This may be a silly question but I was looking at your reecommendation for ‘Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl’, and it says that the 1947 edition is preferred. Is that right, or should it read 1997? Just checking!!!
I’d like to know that as well. Is there a version that I can put into the hands of my children (speaking of older children here)? I feel very alone in my opinion that Anne Frank is a difficult book for children (especially teenage boys) because of the challenge of modesty in her thought life. I do not want to be too explicit, but has anyone else noticed this?
Thanks,
Cindy
P.S. Sorry Linda, you probably opened this post expecting an answer!
Linda, I believe the book was first published in 1947. It’s my understanding that the more recently released versions include more sexually inappropriate material that her father(?) insisted be left out of the initial version. I have not personally compared the two versions, but thought a word of caution might be in order.
Cindy, what a relief to hear you say that! I’ve had that same nagging feeling, but thought “it’s a classic and should be included, yadda, yadda, yadda.” I hesitate even to let my daughters read it, since it’s not a pure example that I want them to follow. To be quite honest, one of my daughters had somewhat the same problem with The Hiding Place. Corrie ten Boom, of course, (and her sister) are godly examples, but my daughter couldn’t stomach (literally) the intense surroundings she described and what happened to them (some of which is immodest, though certainly not sensationalized).
I’ve been mentally debating how to handle this. Do we skip those “classic” books in order to protect our children? Do we read portions aloud and tactfully summarize the immodest or intense parts? (However, it would have to be read aloud when the little ones aren’t listening.) Does anyone know of good books on this historical event that we could use instead?
Thanks so much for your reply. I had started looking for the book on ebay etc but wasn’t seeing any that were published in 1947, so I was just checking in case it was a misprint. I will definitely be looking for the 1947 edition and pre-reading it myself first as I feel the same way as you and Cindy about the type of content you were discussing.
I just wanted to say how refreshing it was for me to read about you both taking such serious care about what images you expose your children to.
I have recently had my 8 year daughter invited by a friend to an M-rated movie, and one of my 5 year old daughter’s friend’s mothers told me she lets her daughter watch M-rated movies. On top of that, I have relatives giving my children a load of twaddle every week, full of unhealthy ideas, and relatives wanting to take my children to see movies like the Spiderwick Chronicles.
I feel so alone in my battle to protect my daughters from images and ideas that I feel will pollute their minds. People look at me like they simply cannot fathom what I am trying to do. Even my own parents think I’m strange, which hurts.
It can be very isolating to swim against the tide of popular culture.
Sorry. I thought later “I wonder if people in the US will understand what an M rating is.” It is used in Australia to describe a film that is for ‘mature audiences only’, which is suggested to be 16 years and older.
This was an appropriate request 3 days ago, since last Fri. was Yom HaShoah (Holocaust remembrance Day). I went looking into my Jewish catalogs, & web sites and found some selections and I received a recommendation from a friend, too. I have first hand experience with two resources, which will be on another post to expand on this topic so others might read it, too.
First, I would like to add to the conversation about sexual content. I agree about shielding gratuitous content to keep our dd’s pure, in mind and body. It’s just unnecessary to know all the thoughts/fantasies of other people. I beleive it’s been part of the voyeuristic direction this generation engages in and encourages a wrong thought life w/the images and ideas being brought into the mind. However, I think Sonya stated there is a difference between nakedness as a reality in the torture and nakedness as sensational.
Having said that, I believe it’s important not to censure the evil of the Holocaust at the high school level. It can be gradually introduced through the years. My husband’s paternal grandparents died in the Holocaust, so it’s personal family history. Sonya, I would say it’s a good thing that your dd was disturbed and sickened. I’d be concerned if she wasn’t! Though I know some children are more sensitive than others, our shielding of our children actually makes them MORE sensitive to the horrors of the Holocaust and other forms of evil because they’re not saturated in it, thereby becoming desensitized like this generation is (hence the recording and planning of fights). With Holocaust denyers running countrys and teaching in universities, with that generation dying off, and anti-semitism and revisionist history on the rise, our children need to know the truth lest we all forget; they need to also say “NEVER AGAIN”. I want our children to be among the blessed and not suffer the consequences that others may suffer, nationally and individually (Genesis 12:3).
There was only one book about Anne Frank that I found:
Under Young Adult bio’s “Anne Frank: Life in Hiding” Johanna Hurwitz
A marvelous and readable introduction to Anne Frank and the Holocaust, this sensitive portrait allows the reader to identify with Anne Frank and to share her isolation, hopes, and fears.
This biography tells both about the Frank family and their lives before World War II and their years spent in hiding during the war.
I’m going to start a new post for Holocaust study resources.
I would say it’s a good thing that your dd was disturbed and sickened. I’d be concerned if she wasn’t! Though I know some children are more sensitive than others, our shielding of our children actually makes them MORE sensitive to the horrors of the Holocaust and other forms of evil because they’re not saturated in it, thereby becoming desensitized like this generation is
Thanks, Rachel. You’re right. Sometimes we mommies want to shield our children from anything that is evil because we don’t want them to feel any “unpleasant” emotions. I so much appreciate your reminder that my daughter’s reaction was right and appropriate. They do need to know the ugly facts as they transition into adult-hood.