The Book Thief A Summary   Nine-year-old Liesel Meminger is the book thief. Torn from her mother after the death of her little brother, Liesel clings to her first book: The Gravedigger's Handbook. The Book Thief is set during World War II, a difficult time to live in Germany and an even more difficult time to be a foster child. Under the watchful care of “papa,” Liesel slowly overcomes her inability to read and her bed-wetting habit. Liesel hungers for books that are stolen from the edge of a book bonfire and snuck from the mayor's library. This is Liesel's struggle with humanity, loss, love, Nazism and the eventual love of her life. The book follows Liesel's life to the very end, where she, like every other human, meets death. The most fascinating aspect of this book is the narrator: death. From death's perspective, a whole new way of thinking about war, life and death challenge the reader. For this reason alone, the book is a good choice. The author is innovative and bold. Markus Zusak includes stories within the story. Max is a refugee Jew, hidden by Mama and Papa. His long hours of hiding in the basement are spent drawing cartoons and writing stories for Liesel. The complexities of The Book Thief , give the English teacher many connections to explore. Students may be introduced to all aspects of Nazi Germany, World War II, communism, narration, point of view, art and literature, ethnicity, intolerance etc. The writing is eloquent and literary; the character development is amazing. This book was originally written for the adult market in Australia, but it was marketed as a young adult book in America. Regardless, I have no cautions. Every scene is appropriate. However, the book is for the most part a very sad tale. It is for ninth graders and above.   READING ACTIVITIES (compiled by Pat Martinez) |During Reading|After Reading| BEFORE CONNECTIONS •  Book Creation . Martinez, Pat. Brigham Young University . October 2007. Each student creates a book for his or her study of The Book Thief . Students staple together 11-15 sheets of blank, lined paper. They now have a mini book with several different pages: a. title page, b. table of contents, c. main characters, d. minor characters, e. chapter synopsis, f. scenes, g. character changes, h. vocabulary, i. favorite phrases, j. beautiful metaphors, k. my character, -influences and changes. This book is to be kept or recorded in with daily reading.   •  DVD Demonstration/Journal Write Prince of Egypt , The . Dir. Brenda Chapman. With Val Kilmer , Ralph Fiennes , Michelle Pfeiffer , Sandra Bullock , Jeff Goldblum . Paramount 1999. To Kill A Mockingbird . Dir. Robert Mulligan . With Gregory Peck , John Megna . Universal 1962. Good literature requires that characters change. Characters may have what we refer to as a “change of heart.” Help students to recognize and understand the reality of a change of heart by demonstrating through two media clips a “change of heart.” •  Scene between Ramses and Moses in the Dream Works animated video, The Prince of Egypt. •  Scene from To Kill A Mockingbird when the mob has a change of heart when Scout pleads for them to leave. •  Prepare students to identify the characters in The Book Thief that will have a change of heart. •  Students write about an incident, their own experience or the experience of another person. They may also write a change of heart incident based on fiction.   •  Narrator Point of View Presentation Martinez, Pat. Brigham Young University. October 2007. The Book Thief has a very unique point of view: death. To prepare students for this point of view, students create their own Rorschach test by using paper towels and food coloring. The food coloring is dropped onto one side of a folded paper towel. The paper towel is folded to create an identical two-sided image. Images are shown before the class and the students tell what they see. This demonstrates how differently we “see” the very same things, and ultimately how unique our personal view or narration of an event or story can be.   •  Point of View Writing Exercise Martinez, Pat. Brigham Young University . September, 2007. This is a continuation of exploration of narrative voice to prepare the students for the intriguing narration in The Book Thief . Students write a scene from two different points of view. Possibilities include: A.-store owner—shoplifter, B. parent—child, C. executioner—prisoner D.car thief—car owner E. patient—doctor   •  Narration Analysis/Writing Exercise Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows . Arthur A Levine, New York, 2007. Analyze passages from well-known/read books. Students re-write the passages from a different narrator's point of view. From Harry Potter , by J.K. Rowling, change the third person narration to: •  Lord Voldemort as narrator •  Harry's deceased parents, James and Lily Potter as narrator(s). •  Harry's aunt and uncle, Vernon and Petunia Dursley as narrator(s).   •  History Presentation: Book Burning Koeller, David, “The Burning of the Books.” The WebChron Project 1996-2005. Accessed 20 Oct 2007. < http://www.thenagain.info/WebChron/China/BookBurn.html >. The Book Thief is a book about Nazi censorship and book burning. Introduce students to another cultural history of book burning. This website gives detailed information about book burning in ancient China.   •  History Presentation: WWII Gavin, Phillip. “WW II Timeline.” The History Place. 