader. My other 11year old gave up.
Have you tried goodnight Mr Tom and war horse Michael morpurgo both mine loved these.

I wouldn't bother with the boy in the striped pajamas. Its rubbish.

I was probably 9 when I read Anne Frank's Diary for the first time. I've re read it many times since then and got more and more from it as I got older. I was too young the first time I read it imo.

I agree that The Pink Rabbit books would be perfect for his age.

I read 'stripped pyjamas' when my daughter's class did it in Year 6. I got so angry at Bruno for being - quite frankly - unbelievably thick. How could a kid with a Dad so high up in the Nazi party not have a clue what was going on. He would have been in Hitler's Youth from a very early age and would have been totally brainwashed into their beliefs.
When I was at the school helping with reading I chatted to a few kids about it and I rambled on a bit in a ranty way about "stupid bloody Bruno" much to the kids bafflement.
The class watched the the film (we parents had to give permission and were warned the kids might get upset). When they all came out at the end of the day they were all silent. This particular class were never silent. Poor kids. I refuse to watch the film.
However I adore Goodnight Mr Tom and have read it about a million times. If you read When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit it is good to point out that this is the writer of the Mog books and Tiger Who Came to Tea (if your kid knows those books of course). It's quite an educational concept to think about that if the family hadn't left Germany when they did - the world would not have Mog the cat.