Reading Group Guide
Reading and Understanding the Work
1. After the "wedding day" illustration at the gateway to Chapter 1, the first drawing we see in this book (on page 4) is of a young woman. Who is she? What is she doing? What do we learn about Jacobson and Colón's book from this drawing alone?
2. On page 15, we see Adolf Hitler at a Nazi Party rally. It's the third time Hitler has appeared thus far, and he's been depicted in a slightly different manner each time. How would you explain these differing presentations?
3. In a panel on page 16, beneath a caption describing "economic collapse," we see a crowd of German citizens reading several posters and placards scattered across a public wall. How does this illustration underscore the role played throughout these pages by propaganda and/or control of the media? And how, according to this illustration, does such propaganda actually work? That is, what drives it?
4. In the lower-right panel of page 24, Otto and Edith Frank are on the left, and slightly in the background, while their unnamed friend is on the right, and shown in a mid-range close-up. No words are exchanged here—but strong emotions and ideas nevertheless come across. Can you characterize these emotions and ideas?
5. In Chapter 4, why do you think Miep Gies (on page 34) looks at Anne and thinks to herself: "Now here's the kind of child I'd like to have someday?"
6. In the top panel of page 54, we see Edith Frank correcting a remark made by one of her friends. She says, "Not dead . . . Killed." Provide the context for this correction.
7. Why do Anne and her sister switch schools in September of 1941? Describe Anne's experiences, in particular, at her new school.
8. On page 69, Edith answers the front door and finds that a "call-up" is being delivered. What does this mean? Who is this "call-up" for? And what does its arrival prompt the Frank family into doing?
9. On page 81, Anne notes in her diary: "We live in a paradise compared to the Jews who aren't in hiding." What do we learn, later in this page, about those other Jews?
10. Chapter 7 of Anne Frank is entitled "The Eight Hiders." Identify these people. How did they all come to live in the Secret Annex for some 21 months—or rather, what brought them together? How did they end up here?
11. At the top of page 89, Anne and Margot are doing chores and chatting. "Isn't this the kind of work they do in prisons?" asks Anne. Margot replies: "Perhaps we are in one." Explain this remark.
12.Why does Anne, on page 92, actually daydream of slapping her roommate across the face? And how, if at all, is her conflict with this roommate eventually resolved?
13. Who is Willem van Maaren? How does he figure into the narrative? And why does Anne seem to regard him with suspicion?
14. On page 102, in the middle-right panel, we see Anne ascending a staircase; she seems to see herself as a caged songbird. Why does she see herself in this way?
15. Anne, scissors in hand, is cutting out a drawing of a famous person on page 106. Who is the person? And why is Anne is doing this?
16. Does it strike you as apt, clever, or even ironic that the first kiss shared by Anne and Peter—as shown page 109—is rendered in a rather "Hollywood movie star" manner (given that both these young adults are such avid film buffs)? Explain your views.
17. Look again at the illustration in the lower-right panel of page 113. What are we seeing here, as Anne's narration (from her diary, actually) appears in a pair of captions? How does this illustration—the first "outside world" glimpse that we (as readers) have had in several panels—visually set up what we find on the very next page?
18. On page 115, we see a man named Karl Josef Silberbauer. Who is he? Where have we encountered him previously in the pages of Anne Frank?
19. Why is Anne so transfixed, while riding on a train on page 119, by everything that she sees outside the window?
20. Who are the three men pictured in the lower-right corner of page 130? Why do you think this trio is depicted by Jacobson and Colón at this particular point in the narrative?
21. On page 133, and in subsequent pages, we can see that Otto's clothes fit him loosely. Why is this so?
22. What does Miep Gies mean when she says to Otto (on page 134): "Here is your daughter Anne's legacy to you? "What is Miep giving to Otto? And where, and when, did she find it?
23. On page 139, we learn that Karl Josef Silberbauer never went to prison. Do you think he should have? Why or why not?
24. Study the placement of the two human figures appearing in the large illustration on page 140.Why do you think these two people have been thus arrayed on the page? What does this composition, this graphic placement, tell you about these two?
Topics and Exercises for the Class
1. On page 9, we find the first of many Snapshots appearing in Anne Frank — these are short breaks in Jacobson and Colón's overall narrative that function as historical explanations or detailed factual asides. As a class, or perhaps in smaller conversational groups, point out a few Snapshots from throughout the book that equipped you with new information—or with a new way of understanding things.
2. The gateway illustration for Chapter 3 (on page 21) clashes somewhat dramatically with the title for this chapter. We see a charming trio—Anne as a toddler, her mother, and her older sister—hurrying along a city street, perhaps going shopping or heading home. Then we note the text: "The Growth of Nazism."Write a short essay or poem that reflects on how this clash—this conflict of disturbing words and pleasant images — is echoed throughout the pages of Anne Frank.
3. Discuss why the narrative at the end of Chapter 3 makes a point of mentioning that Frankfurt was "a city in which the [Frank] family had lived for centuries."What does this fact have to do with the larger story being told here? Why is it relevant?
4. On page 73, the spatial dimensions of the Secret Annex are given. Either alone or with some help from a classmate, take a few measurements of your own, and then consider how the rooms in the annex compare to the size of your classroom—or to the rooms comprising your own home. Finally, compose a short story or poem (or perhaps create a video, or draw an illustration) in which you imagine what it would be like to live—and to hide—for two full years, as Anne and the others did, in such a confined indoor space.
5. On page 110, we see Anne writing in her diary beneath a caption that mentions how she's "maturing intellectually"—she's beginning to discover the complexity of things like war, love, and selfhood. Are these discoveries (or fledgling discoveries) what cause her, a few panels later, to write such a harsh letter to Otto? Explain.
6. As a class, take a close look at page 116 of Anne Frank. Here we see one of the pivotal scenes—one of the crucial moments, certainly—in the entire narrative. What is happening in the six panels on this page? What is the one tool or instrument that appears in all six of these panels? And why?
7. In the top panel on page 129, note how the "fence" being described in the text is incorporated into the actual artwork—indeed, into the sequential layout—of the page itself. How, if at all, does this bring you (as a reader) "closer" to the scenes and characters being depicted?
8. On page 135, Anne writes in her diary about her own "greatest wish." Did that wish, in a way, actually come true? Write a short essay that addresses this question.
9. Miep Gies died in early 2010. Her obituary in The New York Times had the following headline: "Miep Gies, 100, the Last of Those Who Hid Anne Frank and Her Family." As an independent project, look up this obituary, read it, and then write your own summary of Miep's life.
10. Take a moment to reflect on the special relationship had by Otto and Anne throughout Anne Frank. Why are these two so close? What special bonds, or personality traits, do they share? Is it fair to say that this graphic biography is as much Otto's story as it is Anne's? Explain your views.
11. The noted historian Jan Romein, pictured next to his wife at the top of page 136, wrote the following about Anne Frank's diary in 1946: "For me, this seemingly insignificant child's diary . . . embodies the real hideousness of fascism, more so than all the evidence at Nuremberg." Read Anne's actual diary—if you've not done so already—and then write a personal essay about this statement, either in support of it or in opposition to it.
12. The text of Anne Frank concludes with a Chronology section, where we find many of the stirring photographs on which various drawings in this work are based. Why are some of the listings in this section presented in red, while others are in black? Also, note how each page of the timeline offers a different quotation from Otto. Recite them in front of your class. Then describe to your fellow students what the quote means to you personally.
13. Finally, conclude your discussion of Anne Frank by comparing and contrasting it with other creative works that you have previously encountered on the Holocaust — be they plays, films, books, short stories, poems, videos, graphic novels, or the like.
