Anne Frank: The Anne Frank House Authorized Graphic Biography by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colón

The Anne Frank Authorized Graphic Biography puts into a graphic novel format the highly acclaimed Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl. The graphic novel begins chronicling Otto Frank’s early life including his ancestry and business endeavors. It then recounts the time Otto spent in America. After he returned, it details how he met his wife, her family background, and their life together prior to having children. This book also sets the stage for Nazi Germany by providing historical context on World War 1 along with the rise of the National Socialist Party led by Adolf Hitler.

The next section of the novel discusses the early years of the Frank family including the birth and childhood of Anne Frank and her sister, Margot. It provides information on their family’s move to Amsterdam, the increasing persecution the Frank family faced, and finally, their time hiding in the annex. After being discovered, the novel explains where each person in hiding was sent. While at their respective concentration camps, the novel details the suffering each person experienced and how each person died. Otto Frank was the only person to survive his time in a concentration camp. The book goes on to explain his life after captivity including how he found Anne’s diary, how the diary was published, and how her story was shared with the world.

Reading Level: 15+ years old (based upon maturity)

This graphic novel goes above and beyond to faithfully depict history, leaving the reader filled with new insights in a variety of areas. As a freshman in high school reading Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl, I had many unanswered questions regarding Anne’s life. This novel shines a light on them all, providing a robust, faithful, and historically accurate account of the Frank family and their friends. This novel provides an exceptional wealth of information about Otto’s and Edith’s family of origins, how they made their income, life together, the early personalities of Anne and Margot in toddlerhood, and life prior to the annex. This information is fascinating and brings to life each person in a truly unique way. Additionally, this book does an excellent job explaining factors leading to WW1, the impact of WW1 on countries’ socioeconomic statuses, the rise of the National Socialist Party, and Hitler’s role in it all.

Another area where this novel excels is through its graphic novel imagery. The graphics themselves are detailed and realistic. Many are painstakingly accurate and were copied from archives. The novel also includes helpful visual information like family trees, a timeline with authentic photographs, blueprints of the annex, and maps. Between the background information, post-concentration camp information, how the diary came to notoriety, and helpful sketches along the way, this novel is a treasure in understanding the Holocaust as well as the Frank family’s life.

However, there are a few things to note prior to reading this novel. First of all, a higher level of understanding is necessary to read this book. There are concepts, terms, and events mentioned that would require someone to have a working knowledge of WW1, WW2, the Holocaust, and Nazi Germany. This book is not an entry-level book into those topics. Second, this book mentions Anne’s sexual development as a teenager and pining for certain boys. This is verbatim from Anne’s diary, but if you have not read the original diary, please see additional notes below. Because she mentions that she, “can hardly talk because the pleasure is too intense,” prior to kissing her love interest and things of the like, this could be something you may not want to introduce until your child has the maturity to understand and work through these statements along with others.

Lastly, this book depicts nudity at the concentration camps (see notes below). While this would usually warrant a red flag, I believe the depictions serve only to show the horrific realities each person faced. These images are drawn in a respectful manner, not excessively detailed, and are geared toward faithfully depicting history.

Due to suffering, violence, death, nudity, and sexual development, I would not recommend this book for readers 13 and under. I would also advise parents considering this book to read it first (the annex and concentration camp chapters at minimum). If you believe your teenager has the maturity to approach this book, I would recommend reading it with him or her, so you can have robust conversations together.

Language:
When Margot gets called up to report to the SS, her mother’s response is “Oh God!”

Questionable Behaviors:
Anne’s Attitude:
● Anne loves her dad more than her mom. Anne becomes insensitive to her mom and will not show her love. They constantly butt heads. She says she “didn’t care a dash about her mom and Margot.”
● Anne daydreams of slapping Mr. Pfeffer, and the graphic novel art shows this happening.
● “There’s only one person I’m accountable to, and that’s me.” That is Anne’s philosophy on decision-making.

Other Things To Note:
Violence prior to Concentration Camp: this book understandably recounts violence and sketches illustrate it. Examples include and are not limited to: Archduke Ferdinand and his wife being assassinated, Kristallnact, a Jewish man on the ground with blood coming out of his head, a man with a bullet in his neck, a Einsatzgruppen (mobile killing squad) kills two men.

Violence in Concentration Camp: Dead people were shot on the ground with red around them, people entering the gas chamber, an officer is shown shooting a prisoner in the head

Suffering: many gaunt individuals are shown in concentration camps, Otto is shown completely emaciated, many images of suffering at the concentration camps

Death: mentions Jews were committing suicide to escape the Nazis, naked and emaciated dead bodies (like real picture) shown, tells and shows how each main character died

Smoking/Alcohol: people smoke cigarettes, cigars; soldiers drink cocktails

Anti-Semetic: “when Jewish blood splatters on the knife,” a common Nazi song, Swastikas

Sexual Content:
Nudity at Concentration Camps:
● Drawings of 3 men entering gas chamber naked; only one buttocks is shown
● Women undress when arriving to Aushchwitz. Woman in bra, woman in underwear covering bare chest with arms. Woman undressing in front of SS men which shows naked woman’s bare back and buttocks. Her breast on one side is shown as well (details not drawn).
● When Edith is awaiting the gas chamber, she is nude. Her left breast is exposed but details (nipple/areola) are not drawn. Her vagina is covered by a table, but a line right above that region is drawn. One woman in the background is topless, but her breast is not very detailed.
● Shows Anne with scabies and her shirt is lowered but breasts not pictured
● Naked and emaciated dead bodies (like real picture) are shown but no genitalia drawn

Laws regarding Sex:
● One Nuremberg Law is cited, ““The law for the defense of German blood and honor forbade Jews and Germans to marry or have extramarital sex.”
● Homosexuals were to wear a pink patch at concentration camps

Anne’s Crushes:
● Anne says she “went around with the boys a lot” at school, and they beg to go out with her.
● Anne has a crush on Peter Sciff. She gives another boy attention but is still interested in Peter S. She dreams about him in hiding – getting married together in the annex.
● In the annex, Anne observes that her father kisses her mother like he kisses Anne, meaning he really doesn’t love his spouse. She wants to love her future husband more than that.
● In the annex, she spends more time with Peter V. and lives “only for him.”

Anne’s Sexual Development:
● When Anne is with Peter V. on his bed, she could “hardly talk; my pleasure was too intense.” They kiss and she writes, “I’m starting at a very young age,” “I’m afraid of myself, afraid my longing is making me yield too soon.”
● Anne loved the “wondrous” changes puberty brought, specifically, “the joy of her periods and the warm feeling of carrying around a sweet secret.”

This review was written by Good Book Mom contributor, Emily. To learn more about Emily, click HERE.

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