When we flew away by Alice Hoffman

Bookseller blurb: Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl has captivated and inspired readers for decades. Published posthumously by her bereaved father, Anne's journal, written while she and her family were in hiding during World War II, has become one of the central texts of the Jewish experience during the Holocaust, as well as a work of literary genius. With the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands, the Frank family's life is turned inside out, blow by blow, restriction by restriction. Prejudice, loss, and terror run rampant, and Anne is forced to bear witness as ordinary people become monsters, and children and families are caught up in the inescapable tide of violence. In the midst of impossible danger, Anne, audacious and creative and fearless, discovers who she truly is. With a wisdom far beyond her years, she will become a writer who will go on to change the world as we know it. 

I have a few dilemmas about recommending this book. Yes, it is an engrossing read although at times it felt a little repetitive. But who should read this book? I think you do need to be familiar and even better to have recently read The Diary of Anne Frank. But then do fans of The Diary of Anne Frank want a book like this which, even though it has been researched, it is a work of imagination - imagining the Frank family and especially Anne in the years before the family went into hiding. I think one of my conclusions is this book should only be read after you have met Anne Frank through her diary and if you are curious about life in Amsterdam during the Nazi occupation and of course you want to know a little more about the Frank family - their life and in the case of Anne her deepest thoughts.

Historical information woven into the narrative serves as time stamps as the Franks move ever closer to their life in hiding. This context is helpful for readers and offers a startling reminder of the terror that took over Europe during World War II. Ultimately, Hoffman portrays Anne and Margot as the children they truly were, gripped with fear and telling each other stories for comfort but still eager to go for bike rides, celebrate birthdays, and try to live their lives fully. This novel serves as an insightful companion for Frank’s own diary or as a stand-alone entry into a terrifying and unforgivable time in history. Kirkus

There is a QR code on this Scholastic flyer which takes you to the first chapter. Listen to an audio sample. Here are a set of questions to use with a book group. Read more plot details here. When we flew away is published in cooperation with The Anne Frank House. You can see more Adult andYA books by Alice Hoffman here. I previously read and enjoyed Night Bird. 

Use my label Anne Frank to discover other books I have shared about Anne Frank. Companion book:

(Sorry, this is now out of print)

Here is the Kirkus review

Martin and Anne by Nancy Churnin illustrated by Yevgenia Nayberg

Subtitle - The Kindred Spirits of Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. and Anne Frank

What interests me even more than what someone does with his or her life is what is in his or her heart, what that person aims to do. What caught my breath and filled me with wonder 

is how both Dr. King and Anne Frank responded to the hatred and cruelty 

they faced from the time they were born. It would have been understandable if they answered hate with hate. Instead, incredibly, they maintained faith and love in humanity. 

Both believed in justice and kindness and the essential goodness of the human spirit. 

Nerdy Book Club

Martin and Anne shows the links between these two lives. Both were born in 1929. Both experienced discrimination and unkindness and dreadful hatred in their lives. Both left us an important legacy of their words about peace and generosity and equality.

Compare their lives:

Martin has to go to a different school from his friend.

Anne's family flee Germany and move to Holland. After the Nazi's invade, Anne's school is closed.

Martin's community is filled with signs that say 'Whites only'.

Anne has to wear a yellow star and she cannot buy an ice cream or see a movie.

Martin, even as a young boy, is good at making speeches.

Anne has plenty to say and she does this in her diary because her family have had to go into hiding.

"Martin decided to become a minister who would lead his people to stand for justice."
"Even with all the hate around her, Anne believed that people were really good at heart."

Martin won the Nobel Peace Prize when he was 35. He was killed when he was just 39.

Anne died aged 15 but her diary became a worldwide best seller.

A surprisingly successful and enlightening combination strengthened by striking artwork. Kirkus

Yevgenia Nayberg is an award-winning author/illustrator, painter, and stage designer. Her debut author/illustrator picture book, Anya's Secret Society, received a Junior Library Guild Gold Selection Award. She’s an author/illustrator of Typewriter and Mona Lisa In New York.  Her latest book, I Hate Borsch!, is the Gold Winner of the 2022 Foreword Indies Book of the Year Awards. Born and raised in Kyiv, Ukraine, she now lives in New York City.