1996. Accessed 20 Oct 2007. , http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/timeline/ww2time.htm >. The Book Thief is set in the years proceeding and during WWII. It is important for students to be briefed on the events of WWII for a historical and cultural perspective. This website publishes a timeline of WWII including the preceding and following events of the war. A teacher could match events in the book with events on the timeline.   •  History Presentation: The Holocaust Middle Tennessee State University. “The Holocaust Studies Committee.” Accessed 20 Oct 2007. < http://www.mtsu.edu/~baustin/holo.html >. The Book Thief is a book about the tragedy of the Holocaust. Students need to be briefed on the atrocities of this tragedy. This website has links to some informative resources.   •  History Presentation: Kristallnacht Middle Tennessee State University. “The Holocaust Studies Committee.” Accessed 20 Oct 2007. < http://www.mtsu.edu/~baustin/knacht.html >. Describes Kristallnacht and the events that led up to it. This is very good site because it gives thorough information on Kristallnacht. Kristallnacht was a pivotal event in the Nazi persecution of the Jews. It is possibly one of the most famous book burning events in history.   •  Teacher Resource Simon Wiesenthal Center. “Website.” Los Angeles California. Accessed 20 Oct 2007. < http://motlc.wiesenthal.com/site/pp.asp?c=gvKVLcMVIuG&b=358201 >. A comprehensive website for teachers f eaturing: glossary, timeline, bibliographies, 36 questions and answers about the Holocaust, and curricular resources for teachers. Another link with a comprehensive resource on the Holocaust and World War II, with over 3,000 text files, and tens of thousands of photos. There are virtual exhibits, 13,785 documents from the Holocaust. In the Teacher's Resources Collection, there are amazing supports for teaching about Kristallnacht, a few of which are: · A Letter by a Firefighter · A Personal Memoir by Michael Bruce · Kristallnacht at the Dinslaken Orphanage Reminiscences By Yitzhak S. Herz · Speech Delivered in Cologne Synagogue DURING READING •  Historical Figure Study/Writing Prompt Owens, Jesse, estate of. Accessed 20 Oct 2007. , http://www.jesseowens.com/ >. U.S. Government. Accessed 20 Oct 2007. < http://www.whitehouse.gov/kids/dreamteam/jesseowens.html >. Schaap, Jeremy. Triumph: The Untold Story of Jesse Owens and Hitler's Olympics . Houghton Mifflin, 2007. Sheehan, Sean. From Jessie Owens to Hiroshima: The Mid 1930s to 1945. Raintree, 2005. Who is Jessie Owens? Rudy is a fan of the American athlete Jessie Owens. These websites and books give detailed information about the athlete and the role he played in the 1932 Olympics. Two suggestions for a daily journal writing topic or a one page weekly research paper are: a. What were the politics of the 1932 Olympics? b. Create a dialog between Jessie Owens and Adolf Hitler. If Jessie Owens and Hitler had a face to face conversation, what would they say?   •  Lesson Plans Harris Middle School. Accessed 20 Oct 2007. < http://volweb.utk.edu/Schools/bedford/harrisms/2poe.htm >. NCTE, IRA. “Read Write Think. Accessed 20 Oct 2007. < http://www.readwritethink.org/lessons/lesson_view.asp?id=115 >. eMints National Center. “Writing Similes and Metaphors. Accessed 20 Oct 2007. < http://www.emints.org/ethemes/resources/S00000561.shtml >. In order to complete connection #3, the students may need a lesson on the metaphor and simile. This will prepare them to create their own metaphors and similes. These sites have complete lesson plans for teaching and having fun with similes and metaphors.   •  Interview/Writing Assignment Scales, Pat. “A Conversation With Markus Zusak.” Accessed 20 Oct 2007. < http://www.randomhouse.com/teens/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=9780375831003&view=tg >. In this Random House book presentation, author Markus Zusak, is asked: Your use of figurative language seems natural and effortless. Is this something that you have to work to develop, or is it innately a part of your writing style?” Zusak responds, “I like the idea that every page in every book can have a gem on it. It's probably what I love most about writing—that words can be used in a way that's like a child playing in a sandpit, rearranging things, swapping them around. They're the best moments in a day of writing—when an image appears that you didn't know would be there when you started work in the morning. This assignment follows the lesson on metaphors and similes. Teacher may use this interview and quote to introduce the assignment to create a page in their book (Before Connections #1), of beautiful metaphors. A second assignment may be for the students to create ten of their own original metaphors.   