1. BIBLIOGRAPHY
Hardback Book:
Zusak, Markus. 2006. THE BOOK THIEF. New York, NY.
Knopf Books for Young Readers Publishing. ISBN 0375831002
Audio:
Zusak, Markus. 2006. THE BOOK THIEF. Read by Allan Corduner. Random House Audio Publishing Group. ISBN 0739398005
2. SUMMARY
The Book Thief tells the story of Liesal Meminger, a young German girl, growing up in Nazi Germany. Death narrates the story of how Liesal became known as the Book Thief. Death finds the girl intriguing. He witnesses the first book theft at the burial of Liesal's younger brother, which takes place on the way to Molching. This is the primary setting of the story, where Liesal is taken to a foster family, the Hubermann’s, to stay during the war. Death continues his narration through several more book thefts by Liesal, as well as the story of Max "the Jewish fist fighter", who hides in the basement to avoid being caught by the Nazis. Death, if possible, may have a soft spot for Liesal's friend Rudy, who has an unending obsession with Olympic medalist Jessie Owens. One of the most enigmatic characters include the reclusive mayor's wife who leaves her window open to allow Liesal to steal from her own personal library. Death see’s it all …love, hate….life, death…happiness and tragedy…and reports it in a way only Death can.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Zusak grabs the reader’s attention quickly in this book by having Death tell the story. You want to make Death your friend because of his charming and sometimes witty explanations. Every character in this novel is so well described you feel that you know them and could recognize them if they passed you by.
Symbolism runs rampant in this book beginning with the jacket cover of falling dominoes, which to me represents people. The accordion is used as a symbol of happiness, love and comfort. Death describes the world around him in terms of color, which helps to create a mood or setting for the story.
Many of the passages read like poetry. For example, Death comments on the aftermath of a bombing: “Five hundred souls, I carried them in my fingers, like suitcases.” He describes Leisel and Rudy kissing: “Leisel kissed her best friend, Rudy Steiner, soft and true on his lips. He tastes dusty and sweet. He tasted like regret in the shadows of trees...”
I read and listened to this piece interchangeably. The narrator of the unabridged audio edition, Allan Corduner, spoke with such clarity and with enough passion for the story to make you visualize yourself a dweller of Himmel Street. Corduner has acted in 30 various films as well as performed on Broadway and London's West End. Corduner, who hails from Sweden, and was raised in London has a smooth English accent, which adds to the validity of the narration. Accordion music opens the audio series, foreshadowing whats to come, and ends it, in remembrance of what was. Corduner keeps a steady, even pace and changes inflection to set moods, and changes voice when speaking as different characters. His voice, that of death, is the only sound you here except for the accordion lead-in and fade-out. There were a total of 11 compact disks with a running time of 13 hours and 57 minutes. A very lengthy story, but so absorbing as well. The audio ends with the narrator of the Harry Potter books (Jim Dale) describing the importance of reading and listening to books with children and an advertisement for Random House Audio Publishing. The recommended age for listening is 12 to 17. It is my opinion that one would have to have a basic knowledge of Nazi Germany to understand the protagonist’s plight. I think the book would be better suited for 15 and up.
I found myself more engrossed in the listening aspect than in the reading, as I seemed to wander away from the text. The narrator of the audio kept me intrigued and listening every free moment I could find. Corduner's style of narrative help to make the book one of my all time favorites!
4. AWARDS/HONORS/REVIEWS
Nominee 2006 - Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best Book (South East Asia & South Pacific)
Winner 2007 - ALA Best Books for Young Adults
Winner 2007 - Michael L. Printz Honor Book
Winner 2007 - Book Sense Book of the Year
Winner 2006 - Horn Book Fanfare
Winner 2006 - Kirkus Reviews Editor Choice Award
Winner 2006 - School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
Winner 2006 - Publishers Weekly Best Children's Book of the Year
Winner 2006 - Booklist Children's Editors' Choice
Winner 2006 - Bulletin Blue Ribbon Book
Winner 2009 - Pacific Northwest Young Readers Choice Master List
SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL review: “Zusak has created a work that deserves the attention of sophisticated teen and adult readers…An extraordinary narrative.” –Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA
KIRKUS review: "Elegant, philosophical and moving...Beautiful and important."
HORN BOOK MAGAZINE review: "Exquisitely written and memorably populated, Zusak's poignant tribute to words, survival, and their curiously inevitable entwinement is a tour de force to be not just read but inhabited."
5. CONNECTIONS
Lesson plan for creating an abstract poem using the book for inspiration.
http://www.writingfix.com/Chapter_Book_Prompts/bookthief3.htm
Read Alikes
Dream Merchant by Isabel Hoving
An Innocent Soldier by Josuf Holub
Hear My Sorrow: The Diary of Angela Denoto, A Shirtwaist Worker, New York City, 1909 by Deborah Hopkinson
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by Joyne Boyne
Book Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95s8GlKY40o&feature=player_embedded
Reading Group Discussion Questions
http://www.readinggroupguides.com/guides_B/book_thief1.asp
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