Nancy Churnin is a children’s book author who writes about people that have made the world better and inspire kids to be heroes and heroines, too. Additional honors include the 2021 National Jewish Book Award; 2022 Sydney Taylor Honor and Sydney Taylor Notables in 2022 and 2019; four Social Studies Notable Trade Books for Young People; the 2018 South Asia Book Award; two Children and Teen’s Choice Book Awards finalists; two Junior Library Guild selections; starred reviews from School Library Journal; Kirkus Reviews and Publishers Weekly; and multiple state book lists. She lives in Texas.

I first spied this book, Anne and Frank, in 2021 (it was published in 2019) and so I have had it on my 'wish list' for five years. Every so often I check the price which unfortunately never seems to come down.  I am collecting and purchasing books for a presentation at a forthcoming Teacher-Librarian conference. Yes, I have probably spent way too much of my own money (over AUS$300+ so far). Martin and Anne is set at AUS$35 which is over my usual price limit but I was sure this book would be splendid, and I was right. Here are some teachers notes for Martin and Anne. In this video you can see the author Nancy Churnin. Read a Nerdy Book Club interview.

In my former school library I read other books about Anne Frank in Term Four to Grade 6 such as these:

Behind the Bookcase

And about Martin Luther King Jr and events around his life I would read these to my Grade 6 groups:

I have a post about these three books and a novel that links with them here.

It would be fantastic to share this book Martin and Anne with a group of students in your library - they could be quite young aged 7+ or up to high school level. With the youngest children I would begin by sharing these two books:

Little Martin grew up in a family of preachers: his dad was a preacher, his uncle was a preacher, his grandfather was a preacher…so maybe he’d become a great preacher too. One day, a friend invited him to play at his house. Martin was shocked when his mother wouldn’t let him in because he was black. That day he realized there was something terribly unfair going on. Martin believed that no one should remain silent and accept something if it's wrong. And he promised himself that—when he grew up—he’d fight injustice with the most powerful weapon of all: words.

Anne Frank was born in Germany to a loving family. But when World War II broke out, Anne and her family had to hide in a secret annex in Amsterdam. Here, Anne wrote her famous diary, describing her belief in people's goodness and her hopes for peace. After the war, her diary captured the hearts of the public and she became one of the most important diarists of the 20th century. (Teacher's Guide)

It would be a brilliant lesson if your students selected two other books from the Little People Big Dreams series and, using Martin and Anne as a model, they then created their own joined story. For example Neil Armstrong and Katherine Johnson OR David Attenborough and Jane Goodall.

I previously talked about this book by Nancy Churnin:

Manjhi Moves a Mountain

The House on the Canal by Thomas Harding illustrated by Britta Teckentrup

"The girl with the sweet smile hid in the house with her father and mother and sister and four others. The top floors of the annexe were now a hiding place. They had to be silent, otherwise the police and soliders would find them. So still. Not a sound. Each minute was a day. Each day was a year."

The House on the Canal begins in 1580 when the land a marshland:

"With some cows. A few herons. A family of fieldmice. And in the sky above, a flock of seagulls. It was a calm and happy place".

By 1600 workers begin to reclaim the land and create the canals we all associate with Amsterdam. In 1635 the first house is built by a newly arrived stonemason. 

"The stonemason wanted more space. So they added an annex behind the main house with a large attic."

Yes, just in case you haven't worked it out - this is the famous annexe and attic where Anne Frank and seven other people stayed in hiding until their arrest in August 1944. But before we get to that point so many other people lived in this house with large and small families, or they used it for their business including a company that made metal beds and stoves; a small business that made piano rolls; and it was for a while used as a sewing workshop and even a horse stable. 

After the war the only survivor of the Frank family was Anne's father Otto. He worked hard with other members of the community to save the house on Canal Street and at last, in 1960 the house was opened to the public. 

Perhaps you are wondering about the chestnut tree that gives Anne comfort during her long days in hiding. It began to grow in 1853 so that means by 1940 when the family moved into the attic the tree was 87 years old. 

