https://padlet.com/cminok4100/theblogthief Blog Page en-us 2017-11-27 00:58:14 UTC 2017-12-07 19:15:24 UTC hello@padlet.com cminok4100 https://padlet.com/cminok4100/theblogthief/wish/210228656 ~Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. New York :Alfred A. Knopf, 2007. Print.
~I read 122 pages (the first two parts)
~The story is narrated by Death, who is all knowing so we are able to get a greater look inside the story. It starts out with Liesel Meminger, her mother, and her little brother take a train to Munich, unfortunately on the way her little brother passes away. While they were burying her younger brother a grave digger drops a book, sparking her interest in books. She arrives to her foster parents Hans and Rosa Huberman, but her mother disappears. Throughout the story she struggles with losing her home, brother, and mother. Causing nightmares and bed wetting. Through this though she gets closer to Hans Huberman, whom she now refers to as Papa and his wife Mama. She helps mama gather washing from the neighbors. Soon she does it all by herself, allowing her to meet the neighbors on Himmel street. She meets Rudy Steiner whom she becomes close to as the story progresses. Papa find out about her book and her lack of knowledge in literature and starts teaching her privately, giving her more books and a deeper passion for books. Later on, as a celebration for Hitler's birthday any books, magazines, or pamphlets declared unsympathetic to the Nazi party are piled up in town square and burned. After Liesel witnesses this she hates Hitler for burning the books and what he did to her family.
~ Character Chart
-Death - the narrator with the inside scoop
-Liesel Meminger - the main character, 9 years old living with foster parents in a -suburb of Munich
-Hans Huberman - Liesel's foster father who isn't a big fan of the Nazi party and takes Liesel under his wing
-Rosa Huberman - Liesel's foster mother who is stern at first but ends up defending Liesel to their rude neighbors
-Werner Meminger - Liesel's dead brother
-Paula Meminger - Liesel's estranged mother
-Hans Huberman Jr - Hans and Rosa's son who is heavily involved in the Nazi party and frowns upon his father for not being more involved
-Frau Holtzapfel - Rosa's sworn enemy until Liesel reads to her during a bombing and they become business partners of sorts
~ Geography of The Book Thief. This is a Google map, modified to show the geography of The Book Thief. It seems that Molching is a fictional town that Marcus Zusak invented for his story, but it seems reasonable that Molching is based on Olching (the blue arrow), a town that meets the criteria for Molching, being that it is both on the outskirts of Munich, and imaginably on the road to Dachau (the green arrows). http://thebookthieves.blogspot.com/2008/05/geography-of-book-thief.html

~Markus Zusak uses a unique style by having Death be the narrator. Death talks to you directly. Death is used to foreshadow what is going to happen later on in the novel. At the end of Part 2, Death says, ''I guess humans like to watch a little destruction. Sand castles, houses of cards, that's where they begin. Their great skill is their capacity to escalate.'' This foreshadows that the destruction in Europe is going to escalate, or worsen.

