Zlata's Diary

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Part 1: Preface and Introduction (vii-xxx)

Reading Check

1. Where does Zlata currently live?

2. What instrument does Zlata play despite the danger?

3. To what famous diarist does reporter Janine di Giovanni compare Zlata?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What does Filipović say were her reasons for keeping a diary?

2. How does Filipović say the diary has changed since being shared with an international audience?

3. How does reporter Janine di Giovanni characterize Zlata?

Paired Resource

“Every Surviving War Child has Two Stories: One from the War and One from its Aftermath”

• This article, written by an adult Zlata Filipović, speaks out about the experiences of war-affected children and argues for further social and educational supports to address the needs of children displaced by war.
• The article connects to themes of Coming of Age During War and Loss Due to War.
• Filipović claims that storytelling is a form of advocacy in the preface to Zlata’s Diary. In what ways does this article advance an agenda for children impacted by war? Does using her story in the service of a social or political agenda undermine her diary as a primary source? Why or why not?

“Stolen Voices”

• This interview with Zlata Filipović recorded by Zekelman Holocaust Center relates to her introduction to and work with the text Stolen Voices: Young People’s War Diaries, from WWI to Iraq, centering on the topic of war diaries as both historical sources and advocacy for young people at war.
• The interview connects to themes of Coming of Age During War, Loss Due to War, and Hope and Perseverance.
• In what ways do war diaries take on different, perhaps unintended meanings and purposes when shared with public audiences? Why does Filipović believe that sharing these private stories is a responsibility?

Part 2: September 1991-January 1992

Reading Check

1. What does Zlata call “her responsibilities”?

2. What is Crnotina?

3. Why does Zlata miss the day of her 11th birthday?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. In what ways does the war in Dubrovnik create tension both within the family and as a device within the writing?

Part 3: February 1992-July 1992

Reading Check

1. What political event occurs on March 1?

2. What prevents Zlata’s mother and father from seeing her grandparents?

3. Why does the family choose to stay in Sarajevo despite the shelling and chaos?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does the family make a big deal celebrating Maja’s birthday?

2. Why does Zlata name her diary “Mimmy,” and what does this choice reveal about her views of the war and her role in it?

Paired Resource

Excerpts from The Diary of Anne Frank

• Since Filipović more than once considers her own diary alongside Anne Frank’s, these excerpts provide a point for comparison in terms of style, content, purpose, and character.
• This resource connects to themes of Coming of Age During War, The Support of Friends and Family, and Hope and Perseverance.
• Journalists and publishing groups gave Zlata the moniker “the Anne Frank of Sarajevo.” In terms of style, structure, purpose, content, and characterization, how accurate is this comparison? Are there any ways that the comparison, particularly on the part of publishers and journalists, might raise ethical concerns? Why or why not?

Part 4: August 1992-October 1992

Reading Check

1. What happens to Uncle Halim?

2. Whose visit cheers Zlata as much as the return of electricity, gas, or water would?

3. What is scheduled to come out for UNICEF week?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Zlata describes the way in which the war imposes a “circle” around the family that divides the known world of the neighborhood from the unknown world just beyond. What impact does this “circle” have on the family and neighborhood, both positive and negative?

2. What are some of the ways in which Zlata, her family, and neighbors try to maintain a sense of normalcy despite living in a besieged city?

3. What is the significance of the Serb/Chetnik occupation of Grbavica to her family and neighbors and in terms of the larger context of the Bosnian War?

Paired Resource

“Cultural Heritage is a Human Rights Issue”

• This UNESCO article connects the destruction of cities and monuments to the destruction of culture and cultural identity, offering further contextualization for the impact of the destruction of Sarajevo on its inhabitants.
• This resource connects to the theme of Loss Due to War.
• Urbicide is the deliberate destruction of a city’s cultural identity by targeting iconic architecture and city infrastructure. How does Zlata describe the urbicide she has witnessed? What impact do the ruined buildings have on her outlook?

Part 5: November 1992-March 1993

Reading Check

1. How does the family intend to stay warm throughout the winter?

2. Who are Auntie Radmila and Auntie Ivanka?

3. What organization does Nedo get a job with?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. In what ways must the family adapt in preparation for the upcoming winter, and how does this impending event complicate their already complicated lives?

2. What is the significance of the Serb/Chetnik razing and occupation of the suburb of Otes to Zlata’s family and neighbors?

Paired Resource

“Bosnian War Survivors Share Survival Tips with Ukraine”

• This news article from the Associated Press offers a glimpse into the ingenuity of Bosnians and illustrates the challenges of living through war.
• This resource connects to themes of The Support of Friends and Family and Hope and Perseverance.
• In what ways do Zlata and her family and friends survive? What specific examples of ingenuity does she describe, and what impact do these acts have on the family?

Part 6: April 1993-July 1993

Reading Check

1. Who is “Jovo”?

2. What does Zlata write is “like being shelled again”?

3. To what does Zlata compare herself in her speech on her diary’s promotion day?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. In what ways does the black market sale of items in German marks rather than in Bosnian currency contribute to Zlata’s sense of estrangement from her own city, country, and sense of reality?

Paired Resources

Reading of “The Bright Lights of Sarajevo” by Tony Harrison

• This poem written by British poet and playwright Tony Harrison is one of three poems written from the front line of wartime Sarajevo.
• This resource connects to themes of Loss Due to War and Hope and Perseverance.
• In what ways does Harrison corroborate Zlata’s observations about the day-to-day lives of people during war? Using both the poem and the diary, explore how Sarajevans kept living their lives amid the conflict.

AP Photo Essay of the Siege of Sarajevo

• This photo essay curated by the Associated Press offers a visual exploration of daily life during the Siege of Sarajevo.
• This resource is teacher-appropriate (not student-facing).

Part 7: August 1993-December 1993

Reading Check

1. By August, how long has the family gone without electricity, bread, and running water?

2. Who gets married?

3. Who does everything in his power to get the Filipovićs out of Sarajevo after their promised exit falls through?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Zlata describes the politicians as “playing games” and filling in the map with “crayons.” How do such descriptions depict war?

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• Projekt 1065 on SuperSummary

The Unwanted by Don Brown

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• This novel connects to themes of Loss Due to War and Hope and Perseverance.
• The Unwanted on SuperSummary