The text in this book will be accessible to children aged 10+ but I would also add this book to a High School library so that students who study history, or architecture or who read The Diary of Anne Frank can discover more about this famous house. This book could also be a fabulous way to show the depth of research completed by an author or an historian. See inside the book here. Read more about the author Thomas Harding. And this book should also be shared with an art class because Britta Teckentrup is an outstanding illustrator. 

Readers will emerge simultaneously awed by the passage of time and personally affected by the stories told. Teckentrup overlays her bright, exquisitely detailed sepia-toned depictions of the house and its environs with a misty haze; the results are hauntingly beautiful. Deeply moving, powerful, and breathtaking. Kirkus Star review

Readers will notice that the Frank family are not the first residents of this house to have experienced religious persecution, or to have been confined to the house for extended periods of times. At other times, the freedom enjoyed by previous residents poignantly contrast with the restrictions faced by the Franks – freedoms which all families want and which can easily be taken for granted. Just Imagine

I first saw a mention of this book over a year ago. I am so happy this book has now arrived here in Australia. It is a book to cherish. In 1974 I visited Anne Frank's House in Amsterdam. I was quite young but the experience affected me deeply. Later, in my school library I read these books to my Grade 6 library groups and we talked about Anne Frank.

Let the Celebrations begin

Rose Blanche

Behind the Bookcase

I am also very keen to read this book from 2019 but sadly it is way too expensive here in Australia:

If you want to read another book that traces the history of a house try to find this one with scrumptious illustrations by Roberto Innocenti:

Thomas Harding and Britta Teckentrup have created two other books about the history of a specific house:

On the outskirts of Berlin, a wooden cottage stands on the shore of a lake. Over the course of a century, this little house played host to a loving Jewish family, a renowned Nazi composer, wartime refugees and a Stasi informant; in that time, a world war came and went, and the Berlin Wall was built a stone's throw from the cottage's back door. With words that read like a haunting fairy tale, and magnificent illustrations by Britta Teckentrup, this is the astonishing true story of the house by the lake.

In the northeast corner of the USA, near the city of Auburn, stands a red brick house. It was built 130 years ago and served as a farmhouse, old people's home, museum and a refuge for enslaved women, men and children. It was the scene of an extraordinary story: the American Revolutionary War, the Underground Railroad, the American Civil War, the fight for women's suffrage, and a safe place for Harriet Tubman, her family, and many others. This is the exciting story of a remarkable house.

Anne Frank Pen and Inklings

Cover art by Geertje Aalders. She is an acclaimed Dutch artist who uses a cut-paper technique. 

She lives in Kampen, Netherlands.

Forty-six illustrators have contributed to this project a collaboration with illustrators around the world, to make pictures to accompany some of the funny, thoughtful, curious stories from the extraordinary mind of Anne Frank.  Anne Frank would have been 95 on June 12th. As a homage to her authorship a unique, special edition of her short stories is released, her ‘Pen-and-Inklings’ as she called them. This publication is accompanied by a new exhibition at the Anne Frank House. Anne regretted the fact that she couldn’t draw, but for this book 46 illustrators from around the world took on that task and created beautiful illustrations for each story. The Dutch edition of Pen-and-Inklings: Stories and events from the Back House is available in all Dutch bookstores and in the museum shop at the Anne Frank House. The English and German editions are only available in the museum shop. Source Sophie Blackall Instagram

Read one of the stories here. 

Here are some of the big names who have their work featured in this book. I have explored books by many of these illustrators on this blog. Limited edition pieces of their art are available to buy in the shop at Anne Frank's House. 

• Sophie Blackall
• Emily Sutton
• Felicita Sala
• Julie Morstad
• LeUyen Pham
• Dieter and Ingrid Schubert
• Emily Hughes
• Britta Teckentrup
• JooHee Yoon
• Axel Scheffler
• Oliver Jeffers
• Chuck Groenink
• Barroux
• Hadley Hooper
• Jan Jutte

See more of these art pieces here. 

Here is the post by Emily Sutton

I need to find someone going to Anne Frank's house so I can see/own a copy of this fabulous book.

