The Book Thief

By Markus Zusak

"I have hated the words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right."

It's just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . . Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak's groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can't resist-books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau. This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul. From the Hardcover edition.

This book is all about words. Their power. "The words. Why do they have to exist?" For Liesel they exist to enable her and others to survive. For the Nazis they exist to cause harm and persuade others. Words are the cause for Nazi Germany and the reign of Hitler as well as the savior for the people of Himmel Street. Through the eyes of Death we see human nature and circumstance pushed to the limits. Death is sarcastic, honest and the perfect narrator for a book set in a time of so much death and destruction. However he shows us the life of Leisel and how their can be hope in the darkest of times. 

This book is worded and written so beautifully you will find yourself falling in love with the words

Reading level: 12 and up; Grades 7 and up Lexile: 730L

Suggested Delivery: Independent Read

Electronic Resources:
http://zusakbooks.tumblr.com/ This is Markus Zusak's Tumbler/website. Gives information about Markus and his books. 

http://www.randomhouse.com/features/markuszusak/ Gives information about Markus and his books. 
http://www.thebookthief.com/ - This site is related to the movie that is coming out that is based on this book. This would be a great site to introduce the book and get kids interested or to follow up after reading.
http://www.teachingbooks.net/tb.cgi?tid=925&a=1 Audio books, Lesson plans, Useful links, vocabulary lists, interviews with Markus (Great Resource for teachers!!)

Activities to Increase Comprehension:

Before Reading: Students can have a discussion about the Holocaust and what they know about it to get a bit of background knowledge before reading the book. 
Students can also watch the movie preview as a preview to the book and what they are about to read. 

During Reading: The book is broken up into ten parts within each part are chapters. Have the students look at all the chapter titles in the part they are about to read and have them make a prediction of what will happen in that part of the book. Have the students use background knowledge, context clues, and historically relevant information to make informed predictions. 

After Reading: Have the students write a story from the perspective of an emotion or inanimate state such as death, passion, love, greed etc. Have the students create a character map and think about what these characters would look like, how they would act, how would they see things.