4 . Class Weblog Hunterdon Central Regional High School. “The Secret Life of Bees.” Modern American Literature students. Accessed 20 Oct 2007. < http://weblogs.hcrhs.k12.nj.us/bees/ >. This is an excellent example of a wiki page reader's guide created by a Modern American Literature class at Hunterdon Central Regional High School. The student's purpose was to “provide an in-depth look at The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, and to create and encourage discussion about the book.” Create a wiki page for The Book Thief and divide the students into groups according to their talents or desire. Each group is required to post information on a regular schedule determined by the teacher. Groups (patterned after Hunterdon Central High School) may be organized into: •  Chapter Summaries •  Artistic Interpretations : Group that creates and posts art: collages, drawings, pictures etc. •  Characters: Posts dealing with the major characters in the book should be put in this department. •  Class Discussions: On a rotating basis you will be asked to keep track of class discussions and post summaries here. •  Historical Events: We will be doing some research on events of the times that affect the characters. Information about those historical events should be posted in this department. •  Links: If you find links to relevant Internet sites, post them in this department with some comment about their worth. •  Miscellany: Anything not covered in other departments should go here. •  Q&A: If you have any questions that you don't know the answers to, post them here to start some discussions. •  Symbols: Any discussions about symbols in the book should be put in this department. •  Themes: Any discussions about themes in the book should be put in this department. Students are encouraged to post comments and make this an interactive activity.   5. Teacher Resource Richardson, Will. “Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms.” Accessed 20 Oct 2007. < http://weblogg-ed.com/ >. Everything a teacher needs to know about blogs, wikis and other technological enhancements can be found at this website maintained by Will Richardson, “Learner in Chief” at Connective Learning and the author of Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms . This site is dedicated to discussions and reflections on the use of Weblogs, wikis, RSS, audiocasts and other Read/Write Web related technologies in the K-12 realm, technologies that are transforming classrooms around the world. This website can help a teacher find a wiki page, offer how to's on setting up a classroom blog and is a site for continual technology implementation in the English classroom.   •  Wikkipage websource Wetpaint. Accessed 20 Oct 2007. < http://www.wetpaint.com/http://www.wetpaint.com/ >. A free wiki page resource for teachers. Wiki pages at this site are very easy to set up and maintain. This is a place to make contributions to the class or the class literature project. This is only one of hundreds of free wiki and web blog sites.   •  Composer-Music/Reader Connection. Schreer, Scott. Freeplay Music Corporation. Accessed 20 Oct 2007. < freeplaymusic.com />. Have students pick a scene from The Book Thief and set the scene to music. They may choose popular songs, classical songs, music from Schindler's List or explore new music from or http://music.download.com/ . These two sites are just a few of the many places to access free music.   •  German Culture Becker, Jim. “Welcome to Super German Websites.” Accessed 20 Oct 2007. < http://www.uni.edu/becker/German2.html#grammar >. All things German are found at this website. It is an exploration of German culture, language, history and so much more. This is an opportunity for a teacher to introduce positive things about Germany.   •  Art Project Cartoon Critters. Accessed 20 Oct 2007. < http://www.cartooncritters.com/learntodraw.htm> While Max is in hiding, he creates cartoons and books to help him cope. The illustrated books are a part of The Book Thief . Students can illustrate their own short story with cartoons and simple drawings. This is a great place to find simple jcartooning instructions and patterns.   •  German to English Translation SDL International. Freetranslation.com. Accessed 20 Oct 2007. < http://www.freetranslation.com/ >. The Book Thief is peppered with many German words. This website allows the German phrase or word to be translated in seconds. If students have a book (Before Connection #1), students may create a German vocabulary page in addition to a new-word English vocabulary page. AFTER READING •  News Interview Rehm, Diane. “Diane Rehm Interviews Markus Zusak,” The Book Thief. Interview . NPR's WAMU 88.5. 23, Mar. 2006. Accessed 4 Oct 2007. < http://www.wamu.org/programs/dr/06/03/23.php#10559 >. NPR's Diane Rehm interviews Markus Zusak in a revealing and informative radio show. This is an excellent way to hear the author's creativity and thought process while writing The Book Thief . A print version of the interview is available.   2. Radio Interview All Things Considered. “Call Me Death: Odd Narrator of a Girl's Story.” Interview. April 2, 2006. Accessed 4 Oct 2007. < http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5318749 >. NPR's John Ydstie interviews Markus Zusak, author of The Book Thief , This is a very short audio/radio interview that gives another, personal look into the author Markus Zusak and his creation of The Book Thief. Markus Zusak reads from the book and explains in greater detail why he chose death to be the narrator. Zusak discusses the depth of his teenage audience. A teacher could use this interview as a springboard for a discussion on a student's impact on literature.   