From Publishers Weekly
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. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 5-8. This 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, MACopyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Card catalog description
Recounts the story of Hannah Goslar, a close friend of Anne Frank and one of the last to see her alive.

ANNOTATION

Recounts the story of Hannah Goslar, a close friend of Anne Frank and one of the last to see her alive.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Hannah Goslar lived next door to Anne Frank in Amsterdam. In this touching memoir, as told to Alison Leslie Gold, Hannah recalls the funny, bright girl who suddenly disappeared from her life--until they met again at a concentration camp. Photos.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Gold, the author of the adult work Anne Frank Remembered, a study of Miep Gies and her role in protecting the Frank family, again explores the world of Anne Frank to bring home the painful truths that Frank has come to symbolize. Here she presents the wartime experiences of Hannah Goslar, the best friend immortalized in Frank's diary as Lies. Goslar's relationship with Anne Frank, including their brief reunion in Bergen-Belsen, has previously been outlined in books for adults; the poignancy of Gold's book rests in its sensitive evocation of Goslar's youthful reactions to the war and its destruction of her family and community. Readers feel Goslar's desolation and shock upon discovering the Franks' disappearance; as the Germans' oppression increases, she daydreams about Anne, whom she is certain is safe in Switzerland, "maybe even eating a real egg and buttered toast." Following Goslar through her family's arrest, internment in Westerbork and subsequent deportation to Bergen-Belsen, Gold uses carefully chosen details and specific incidents to communicate the horrors of the Holocaust. While acknowledging frequent cruelty, she emphasizes the heroism and altruism of prisoners (including Goslar's, in assembling a gift of food and, at great personal risk, passing it over an illuminated barbed-wire fence to the dying Anne). Readers drawn to Anne Frank's diary will be grateful for the fuller picture rendered here. Black-and-white photos not seen by PW. Ages 8-12. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

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.)

Children's Literature - Judy Silverman

This book is a beautifully written memoir of terrible times. Alison Leslie Gold captures Anne's background through her friend Hannah Pick-Goslar, who survived the war. Although it was written fifty years after Anne Frank's death, readers will be caught up in her story.

School Library Journal