]]> 2017-11-27 01:00:48 UTC https://padlet.com/cminok4100/theblogthief/wish/210228656 cminok4100 https://padlet.com/cminok4100/theblogthief/wish/210255721 ~Markus Zusak biography - https://www.chipublib.org/markus-zusak-biography/
~I read to page 208 (parts three and four)
~ During these parts Liesel realized that the mayors wife saw her steal the book from the fire and proceeded to avoid picking up their washing for a long time. But when she did go to their home she was welcomed in and shown her library, where she was invited to go in and read in whenever she'd like. Her and Rudy got involved with children who stole food because they were so hungry. They also found a coin in the road and went to a candy shop to get some candy but the owner made fun of them for only being able to afford a piece of candy. During this, a jew by the name of Max Vandenburg was seeking shelter by hiding out and seeking papers to be able to safely travel, he is headed for the Huberman home. Max knows the Huberman's because Hans befriended a German Jew named Erik Vandenburg during WW2. One morning Erik volunteered Hans for the task of writing letters for the captain. While Hans wrote the letters, the rest of the men in his platoon went into battle. All of the men were killed, including Erik.  He told Erik’s widow that if she ever needed anything, she should look him up. Later, as Hitler rose to power and began persecuting Jews a man stopped Hans in the street and asked if he would keep his promise to help the Vandenburg family
~ Character Chart
-Death - the narrator with the inside scoop
-Liesel Meminger - the main character, 9 years old living with foster parents in a -suburb of Munich
-Hans Huberman - Liesel's foster father who isn't a big fan of the Nazi party and takes Liesel under his wing
-Rosa Huberman - Liesel's foster mother who is stern at first but ends up defending Liesel to their rude neighbors
-Werner Meminger - Liesel's dead brother
-Paula Meminger - Liesel's estranged mother
-Hans Huberman Jr - Hans and Rosa's son who is heavily involved in the Nazi party and frowns upon his father for not being more involved
-Frau Holtzapfel - Rosa's sworn enemy until Liesel reads to her during a bombing and they become business partners of sorts
- Max Vandenburg - a Jew who is the son of one of Hans old war buddies who passed away during the war and he promised to take care of him so he is hiding in the Huberman home
-Frau Hermann - mayor's wife who lets Liesel use her library
-Frau Diller - rude candy shop owner
~Geography of The Book Thief. This is a Google map, modified to show the geography of The Book Thief. It seems that Molching is a fictional town that Marcus Zusak invented for his story, but it seems reasonable that Molching is based on Olching (the blue arrow), a town that meets the criteria for Molching, being that it is both on the outskirts of Munich, and imaginably on the road to Dachau (the green arrows). http://thebookthieves.blogspot.com/2008/05/geography-of-book-thief.html

Where Max was hiding in a secret storage room, sitting on his suitcase in the dark, starving. Walter Kugler, someone Max didn't particularly get along with hid him there for 2 years and provided him food and fake papers so he can travel safely.

~ Author Citation
       McCauley, Chloe Wendella. "The Book Thief." "The Blog Thief," Chloe McCauley, 17 November 2017,https://padlet.com/cminok4100/theblogthief.]]> 2017-11-27 04:43:29 UTC https://padlet.com/cminok4100/theblogthief/wish/210255721 cminok4100 https://padlet.com/cminok4100/theblogthief/wish/210259037 ~Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. New York :Alfred A. Knopf, 2007. Print.
~I read to page 350 (parts five and six)
~In part 5 Death immediately announces that Rudy will die in two years, but does not say how. Liesel still visits the Mayors wife and their library and reads a little at a time when she visits, never actually taking a book. Meanwhile, Max is still trying to regain his strength so he can fulfill his fantasy of fighting Hitler. Times get even more tough during this time because Russia allied with Britain, causing hard times for the inhabitants of Himmel street. Rudy has been having a rough time during Hitler youth meeting, the leaders have no mercy and make him do push ups and run laps in a muddy field. Combined with that and a series of other cruel acts toward him Rudy inevitably decides to not continue attending Hitler youth meetings. The children still rely on stealing to feed themselves. Max gets very sick and falls into a coma. Death comes to Himmel Street and visits Max but doesn’t take his soul. Liesel and Rudy ride bikes to the mayor’s house, where the window is open. Liesel climbs through the window and steals books. Death suggests that perhaps the mayor’s wife, Frau Hermann, keeps the window open in hopes that Liesel will come back and steal another book. Rosa and Hans discuss what they will do if Max dies, and how they will dispose of the corpse. Liesel dreams, as usual, of her dead brother, but this time he turns into Max in the dream. Max wakes up but just in time to be almost caught by Nazi soldiers who has started searching basements for Jews being hidden. He is not found because he was able to hide in time.