3 . Holocaust Rescuer Research Paper Block, Gay, and Drucker, Malka. Rescuers: Portraits of Moral Courage in the Holocaust. New Jersey, 1992 . This is an excellent book of 49 personal reminiscences of non-Jewish citizens in various European nations who risked their lives to hide resident Jews from the Nazis. The Book Thief is also about rescuing Jews. The atrocities of the Holocaust should not ignore the hope that was there. Rabbi Schulweis said that the goodness will not diminish the atrocities but will illuminate them. Each student identifies one Holocaust rescuer and writes a 2 page paper. A few of the many books about rescuers are: •  Lest Innocent Blood Be Shed , by Phillip Hallie. •  Hidden on the Mountain , by DeSax and Rule. •  In My Hands by Irene Gut •  The Path of the Righteous by Mordecai Paldiel •  Holocaust Rescuers: Ten Stories of Courage by Darryl Lyman   4. Follow-up Reading Bradbury Ray. Farenheit 451 . Simon & Schuster 1953. An interesting follow-up novella to The Book Thief . The futuristic story parallels the Nazi book burning era, book thievery and what society and individuals will go through to save books. It is science fiction but magnifies the atrocities that actually happened in the 20 th century. A teacher could use comparisons and contrasts to two different worlds, one horribly real and the other a fictionalized account of an equally horrible time.   •  Interview United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. “Registry of Holocaust Survivors.” Washington D.C . 20 Oct 2007. < http://www.ushmm.org/ > < http://www.ushmm.org/remembrance/registry/faq/#04 > The student may explore Holocaust events and experiences, by finding and interviewing a Holocaust Survivor. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Website is the most comprehensive website on the atrocities of the Holocaust. Students may use a registry to express their desire to interview a Holocaust survivor. They need to be specific in their request such as: “I would like to interview any of the children who were protected in the French village of Le Chambon.” The Holocaust survivor will contact the student. The museum also suggests that a student contact local synagogues or a local Jewish genealogical society to find a Holocaust survivor who is willing to be interviewed. This, of course, is a project limited by time. The student may use the website to report on any other aspect of the Holocaust or tell the story of a Holocaust victim.   6. Digital Storytelling Kadjer, Sara B. Enter Here: Personal Narrative and Digital Storytelling English Journal (High school edition). Urbana: Jan 2004. Vol. 93, Iss. 3; p. 64. Teacher Sara B. Kadjer explains her experiences and successes with students creating digital personal narrative in an inner city school. After reading The Book Thief , students will have glimpsed the uniqueness of point-of-view and perhaps the power of their own point-of-view. Use this explanation as a guide for helping students create their own personal narrative.   •  Personal Narrative Example Martinez, Pat. “When a Door Closes A Window Opens.” Personal digital narrative. Brigham Young University. 7 Oct 2007. < http://www.teachertube.com/search_result.php?search_id=personal+narrative&x=61&y=7 > < http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWJ4dfadsJQ >. Above are two locations where I have displayed my own example of the personal narrative movie. The movie was created from still pictures in Microsoft Movie Maker. This can also be done in IMovie, the program for movie making on an Apple computer. It is software included on all PC's and Apple's that the students can use for their own future movie making adventures.   8. Book Review Martinez, Pat. “Write A Professional Book Review.” Brigham Young University, October 7, 2007. Present copies of professional book reviews to students. The students will write an original book review of The Book Thief. Examples of book reviews can be found at: 1, Kirkus Reviews The Book Thief . , 12/1/2006, Vol. 74 Issue 23, Special Section p26-26, 1/4p; ( AN 23535422) 2. Booklist. The Book Thief . 2/1/2007, Vol. 103 Issue 11, p68-68, 1p; ( AN 24088502 ) 3. Publishers Weekly. The Book Thief . 11/13/2006, Vol. 253 Issue 45, p60-60, 1/5p; ( AN 23141617 ) 4. Tucker, Nicholas. The Book Thief . Times Educational Supplement, 1/19/2007 Issue 4720, special section p40-40, 2/5p; ( AN 24108210 ) 5. School Library Journal, The Book Thief . Apr2006 Supplement, Vol. 52, p87-87, 1/9p;   9. Introduction to the Graphic Novel Spiegelman, Art. Maus I a Survivors Tale: My Father Bleeds History . Pantheon Books, November 1991. This is the Pulitzer Prize winning graphic novel about the Holocaust and a relationship between a Holocaust survivor and his son. Nazis are depicted as cats and Jews as mice who are held in the concentration camp. It is a great way to introduce the graphic novel and gives yet another perspective from an artist/author who chose to deal with his father's story in graphic novel form. This book illustrates the impact of history on art and literature. It also illustrates that literature and history are intertwined.   10. Author's Personal Website Random House. “Ask Markus.” Markus Zusak website. Accessed 8 Oct 2007. < http://www.randomhouse.com/features/markuszusak/ >. The author's official website, which is informative and fun. The website updates the book's awards, the books place on bestseller lists, and different countries where the book is released. There is a question and answer page, and a book reading and book events calendar. There is a photo and personal information about Markus Zusak. A teacher may use the questions and answers to inspire their student's writing. A follow-up unit on “Becoming a Writer” would be great.