School Library Journal Review
Gr 5-8This moving story of Anne Frank's neighbor and friend, Hannah Elizabeth Pick-Goslar, recounts the tragedy of World War II through a young girl's eyes. It does not take the form of a diary, but rather Gold puts into words Hannah's reminiscences of her childhood in Amsterdam and fills in the gaps of what happened to Anne after her diary ended. The account traces the childhood friendship of the two girls from the time Anne disappeared to the removal of Hannah and her family to concentration camps. The narrative also tells of the brief meeting between Anne and Hannah at Bergen-Belsen shortly before Anne's death. The girls met at a fence, risking death if caught, so that Hannah could give her beloved friend some food. The emotion and fear of the moment are fully realized. Although well told, this memoir often refers back to and relies on Hannah's connections to Anne, rather than letting Hannah's story stand on its own.Allison Trent Bernstein, Blake Middle School, Medfield, MA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Readers of Anne Frank's diary "will be grateful for the fuller picture" rendered through the recollected wartime experiences of Frank's best friend, said PW's starred review; "Gold brings home the painful truths that Frank has come to symbolize." Ages 8-12. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
This is as much the story of Holocaust survivor Hannah Pick-Goslar, who endured the horrors of Westerbork and Bergen-Belsen, as it is about Anne Frank. Pick-Goslar's narrative is interwoven with memories of her friend Anne and their comfortable life before the Nazis. Although the reminiscences are not always skillfully blended, this account is still moving and memorable and will no doubt be used to accompany 'The Diary of Anne Frank'. From HORN BOOK 1997, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Gr. 4^-8. Anne Frank died in the Holocaust, but by sheer luck, her best friend survived. This story of Anne Frank's oldest childhood friend and neighbor in Amsterdam is a memory of Anne. It also reads like a haunting version of what Anne's life could have been. Hannah Goslar ("Hanneli" in Anne's diary) came to Amsterdam with her family from Germany. She and Anne were neighbors for nine years, sharing joyful times (there are lots of photos of them together) as well as occasional quarrels. Then one day, Anne and her family vanished, and everyone thought they had escaped safely to Switzerland. Hannah endured daily persecution in Amsterdam, until the day she and her family were loaded into cattle cars for Westerbork. After a year in Bergen-Belsen, she heard that Anne was in the next camp, and the girls braved the night patrols to whisper to each other across the barbed wire. Hannah threw her friend a package of socks and food. This survivor story intensifies the ordinariness of Anne's diary and the arbitrariness of her death. --Hazel Rochman
