Grade 6 · Class Reads · Book guide
The Night Diary
by Veera Hiranandani
In 1947, twelve-year-old Nisha writes letters to her late mother while her family must leave their home after British India is divided into India and Pakistan.
Book details
Format
Historical fiction in diary entries
Suggested age range
Ages 8–12
Why read it together?
A book worth talking about
The diary form offers a focused point of view on a complex historical event. Students can examine how personal experience, religious identity, family relationships, and incomplete knowledge shape Nisha's interpretations.
- Identity
- Partition and displacement
- Family
- Home and belonging
Before reading
Get ready to wonder
- How can a diary reveal both what a narrator knows and what they do not yet understand?
- What reliable background information would help a reader understand the Partition of India?
During and after reading
Talk about the text
- How does the diary form shape the evidence available to readers?
- How do Nisha's ideas about identity and home change during the journey?
- Which historical conditions most directly influence the family's choices?
Writing invitation
Respond to the book
Explain how one historical condition shapes Nisha's understanding of home. Use evidence from different points in the novel.