Anne Frank: Her life in words and pictures

Anne Frank: Her Life in Words and Pictures
from the archives of The Anne Frank House
Roaring Brook, 2009
215 pages
Genre: nonfiction/biography
Source: Library




Summary in a Sentence:

A photographic introduction to the life and experiences of Anne Frank, who along with her family and others lived in hiding from the Nazis in a secret annex from July 1942 until their capture in August 1944.

My Thoughts:

I clearly remember reading Anne Frank's diary for the first time: I was in fourth grade and we had just studied the Holocaust in school. My mom had a copy of the diary from when she was young, and I poured over the words of this girl from not so long ago and was mesmerized by her story. Ever since, I have been deeply interested and affected by so many people's stories from that dark period in history. I always come back to the story of Anne Frank, though, and this new book released from the archives of the Anne Frank House is such a wonderful tribute to her diary and her life.

Anne and Margot at the beach, 1935.

The book is primarily a pictorial history of the life of Anne Frank and her family, beginning with photos of her parents' wedding in 1925. An amazingly large amount of the Frank family's family photos were somehow preserved throughout the hiding process and the subsequent discovery of their hiding place in 1944. Interspersed with the pictures are quotes from Anne's diary and various commentaries on the photos.

"I don't want to have lived in vain like most people. I want to be useful or bring enjoyment to all people, even those I've never met. I want to go on living even after my death!"

This book is a great stand-alone introduction to Anne Frank and also a helpful companion to the diary and to those who are already familiar with her life. It is a powerful reminder of all the lives, all the families, that were destroyed in the Holocaust. Anne Frank put a face on the more than 1 million children who perished under Hitler's regime.


For more information, please visit The Anne Frank Museum website.

You might also like:

• Anne Frank: The book, the life, the afterlife by Francine Prose
• Anne Frank Remembered by Miep Gies