Readers’ Advisory Matrix for Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
1.
Where
is the book on the narrative continuum?
Highly Narrative
(readers like fiction)
2.
What is the subject of the book?
The book is a diary that Anne
Frank wrote while hiding in an attic from the nazis during the Holocaust.
3.
What type of book is it? A memoir in
epistolary form.
4.
Articulate appeal?
What is the pacing of the book?
It is conversational and reads
quickly.
Describe the characters in the
book. It is a character-driven
novel.
The People in the Attic
Anne Frank, the diary's author,
grows up hidden in the attic and puts her most intimate and formative thoughts
in the diary.
Margot Frank, Anne’s sister, shows
up in the diary when Anne is frustrated or angry.
Otto Frank, Anne’s father, moved
to Amsterdam to be free from prejudice and to have a better life. Once they started to gather the Jews, he decided
to hide his family in the attic. Otto
Frank is the only one who survives and decides to share Anne’s diary with the
world.
Edith Frank, Anne’s
mother. They have a close mother-daughter bond, but their relationship can be tumultuous.
Mr. Van Daan is
the father of the second family, hiding in the attic, and a co-worker of Otto
Frank.
Mrs. Van Daan,
the mother of the second family hiding in the attic, fights a lot with her
husband.
Peter Van Daan,
the son. At first, he argues with Anne,
but then romantic feelings happen; he is Anne’s first kiss.
Albert Dussel is
a dentist who is friends with Franks. He shares the room with Anne and drives
her crazy.
How does the
story feel? Sad, Depressing, and
Haunting.
What was the
intent of the author? Anne intended
to make her diary a birthday present for herself; she called the diary her
friend Kitty and shared her life experiences as a source of comfort. It became a picture of her feelings growing up
and being a Jew during the Nazi Holocaust. Later, she wanted to publish the diary to
fight Nazism.
What is the
focus of the story? What would it
feel like to live in an attic with seven people and always be quiet, not to
attract any attention, if the nazi were not to find them?
Does the
language matter? Yes, Anne Frank was
an insightful and descriptive writer.
Is the
setting important and well-described? Yes! It is essential for the plot.
Anne started her diary in their apartment on June 12, 1942; on July 6, 1942, it
was the first day in the attic. Anne
was a descriptive writer. She begins by describing
her apartment and, later, the attic.
Are there
details, and if so, of what? Anne described both ordinary details and
significant details in her life. She explained what the attic looked like, how
people survived, and the relationships between those in the attic.
Are there
sufficient charts and other graphic materials? Pictures of each inhabitant
and the attic are at the end of the diary, but most of it is Anne’s diary.
Does the book
stress moments of learning, understanding, or experience? Yes!
The book teaches about what it is like being Jewish during the Nazi
Party's reign. The steps they took to
survive in the attic, as well as their everyday life and experience of being
stuck in an attic with seven other people, hiding from the Nazis. The last day
in Anne’s Diary was August 1, 1944, when they were found in the attic, arrested, and sent to the concentration camps.
They would all die in the concentration camps, except for Anne’s
father.
5.
Why would a reader enjoy this book (rank
appeal)?
1. 1. True experience 2. Details in the book 3. Tone
