The Diary of Anne Frank for Six Year Old

[ny96]

We are planning a trip to Amsterdam and Berlin for spring break and we will be visiting the Anne Frank House. I am going read with my 10 year old The Diary of Anne Frank prior to the trip. Would it be appropriate to include my 6 year old in these read aloud sessions. For context my 6yo (first grader) regularly consumes media that may be considered too scary for most other kids his age. He’s currently reading a graphic novel called Ghost Book that reminds me of Lincoln in the Bardo, the saddest book I’ve ever read. I think he could handle The Diary of Anne Frank, but then again I last read the book before I visited the Anne Frank House, over 20 years ago.

[icedcoffee]

I think it's probably fine, but maybe a little complex. What about this book which is probably more age appropriate?

www.amazon.com/Frank-Ordinary-People-Change-World/dp/0525555943

[nsl]

I think a 6 year old would very quickly get bored with the Diary of Anne Frank. It's not a story with a plot that's structured in the way a kid that age would find engaging. It's an important historical document as well as simply being a teenage girl's thoughts about her life, the people around her, the relationships she has with her family members, and daily minutiae. It's not that the content would be objectionable--no sex, drugs, strong language, etc...--but it's still age-inappropriate because a first-grader just doesn't have the ability to contextualize what makes the diary or Anne important and worth paying attention to.

[devonpow]

My younger son read this and really liked it

www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1645174328?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

I wouldn’t worry so much about the content but more about the 6 year old potentially being bored and therefore missing a lot of the important parts of the story, but that’s very kid dependent. I probably read it by myself at 8 or so. My two boys would have been really bored by the full length book at that age but were very good with graphic novels or more “kid” versions

[ny96]

Jan 19, 2024 19:52:21 GMT -5 nsl said:

I think a 6 year old would very quickly get bored with the Diary of Anne Frank. It's not a story with a plot that's structured in the way a kid that age would find engaging. It's an important historical document as well as simply being a teenage girl's thoughts about her life, the people around her, the relationships she has with her family members, and daily minutiae. It's not that the content would be objectionable--no sex, drugs, strong language, etc...--but it's still age-inappropriate because a first-grader just doesn't have the ability to contextualize what makes the diary or Anne important and worth paying attention to.

I had forgotten until your reply that most of the book is interpersonal relationships.

[pittpurple]

I'm currently reading it with my 11 year old and it's not scary exactly - my 7 year old wouldn't be able to understand the overwhelming feeling of dread at all and there's no actual violence etc. But it's mostly about her terrible relationship with her mother and long stories about everyone fighting - great to spark some good chats with my daughter but she is barely understanding the themes now and she's a pretty mature 11 year old.

[dcrunnergirl52]

My 10-year old and I read this graphic novel last year, ahead of our trip to Amsterdam. He loved it. My then 5-year old couldn't sit through the story at all.

www.amazon.com/Anne-Franks-Diary-Adaptation-Pantheon/dp/1101871792/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

We visited the Anne Frank House, and the 5-year really couldn't even comprehend the importance of what he was seeing (and being very quiet and respectful during the visit). He understood certain things we explained, but it was a lot.

(And, I'm going to say this just b/c everyone said this to me immediately after I said we were going to the Anne Frank House: be sure to get your tickets early/ahead of time!)

[ny96]

Jan 22, 2024 8:02:53 GMT -5 dcrunnergirl52 said:

My 10-year old and I read this graphic novel last year, ahead of our trip to Amsterdam. He loved it. My then 5-year old couldn't sit through the story at all.

www.amazon.com/Anne-Franks-Diary-Adaptation-Pantheon/dp/1101871792/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

We visited the Anne Frank House, and the 5-year really couldn't even comprehend the importance of what he was seeing (and being very quiet and respectful during the visit). He understood certain things we explained, but it was a lot.

(And, I'm going to say this just b/c everyone said this to me immediately after I said we were going to the Anne Frank House: be sure to get your tickets early/ahead of time!)

Thank you for this. We will definitely get tickets ahead of time and I just ordered the graphic novel. I think I’ll reread the diary and read the graphic novel with the boys and my little one will pick up what he picks up.

[buckeyegirl]

I went to Amsterdam with my kids last spring break. They were 6 and 10. We went to the House of Anne Frank. Neither of my kids had read that book. The older one had just read Number the Stars. My 6 year old was able to understand parts of the experience and we explained alot. He was still respectful and quietish.

[waverly]

Jan 23, 2024 11:01:38 GMT -5 buckeyegirl said:

I went to Amsterdam with my kids last spring break. They were 6 and 10. We went to the House of Anne Frank. Neither of my kids had read that book. The older one had just read Number the Stars. My 6 year old was able to understand parts of the experience and we explained alot. He was still respectful and quietish.

We are going this year.  Did you feel that it was important to go the the house, or do you think we can skip it?  Is it a must do for Amsterdam I guess is my question.  

We are aleady going to Normandy and my DS is heavily into history with a lot of exposure to WWII, but DD is not into history.  Kids ages are 11 and 13. 


To answer OP's question, I would personally choose a book that is more geared towards the younger kid's age.   

[dcrunnergirl52]

Jan 24, 2024 11:16:30 GMT -5 waverly said:

Jan 23, 2024 11:01:38 GMT -5 buckeyegirl said:

I went to Amsterdam with my kids last spring break. They were 6 and 10. We went to the House of Anne Frank. Neither of my kids had read that book. The older one had just read Number the Stars. My 6 year old was able to understand parts of the experience and we explained alot. He was still respectful and quietish.

We are going this year.  Did you feel that it was important to go the the house, or do you think we can skip it?  Is it a must do for Amsterdam I guess is my question.  

We are aleady going to Normandy and my DS is heavily into history with a lot of exposure to WWII, but DD is not into history.  Kids ages are 11 and 13. 


To answer OP's question, I would personally choose a book that is more geared towards the younger kid's age.   

I would not skip it. It's just so moving and such an important piece of history. I'd say it's a must do for Amsterdam, especially if you've been to Normandy b/c it drives home the horror and humanity of what was actually happening on the battlefield.

[buckeyegirl]

Jan 24, 2024 12:49:23 GMT -5 dcrunnergirl52 said:

Jan 24, 2024 11:16:30 GMT -5 waverly said:

We are going this year.  Did you feel that it was important to go the the house, or do you think we can skip it?  Is it a must do for Amsterdam I guess is my question.  

We are aleady going to Normandy and my DS is heavily into history with a lot of exposure to WWII, but DD is not into history.  Kids ages are 11 and 13. 


To answer OP's question, I would personally choose a book that is more geared towards the younger kid's age.   

I would not skip it. It's just so moving and such an important piece of history. I'd say it's a must do for Amsterdam, especially if you've been to Normandy b/c it drives home the horror and humanity of what was actually happening on the battlefield.

I would not skip it.  I think the context of children being involved adds another layer to the horror that happened.  I think it only took about an hour.  So it's not a huge time investment but I did find it quite interesting especially after reading the book. 

[waverly]

buckeyegirl, thanks for letting me know the time it takes to go through it.