Story of Anne Franke for 13 y.o. boys? (Xpost)/WW2 Lit.

[pjssully]

Hi,

We will begin WW2 in the next week and just deciding on our lit. choices.  I am torn-I would really like my kids to read the story of Anne Frank but not sure 13 year olds is a good age.  I know the next time around might be better, but I can not say for sure they will be homeschooling (due to my health issues)  Do you think this is too mature for almost 8th grade boys?  Or do you think, being BOYS, they would be bored?  Anyone have experience with this book?  In your opinion, what is the best age for this book? 

 

ALSO  What did or are you using for WW 2 lit. selections??

 

Thanks

pam

[Monica_in_Switzerland]

Only my personal experience, but we read this as a class in 7th grade.  I don't think it was too mature at that age.

[Alte Veste Academy]

I think Anne Frank is fine for 13. However, my absolute favorite book for WW2 is The Boy on the Wooden Box, an autobiographical account of life in a concentration camp written by a survivor (one helped by Schindler). I do think the latter is more engaging and, yes, I would absolutely choose it over Anne Frank as an assignment for a 13 year old boy. The story moves from happier times to the forced ghetto to the concentration camp. 

[redsquirrel]

I had no problem assigning it to my son, but we ended up going with Maus. I think he would have done fine with either though. And lots and lots of boys read and learn from The Diary of Anne Frank. I went with Maus not because I didn't think my son wouldn't like a book about a 13 year old girl, I just thought it was a better choice for my particular kid. It is certainly not an easier book to read. My boys don't mind reading books about girls, The Penderwicks, Anne of Green Gables, Little House, have all been big hits here.

 

Another possibility is Number the Stars, but that is a fairly easy read. My 10 year old will be reading that as part of Modern History this year.

[Lori D.]

Also responded in your Xpost ;), but in case some people only read your thread on this board, here's a "replay":

 

 

You may find this lengthy discussion helpful, about when/who to do Diary of Anne Frank: "Number the Stars or Diary of Anne Frank?" There are also LOTS of ideas for additional and/or substitute Literature on WW2 in that thread as well. Anne Frank is really about memoir/biography, very little about WW2 or even about being a Jew in hiding, so if you're specifically wanting WW2 Lit., check out that linked threads for alternate ideas.

 

For appropriateness or whether or not Anne Frank is a fit for your family, check out "Is there anything inappropriate in Anne Frank?"

[Lori D.]

ALSO  What did or are you using for WW 2 lit. selections??

 

 

IDEAS: 13yo boys would probably like Escape From Colditz (Reid), autobiography of British POWs who were the incorrigible escapers from German camps during WW2.

 

The Book Thief (Zusak) is well-written literature, but a bit unusual: it told from the perspective of the character Death, who is trying to understand humans, and follows a German girl who is placed in foster care at about age 9 in 1938 with a German couple, and follows her for about 4 years. The family hides a Jewish man for a short while, and deal with shortages and air raids.

 

If your 13yo DSs are able to handle a very mature presentation, Night (Wiesel) is a classic. Very intense and psychological, as it is the autobiographical memoir of the Jewish author captured and marched to a death camp, really capturing the stripping away of his spirit and soul.

 

Hitler (Marrin) -- biography; Albert Marrin's works are highly rated on these boards.

 

The Hiding Place (ten Boom) is wonderful; autobiography of Christian family who hid Jews in Denmark, and when discovered were sent to a death camp.

 

Farewell to Manzanar (Houston) is the memoir of a U.S. Japanese teen girl in an internment camp with her family during WW2.

 

The Endless Steppe (Hautzig) -- memoir-written-in-historical-fiction-style of Russian mom and daughter sent to live in the Siberian gulag during WW2.

 

The Winged Watchman (Van Stockum) -- from the perspective of the youngest son in a Dutch family living under German occupation.

 

Escape From Warsaw (Serraillier) -- based on true events; three Polish silblings who survived alone in Warsaw for the last few years of the war and along the way take in an orphaned boy.

 

After the War (Matas) -- at end of WW2, teen Jewish girl in Europe tries to find her family; when she learns none have survived, she heads to Palestine, as the nation of Israel struggles to form.

 

Number the Stars (Lowry) -- for upper elementary ages, but a good one to start discussing the tough topic of hiding Jews and the Holocaust.

 

Great Escapes of World War II (Sullivan) -- super light/fast; real-life POWs who escape from various prisons (Japanese soldier escapes from Australia; German soldier escapes from U.S., American soldier escapes from Germany...) Similar, but with even shorter stories, and covering a much wider range of history (WW1, WW2, and espionage of Cold War) is Paul Dowswell's True Adventure Collection -- 3 books (Spies, Heroes, and Survivors) compiled into one volume.

[Heather7]

It would be fine for an 8th grader. Our son also read the above mentioned "The Boy on the Wooden Box" in 6th grade and it opened a lot of insightful discussions. He will be reading The Hiding Place (which we also listened to as a family as an audio book on a long trip) this year. All well-written books that will engage at about 6th grade and up.

[Melissa H. in GA]

My oldest loved _Bright Candles; a novel of the Danish Resistance_ by Nathaniel Benchley.  I recommended it to our 88 year old librarian. She read it said that it is absolutely accurate.  She should know; as she grew up over there and lived through the Resistance.  For the record, my oldest devours books and is almost 22.  He still lists this book as among his top 5 favorites of all time.  :-)

 

Melissa

[ocelotmom]

My oldest loved _Bright Candles; a novel of the Danish Resistance_ by Nathaniel Benchley.  I recommended it to our 88 year old librarian. She read it said that it is absolutely accurate.  She should know; as she grew up over there and lived through the Resistance.  For the record, my oldest devours books and is almost 22.  He still lists this book as among his top 5 favorites of all time.  :-)

 

Melissa

 

That is one that stuck with me, too. The story, anyways - it took me years of searching to find the title :)

[Pen]

My 13 yo ds appreciated the Anne Frank movie that has Ben Kingsley as Anne's father. I thought that would be a good introduction to perhaps reading the book when a bit more mature. It is not that I think the book would be inappropriate, but it takes some knowledge of what is happening historically to be able to put it into a perspective beyond that of just a girl's personal story. 

[MiMi 4under3]

My kids have all read it (Anne Frank), and I read it aloud when the twins were much younger - maybe 6 or 7 years old? At the time, they were annoyed that the "story" suddenly ended, and wanted me to keep reading. 

 

We're a Jewish family and the kids were introduced to the topics presented in the book starting at age 4. There was no content in Anne Frank that was too mature or new to them. YMMV.

[MEmama]

We will be in Amsterdam later this spring and I've been wondering if DS should read it before the trip, and if so if we should go to the Anne Frank house. I went was I was 9 and had read the book several times before that, but it really might have been too much. I've struggled all my life with the images I was exposed to. And so while it was definitely an appropriate read and visit for me at that age on some levels, I think I might have been too young to filter out what I couldn't handle. I dont think I knew that until many years later. There's family history intertwined in there too, and I'm sure that plays in.

 

Looks like there are some great looking book suggestions I'll check out. The Resistance Museum will probably be more interesting and powerful for him at this age.

 

I think it's an important book to read though, if he's willing. 13 should be a fine age, especially since it intertwines with your history studies.