Blurb: Anne Frank is best known for the diary she kept in the Secret Annex. What many people don't know is that Anne also wrote short stories. She calls them 'my pen children' in her diary. The stories range from events in the Secret Annex to fairy tales about fairies and gnomes and memories of her school days. Anne even starts working on a novel, in which she incorporates her father's life story. Anne regretted not being able to draw. More than forty top illustrators from all over the world have taken on this task. Moreover, they give us a glimpse into their world and show us that creativity and inspiration can turn into setbacks and obstacles. Like Anne, they continue to believe in a better and peaceful world. This unique edition is a tribute to the talented writer Anne Frank. ISBN [9789047634362]

The book is introduced by Malala Yousafzai and contains a short biography of all the illustrators and a text in which they talk about their relationship to the work of Anne Frank and their own experiences with creativity, adversity, peace and war. This special edition of Anne's 'Pennekinderen' not only provides a new perspective on Anne Frank's diverse work, but also on the connecting power of creativity and inclusivity. The common thread running through Anne Frank's stories and the illustrators' contributions is a call for tolerance, understanding and connection. Moreover, they give us a glimpse into their world and show us how they approach setbacks and obstacles with creativity and inspiration. Like Anne, they hope for a better and peaceful world. Stretto

I'll Keep you Close by Jeska Verstegen translated by Bill Nagelkerke

"I'm sick of the silence. ... Even when you don't speak, you're still saying something."

I picked up this book in a Melbourne bookshop. Why? I liked the cover (first impressions do count). The cover of the English version of this book is by David Weisner (you may know his fabulous books such as his wordless book Tuesday). Then I read that it was originally published in Dutch (translating books costs a lot of money so usually these books are well worth reading). Finally, I read the blurb and I was intrigued. 

Listen to an audio sample (5 minutes) from the beginning of the book. Here is a video video introduction from the publisher. Here is the review from Lamont Books (this book was included with their Lower Secondary standing order).  I have listed this book as Young Adult. Some booksellers suggest age nine but I think this book is more suited to mature readers aged 11+. 

Publisher blurb: Jeska doesn’t know why her mother keeps the curtains drawn so tightly every day. And what exactly is she trying to drown out when she floods the house with Mozart? What are they hiding from?  When Jeska’s grandmother accidentally calls her by a stranger’s name, she seizes her first clue to uncovering her family’s past, and hopefully to all that’s gone unsaid. With the help of an old family photo album, her father’s encyclopedia collection, and the unquestioning friendship of a stray cat, the silence begins to melt into frightening clarity: Jeska’s family survived a terror that they’ve worked hard to keep secret all her life. And somehow, it has both nothing and everything to do with her, all at once. A true story of navigating generational trauma as a child, I’ll Keep You Close is about what comes after disaster: how survivors move forward, what they bring with them when they do, and the promise of beginning again while always keeping the past close.

Jeska's class are studying World War II and in particular the impact of these events on The Netherlands. At home no one will answer her questions, so she starts a list with the words - who, what, where, how, why and when and every time she hears or learns even the tiniest fragment of information, she adds it to her notebook. Her teacher has talked about the terrible treatment of the Jewish people. He is planning to read a book to the class - Winter in Wartime - but when her mother discovers this, she tells the school Jeska cannot attend this class and instead must sit in a different part of the school each afternoon. Jeska has no idea why. Also no one will talk about Hesje - the name her grandmother used when she was confused during one of their visits to the nursing home. Bomma has a photo album but who are these people and what happened to them?

Going back to what I said about this book being a translation, I did marvel at the poetic language and phrases - here are a few examples:

"A school is a king of monster with a belly full of children. In the morning it gobbles children up, and in the afternoon, it spits them all out again. Me included."

"I step onto the red gravel of our driveway. When you walk on it, it sounds like you're crunching on a biscuit."

"Mr Schouderland is going bald. His hairline is shaped like a small harbour where two boats could anchor."

