The Book Thief

The Book Thief 

Author: Markus Zusak 

Grade Level: 7-8

Genre: Historical Fiction 

Awards: Kathleen Mitchell Award, National Jewish Book Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature, Indies Choice Book Award for Children's Literature 

Summary: The narrator, Death, tells the story of a young girl named Liesel.  Liesel, her mother, and brother were on a train to another area of Germany to receive help during WWII.  After Liesel's brother dies on the train ride, her and her mother stop somewhere to bury him.  When they bury him, Liesel steals her first book.  Once they arrive in Munich, Liesel is forced to live with foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann.  As the war is getting worse, life in Germany also gets worse.  Liesel steals another book by saving it from the pile of books the Nazi's were burning.  Around this time, the Hubermann family take on the danger of hiding a Jew in their home.  Throughout the story, Liesel not only learns to read and write, but she learns that unexpected people can become like family.  At the end, Hans, Rosa, and Rudy all die after an air raid comes for their neighborhood.  Liesel is left alone, again, forced to say goodbye to those she had come to love.  Two years later, Liesel reunites with the Jew the hid and remain close friends until his death.  Death does come for Liesel, but not until after she lived a long life.

Evaluation: This was such a good book.  I read through this book with a group of students in one of my education courses.  This book led to a lot of great discussions in that group.  During my student teaching, I have found that this book is very popular among eight graders (I can see why!).  Almost all of the students I've talked to have loved this book.  Some have even said it's among their top favorite books.  That being said, I plan to have this book in my classroom.

The readability is between seventh and eighth grade.  The subject matter in this book may be difficult to read for younger students because it takes place during WWII when the Nazi's took over Germany.  Because seventh and eighth graders should have already had some exposure to this subject, they should be old enough to understand the themes in this book.

Because most schools require eighth grade ELA teachers to cover the Holocaust, this book would be a powerful additional read to present to the students.  If your school does not require you read through a particular book (the school I'm at requires us to read through Night as a class), I highly recommend using this one.  You could use this book as a guide to create a timeline of events during WWII.