Being Frank With Anne by Phyllis Johnson

From the Publisher

She had a good life full of parties, tennis, bike riding, beaus and an ice cream shop. Anne's world turned upside down when her family and a variety of personalities were confined to the Secret Annexe during the second world war. During this confinement, Anne found comfort and hope through "Kitty," her personal diary.

Being Frank with Anne reflects on the entries in Anne Frank's diary, bringing us all to the core of her emotions and thoughts as her world changed forever. Let this interpretation of Anne's diary bring a deeper understanding of her world as she lived hidden from view.

Kristin Pace - Bookpleasures.com

In 1942 a young Jewish girl living in Amsterdam moved with her family into a tiny secret annex above her father's office. Over the next two years the young teenager and her family hid from the German Nazis in an unsuccessful attempt to wait out the war safe from the horrors of the concentration camps. Throughout her time in hiding, Anne recorded events of daily life, hopes, dreams and sheer frustration in her valued diary. After twenty-five months of hiding, the Frank family was discovered and sent to concentration camps where Anne would die of typhus at the age of fifteen, just two months before the end of World War II.
Published in 1947, The Diary of Anne Frank is one of the world's most read book and has captivated is audiences for generations. Rare is the young girl who cannot relate to some of the dreams and hopes that Anne writes of or the frustrations of growing up. Rare also is the one in this generation who can relate to and fully understand the horror of what the Franks were hiding from.
Phyllis Johnson's new book, Being Frank With Anne, attempts to put the contents of the famous diary into prose. Johnson strives, through her poetry, to bring a deeper emotional understanding of "Kitty" (as Anne fondly referred to the diary) to a her readers.
Each poem correlates with a dated entry in Anne's famous diary. Johnson's poems are dated in order that readers may cross-reference them with the diary. Johnson's poetry stands well on it's own. Readers can get a good understanding of what was going on in Anne's mind and world. It is when combined with the diary itself, read side by side, that the remarkability of what Johnson has done really sinks in.
TheDiary of Anne Frank is a historical work, read and loved by millions. Heralded by some as a strong reminder of the horror of the era as it humanizes the hunted Jews. Johnson has successfully attempted to bring this well known work to a much more emotional and personal level: to bring heart the reality of Anne's world and the consequences and toll that that reality took on a vibrant young lady.
This is not a "happy" book, but is yet a wonderful one, written in order "to honor Anne and her legacy of remembrance." The emotion, the anxiety, the wonder - readers will experience Anne's world in a way previously unknown. Johnson is to be applauded for the depth to which she leads her readers.

What People Are Saying

Nancy Powell
"What a great book of poems Phyllis Johnson has conceived in Being Frank with Anne, and what a wonderful resource guide to use when reading The Diary of a Young Girl. This small book of poems, chronicled as they are to match the dates in Anne's diary, give us a chance again to think about the days that were spent in that hidden space by Anne Frank, and to see through Phyllis Johnson's eyes, the impact this young life had on a small girl reading about her many years later. This work speaks again through another young girl's voice, "It haunted me as a young girl and spoke to me for years," Johnson tells us in the foreword to her book. Phyllis Johnson's work shows us once again that we cannot look away and we must always remember what happened in that Annex in Amsterdam, Holland starting in 1942 and ending with Anne Frank's death in Bergen-Belsen in 1945. Phyllis Johnson has done a courageous and outstanding job of asking us to focus again on a young girl named Anne Frank, and the memory she left behind for all of us. Being Frank with Anne is a book of poems that should be read by everyone."--(Nancy Powell, Vice President of Eastern region of Poetry Society of Virginia)

Michael James D’Amato
"I am glad that someone finally created a book combining two of the typical student's favorite areas of learning. Most students won't randomly pick up a copy of "The Diary of Anne Frank" because it's 300+ pages. However, when a student is inspired and curious, obstacles cease to exist. That's what "Being Frank with Anne" offers. A stimulating collection of poems based on the interpretation of Anne's diary, this book provides bite-sized insights into what it was like living in the Secret Annex for two years. This eloquently written book serves as the perfect diving board into the most significant event of our past century."--(Michael James D'Amato, author of "The Classroom")

Louanne Clayton Jacobs
"In this beautiful slim volume, Phyllis Johnson responds as reader and writer to one of the most powerful and influential diaries of our time. Powerful poetry responds to powerful prose; the heart of the reader responds in writing to the heart of the writer. While reading this book I couldn't help but envision classrooms filled with readers using this text as a model for their own writing responses. What a wonderful book! What a wonderful classroom resource!"--(Louanne Clayton Jacobs, Ed.D., Associate Professor of Reading and Literacy, Alabama A&M University)

Dr. Rich Allen
"Phyllis Johnson has penned a unique, insightful, and deeply reflective work of art. Her exceptionally innovative poems use familiar language to uncover profound themes lurking behind one of the most famous pieces of literature in history. This wonderfully original and startlingly insightful approach rapidly reveals the heart-breaking humanity behind Anne Frank's original words, bringing us closer to her as a living person - her hopes, her fears, and her dreams Instantly readable and utterly engrossing, this book creates images that will linger in the mind of the reader long after the final page has been turned."--(Dr. Rich Allen, Educational Psychologist)

Hans Westra
"Congratulations on your work. Interesting material. It is now archived at the Anne Frank Archives, wehre all material related to Anne and Otto Frank
is kept and documented."--(Hans Westra, CEO of the Anne Frank House, Amsterdam)

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