"I watch my mirror image brush away the tears. I trace the outline of my face in the mirror. My light-coloured eyes stare back at me, a little sad perhaps, but still sparkling. A small face, pale skin, dark hair. Ordinary. A forehead, a jaw, a nose. Nothing special. Except it's my face. Hidden behind it are my thoughts and stories, including today's. Is it a Jewish face that looks back at me? It doesn't feel Jewish. But how does that actually feel? I have no idea."

Here is an interview with Jeska about her book.

Jeska Verstegen is an author and illustrator living in Amsterdam. She is a descendant of Emanuel Querido, the revolutionary Jewish-Dutch publisher who was captured and killed by the Nazis in World War II. Jeska began her career in 1990 as an illustrator for magazines and children's books. I’ll Keep You Close is her debut novel, based on the true story of her own family history.

Debut author Vestergen tells this true story of her family’s previously unrevealed identity and history. ... Setting this book apart from other Holocaust survivor stories are the language and imagery, a family story that focuses on very young children, the Dutch setting, and the attempts of a sensitive young person to understand mystifying adult behavior and PTSD—in its specificity, it finds the universal. Kirkus Star review

Here is the Dutch cover of I'll Keep you Close.

Read about the translator Bill Nagelkerke here. He translated has some books I have read and enjoyed: Eep! by Joke van Leeuwen; The Day My Father Became a Bush by Joke Van Leeuwan; and Wolf and Dog by Sylvia Vanden Heede.

Behind the Bookcase: Miep Gies, Anne Frank and the Hiding Place by Barbara Lowell illustrated by Valentia Toro

Have you heard of Miep Gies? Of course you have heard of Anne Frank but Miep's story is important too. Anne Frank and her family went into hiding in July 1942 in Amsterdam. They hid in an annex hidden behind a bookcase in a building where Mr Frank worked. Others hid with Anne, Margot and their parents - Herman, Auguste and Peter van Pells knowns as van Daan's in Anne's diary and later a dentist named Fritz Pfeffer. Only five people who worked in the offices below knew about the people in hiding. One of them was Miep Gies. She was their link to the outside world. She bought food and news and some comfort until, very sadly on 4th August, 1944 the group were discovered and arrested. 

Image Source: Tara Lazar blog

Luckily, Miep went back into the annex after the arrests and found the famous diary written by Anne. She did not read it but hid it away until after the war, when she gave it to Mr Frank. He was the only person to survive from the group. Anne and her sister Margot died in Bergen Belsen in 1945. 

Here is an audio sample from Behind the Bookcase. Here is an interview with Barbara Lowell. You can see art from this book here. Here is a review by the Jewish Book Council.

Recently someone asked (on a Facebook group) for some simpler versions of the Anne Frank story for a younger reader not yet ready to read the full diary.  There are lots of these - I have put a few covers below.

In answer to the question posed above I mentioned Miep Gies. I know Anne's diary is a very important book but to me the real hero of the story is Miep. Although Miep herself says:

"I am not a hero. I stand at the end of a long, long line of good Dutch people who did what I did or more ... Never a day goes by that I do not think of what happened then."  Miep Gies

I have only found two picture books, this one and another, which explore Miep's role in the life of Anne and the Frank family. The idea that she had to ride her bicycle around Amsterdam with counterfeit food coupons going to different small grocery stores each day has lingered with me. She must have been so afraid. She was trying to obtain food for all of the people hiding in the attic but shopkeepers may have become suspicious if she returned to their store too often so she moved around the city shopping at different stores each day always fearful of discovery. This aspect of the story is not mentioned in Behind the Bookcase. I have this second book on my to read list:

I have often talked with classes about Meip when we read some other Holocaust book such as Let the Celebrations begin by Margaret Wild, The Children we Remember, and Rose Blanche by Roberto Innocenti. I thought I knew quite a bit about Miep but I had no idea she herself had been impacted by War. Suffering from malnutrition after the First world War Miep, along with many other children, was sent away from her parents to live with a family in the Netherlands. Her birth name was Hermoine Santrouschitz but her new family, the Nieuwenhuises, renamed her Miep. 

Read more about Miep:

National Geographic

This Day in History - January 11  Miep Gies, who hid Anne Frank, dies at 100

Scholastic - An interview with Miep from 1997