The House on the Canal: The Story of the House That Hid Anne Frank

Today, the tall narrow house on an Amsterdam canal is known worldwide as both a museum honoring the life of Anne Frank (1929–1945) and the Frank family’s hiding place. But as previous collaborators Harding and Teckentrup (The House by the Lake) convey, the house is also part of a “remarkable history” that spans four centuries and myriad reasons for seeking shelter. Beginning with the “little piece of marshland” on which the residence would stand, and tracing periods of sitting vacant and housing businesses, the recounting limns four sets of the home’s residents as small inset dates track the years. Making their lives as nearby church bells ring “four times every hour” are a 17th-century haven-seeking mother with 12 children; a well-connected 18th-century merchant; an early 20th-century ironmonger’s family; and, in poignant, haunting pages that form the book’s final section, the eight people who took refuge in its “hiding place” during WWII. The work’s large horizontal format showcases mixed-media images that combine the feel of engravings and old photos with layers of translucent color and texture, creating a sense of incidents being summoned, connected, and pondered via collective memory. Back matter includes further historical detail. Ages 7–10. (Jan.)