My Friend Anne Frank
by Hannah Pick-Goslar
Flap Copy Description:
In 1933, Hannah Pick-Goslar and her family fled Nazi Germany to live in Amsterdam, where she struck up a close friendship with her next-door neighbor, an outspoken and fun-loving young girl named Anne Frank. For several years, the inseparable pair enjoyed a carefree childhood of games, sleepovers, and treats with other children in their neighborhood of Rivierenbuurt. But in 1942, Hannah's and Anne's lives abruptly changed forever. As the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam progressed, Anne and the Frank family seemingly vanished, leaving behind unmade beds and dishes in the sink - but no trace of Anne's precious diary. Torn from her dear friend without warning, Hannah spent the next two years tormented by questions about Anne's fate, wondering if she had, by some miracle, managed to escape danger.
My Thoughts:
This recently released memoir by Hannah Pick-Goslar is another intimate look into a Jewish family during the Nazi occupation of Amsterdam during World War II. The fact that the author was one of Anne Frank's friends when they were young children gives us another perspective into the life of Frank. The serendipitous thread that weaves its way through the lives of the two girls, to the very end of Anne's life, is extraordinary. I highly recommend My Friend Anne Frank to readers aged twelve and up.
Note: Today would have been the 94th birthday of Anne Frank.
