I had never heard of this little book, but happened upon it at the library while my kids were at storytime. It is a true story of two Jewish girls who lived with a Dutch family, secretly, for two years at the end of World War II. The story is told from the younger girl's perspective and is related simply without excessive emotion or excessive explanations. Without embellishment you see the way events unfolded for the Jews in Holland as they faced uncertainty and then great fear when the Germans invaded and then occupied Holland. The story doesn't go into a lot of detail about what happened to those Jews who were taken to camps and then killed. But it lies in the back of the mind of the reader throughout the story. What is remarkable is that the family who hid the girls grew to love them very much. This is a story about courage and relationships as much as it is about the war. The author said she wrote the book to record her history for her daughters. As such, it is a touching book. I think it would be a good introduction to the Holocaust for younger readers. In comparing it to The Diary of Anne Frank, I would have to say that Anne Frank's diary is much more intense because she lived in Amsterdam and the fear of being discovered was much more frightening. And of course, we know that Anne was caught and died at a camp. What makes The Upstairs Room different is that she survived and had to live with what had happened to her and many others. It seems she transcended her experiences and lived a good life. But be prepared, the last page probably describes all the emotion, tension and fear of the two years of hiding in a sentence that somehow makes the impact that much more powerful than if it had been repeated over and over again throughout the book.
Even though The Upstairs Room by Johanna Reiss is fiction it gave me great insight into live during World War II in Holland. Annie DeLeeuw was eight years old when the German army occupied Holland. She and her Jewish family are abused and prohibited from leaving the country. Annie and her sister Sini are hidden from the Germans by the Hannick family. Within a few weeks they move in with the Oostervelds a Christian family, who are very kind. Annie and Sini live with their huge family. Unfortunately, the girls have to live in a cold and drab upstairs room of a farmhouse for almost two and a half years. When the Germans create headquarters outside the Oosterveld's living room they need to be very quiet. Fortunately, the Germans finally leave and are chased back to Germany by Canadians. In the end Annie and Sini can start a new life. I can't imagine living through war time. Luckilly the girls met a very kind family who hid them from the Germans. I enjoyed reading this book of historical fiction. It gave me insight into German occupied Holland during WWII. I would give this easy to read excellent novel 3 stars! I really enjoyed the character development and the description of life in Holland during WWII. At times it got boring and tedious but overall is was a great book. We are so fortunate to live in a world in the U.S where we don't have to hide from enemies and live in a democracy.
The upstairs room is about a girl that is Jewish and she is about 12 years old. The German war is going on, and she is hiding from the Nazis.I don’t recommend this book I thought it was kind of boring but that’s my opinion. If you are looking for a book that you can just sit down and read, read this one.I thought it was cool how they dyed their hair at the beginning of the story. I thought it was a good spot where they were hiding but I feel like they could have hidden better like in the walls or something. I give this book a 1 out of 5 stars it was not that good. I think i'm going to read the diary of Anne Frank next.
—Emily
he book The Room Upstairs is about the Holocaust. The author’s purpose of this book was to inform the reader about families who were forced to go into hiding. In this case the story focused on an eight year old girl, Annie de Leeuw. Many people died during this tragic event. I wouldn't typically read a book in this genre, because it’s discomforting. I know that the author’s purpose was to inform the reader about the Holocaust, because it involved a lot of information. f I could change the ending I would make it more exciting. I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone, because I think that it could have been written in a more interesting way.
—Deer Slayer
This is another really great book for readers who are interested in World War 2 and the Holocaust. Although the story doesn't portray such a vivid picture of the horrors of the Holocaust such as The Diary of Anne Frank does, it's still a very interesting and powerful story. If you like learning about the Holocaust but not the really sad parts, this is the book for you! The story takes place in Holland and is the true account (or biography) of a young girl named Annie living during the time when Hitler was taking over Holland and other countries and persecuting Jews. Annie and her family are Jewish and have to go into hiding. Only her mom stays behind because she is sick in a hospital. The rest of her family splits up in hiding so it will be less dangerous. Annie and her older sister Sini go to live with the Hanninks, a family who is friends with their family. Then one day the father of the Hanninks thinks that the Germans suspect them and so he takes them to someone else's house in a different town. The people they now live with are a couple and an old woman who live together in a farmhouse. The Hannink's father says he'll take the girls back after two weeks at the most, but he doesn't come back. The girls start to get used to living with the couple, Johan and Dientje, and Dientje's mother, Opoe. But life for them is still really dull because they usually have to stay in the upstairs room of the house all alone to be hidden from the Nazis. They soon become well bonded with the couple and old woman as if they were family. It's a beautiful story about the struggle and hardship of living in hiding and the relationships of people through human love.
—Sienna
