Teach This Book!

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 I think Zlata's Diary can be an important book to teach adolescents. With books like Number the Stars by Lois Lowry and The Diary of Young Girl by Anne Frank, students are taught prolifically about World War 2. It seems like more current wars and even other wars do not get much, if any, attention in English classes. I think Zlata's Diary can shine light on a war students may not get the chance to learn about. I skipped World  History because I only had to take four Social Studies classes and got two in Honors and AP US History. I was not familiar with the Bosnia war before reading this book.

Zlata's Diary does not have to replace Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl. It can supplement it. There are striking similarities not only to Anne and Zlata's experiences (hiding during a war, losing loved ones, a stolen childhood...)  and the books can be compared and contrasted. What stood out to me as the best part of Anne Frank's diary stood out to me as the best part of Zlata's: the author's positivity. Anne wrote, "In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart." Zlata wrote, "The people must be the ones to win, not war, because war has nothing to do with humanity" (33). They both, while spending time venting about their wars, chose to look at the world as a positive place. They kept their childlike ideals even as their innocence was taken away from them. 

The best thing about teaching Zlata's Diary, like Anne Frank's diary, is they capture a picture of war from an adolescent's perspective. If you teach this book to sixth graders, the students will be Zlata's age. They can identify with being excited about birthday parties, music recitals, and classes and put themselves in Zlata's shoes to feel the gravity of Zlata's experiences. Reading the book as an adult, I felt sad that Zlata lost her innocence and childhood. I kept saying, "Poor girl..." I said this many times throughout the book, but especially when reading about what happened to her friend Nina. Adolescent readers have the potential to feel greater empathy by coming at the book with a different perspective.

Finally, war can be ugly, and it definitely is in this book, but Zlata presents it in a way that is appropriate to younger readers. She writes to "Mimmy," like it is a living, breathing person, and takes care in how she presents information to it. It follows that readers are given the same care. Zlata presents the events of the war, but continues living her life with determination and hope. She writes, "You have to keep living" (163). That is a powerful message for adolescent readers (and well, any readers). It helps readers feel appreciation, respect, and sympathy for Zlata. 

Comments

  1. Candace BeebeNovember 11, 2020 at 8:29 PM

    Todd, I completely agree. These are the kinds of books that should be taught in schools. It is important that we expand the perspectives brought into the classroom and help our students get a better world view. I also like that you feel strongly about using Zlata's and Anne Frank's Diaries to supplement each other. I think that is a great idea to both learn how to analyze literature and to learn empathy and relatability.

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