The Upstairs Room

When the German army occupied Holland in 1940 Annie was
only eight years old. Because she was Jewish the
occupation put her in grave danger. Most people thought
the war wouldn’t last long but Annie knew that if she
wanted to stay alive she would have to go into hiding.
Fortunately a Gentile family the Oostervelds offered
refuge to Annie and her older sister Sini. For two years
they hid in the cramped upstairs room of the Oostervelds’s
remote farmhouse. There Annie and Sini would struggle to
hold on to hope—separated from their family and confined
to one tiny room—as a frightful and seemingly endless war
raged on outside their window. This classic
autobiographical novel is a strong choice for classroom
sharing and independent reading.