Review by Booklist Review
Gr. 4-7. One of the best-known books of all time, The Diary of Anne0 Frank0 continues to spark spin-offs for grown-ups as well as young readers--including, just this year, Ellen Feldman's adult novel The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank0 and Barry Denenberg's Shadow Life: A Portrait of Anne Frank and Her Family0 , written for young teens. Poole's compelling picture-book biography is for grade-schoolers who may not have read the Diary0 as well as for older children who want to know more. The author tells the story directly, setting Anne's life within the context of Hitler's rise to power and the vicious persecution of the Jews, first in Germany, then in Holland, where the Frank family was driven into hiding. Barrett's powerful, realistic pictures keep to Anne's viewpoint, showing the terror in the street and the anguish of leaving as well as Anne sitting alone in the attic writing or with her arms around fellow fugitive Peter. Finally comes the nightmare climax of the Nazi raid, "smash, crash, boots on the stairs." The text is substantial, but there's no attempt to tell it all, and the spaces left between the haunting words and beautiful pictures will send many to Anne's own journal. A detailed chronology of the history and the personal story conclude. --Hazel Rochman Copyright 2005 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
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.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
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 (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
(Intermediate) The acclaimed author-illustrator team who created Snow White (rev. 3/92) and Joan of Arc (rev. 9/98) are an inspired choice for a picture-book biography of Anne Frank: her iconic story, if not exactly a fairy tale, if not exactly a legend, is as firmly engrained in our collective consciousness. Poole's precis of Hitler's rise and European Jews' persecution is remarkably complete for its brevity. In fact, the entire text is a model of picture-book writing: the prose lucid; the trajectory clean. Poole glosses over the difficult dynamics of life in the annex, not to shield her audience but to keep the emphasis on Anne's strategies for coping with her restricted existence. There are no source notes, and Poole takes a few liberties with documentable fact (""With a thumping heart, Anne stuffed her most precious bits and pieces into her satchel...with clumsy, trembling hands""). Because the text is long, sometimes the accompanying picture illustrates just one of the events described on the page. But what pictures they are -- stark and formal, yet immediate. With their muted colors and sense of just-captured action, they have a fairy-tale remove that serves to heighten emotion. See especially Anne, surrounded by Nazi soldiers after the annex has been raided, looking directly out at the viewer. A memorable addition to the satellite literature surrounding The Diary of a Young Girl. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
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) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
