How old was your dc when they read The Diary of Anne Frank?

[wy_kid_wrangler04]

Not what grade- but age. Thanks :001_smile:

[raceNzanesmom]

My oldest was 10, 5th grade, when he read it on his own. He read it again for history in 8th, so 13. The youngest hasn't read it yet.

[lewelma]

*I* read it at age 13 and it haunted me. Still does.

 

I will have my ds read Lord of the Flies before Diary of Anne Frank. At least LotF is fiction.

 

Ruth in NZ

[Butter]

11 and in 7th grade. She loved it.

[Michele B]

:bigear:

[LillyMama]

7-8 years old, the same year I read The Scarlet Letter. I was a weird kid. I'm glad there seems to be more age-appropriate literature these days.

 

But I will say I recently re-read The Diary of Anne Frank, and it wasn't AT ALL how I remembered it. It really just reads like a young girl's diary. I don't think it's the book that is super heavy, I feel like it's all the OTHER stuff that always comes with it- the Schindler's List kinds of discussions and movies. In other words, the context you get for the book, because the book itself isn't really all that shocking. I read the book at 8 but then we did it all as a class with the field trip type stuff when I was 9 or 10 and that's when I remember getting freaked out about it. Don't get me wrong, I think the context is so important. But, to me, the context is what should be age-monitored, the book itself isn't really that big a deal, in that way.

[nukeswife]

Not sure if or when my kids will read it.

I'm going to be 38 in July and still haven't read it myself. I'd heard about it sure, but it was never something that was assigned in school, so I just never read it.

[susankhan]

My son was 7/8 when he read it. This was in private school before I started homeschooling.

 

Susan Khan

[mumto2]

We haven't read it. Dd14 knows exactly who Anne Frank was and prefers to skip it. I pretty much wish I had never read it. I don't think it is possible to do the book without the sadness. It is a powerful story but it is very haunting. Doubt we will read Lord of the Flies either. Her choice -- my son will be perfectly happy to skip both.

[EKS]

13 (8th grade).

[Guest Kathy H]

Around 11.

[redsquirrel]

I was 12 or 13. My boys will read it at the same age as part of their 8th grade modern history year.

[Susie in CA]

My boys have not read it yet. However, we will read it this year for modern history along with some other books equally sad (Elly - My True Story of the Holocaust, The Breadwinner (Taliban), Out of Line -- Growing Up Soviet). I find all of these situation disturbing. And while I don't think these matters are 'fun' or light-hearted I have come to the conclusion that the kids do need to know these things are still happening today. Imho, the middle school years are a good time (age-wise) to go there.

 

My boys are 11 and 13, btw.

[Tasia]

My oldest read it last year in school, when he was 12. My second son can't resist reading any book that's lying around, so he read it at 9.