~Character Chart
-Death - the narrator with the inside scoop
-Liesel Meminger - the main character, 9 years old living with foster parents in a -suburb of Munich
-Hans Huberman - Liesel's foster father who isn't a big fan of the Nazi party and takes Liesel under his wing
-Rosa Huberman - Liesel's foster mother who is stern at first but ends up defending Liesel to their rude neighbors
-Werner Meminger - Liesel's dead brother
-Paula Meminger - Liesel's estranged mother
-Hans Huberman Jr - Hans and Rosa's son who is heavily involved in the Nazi party and frowns upon his father for not being more involved
-Frau Holtzapfel - Rosa's sworn enemy until Liesel reads to her during a bombing and they become business partners of sorts
- Max Vandenburg - a Jew who is the son of one of Hans old war buddies who passed away during the war and he promised to take care of him so he is hiding in the Huberman home
-Frau Hermann - mayor's wife who lets Liesel use her library
-Frau Diller - rude candy shop owner
~https://www.chipublib.org/markus-zusak-biography/ He does not have a website himself but this website gives a very detailed summary of his life and work.
~He published his most well known literature post 9/11, this was most likely a huge factor in his writing process. The tragedy brought by 9/11 around the time this was published, combined with the tragedies of Liesel and Max's circumstances Zusak uses are very powerful.
~ Author Citation
       McCauley, Chloe Wendella. "The Book Thief." "The Blog Thief," Chloe McCauley, 17 November 2017, https://padlet.com/cminok4100/theblogthief.]]> 2017-11-27 05:16:29 UTC https://padlet.com/cminok4100/theblogthief/wish/210259037 cminok4100 https://padlet.com/cminok4100/theblogthief/wish/213120307 ~Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. New York :Alfred A. Knopf, 2007. Print.
~I read 455 pages (parts seven and eight)
~Molching experiences its first air raid. This fact boosts Hans business because people want their windows blackened during blackouts. Liesel tries champagne for the first time and swear to never drink it again because it will never taste as good as it did then. One day a convoy of German trucks carrying Jews to the concentration camp Dachau comes through town and people gather to watch. Hans sees an old man in the crowd and offers him a piece of bread, but before the Jewish man excepts the gift a German soldier comes along and whips both the man and Hans. Hans is immediately declared a Jew lover and is terrorized from there on out. Through this Hans realizes Max is no longer safe in the basement and arranges for him to leave. Max and Hans agree to meet at a chosen location but when Hans gets there Max is no where to be found but leaves a note thanking him for everything. At the end the Gestapo comes and takes Rudy away. Nazi soldiers arrive at Rudy’s house. The soldiers want to take Rudy to a special Nazi training school because of his athleticism and intelligence. Rudy’s father, Alex, refuses to let the soldiers take his son and volunteers in his son’s place. Hans was drafted into the German army when his application to join the Nazi party was accepted.
~Character Chart
-Death - the narrator with the inside scoop
-Liesel Meminger - the main character, 9 years old living with foster parents in a -suburb of Munich
-Hans Huberman - Liesel's foster father who isn't a big fan of the Nazi party and takes Liesel under his wing
-Rosa Huberman - Liesel's foster mother who is stern at first but ends up defending Liesel to their rude neighbors
-Werner Meminger - Liesel's dead brother
-Paula Meminger - Liesel's estranged mother
-Hans Huberman Jr - Hans and Rosa's son who is heavily involved in the Nazi party and frowns upon his father for not being more involved
-Frau Holtzapfel - Rosa's sworn enemy until Liesel reads to her during a bombing and they become business partners of sorts
- Max Vandenburg - a Jew who is the son of one of Hans old war buddies who passed away during the war and he promised to take care of him so he is hiding in the Huberman home
-Frau Hermann - mayor's wife who lets Liesel use her library
-Frau Diller - rude candy shop owner
~ In this particular section the most interesting character to me was Hans Huberman. He risked his reputation in Molching to give a starving man a piece of bread, it was very noble and brave. He didn't let the townspeople and their verbal abuse get him down either, he kept going on even when he was recruited into the German army. He held the same values he always had even when serving alongside those he does not particularly agree with.
~Themes
-Words and Propaganda: Liesel learns throughout the course of the novel that words hold a remarkable power to compel people to commit acts of cruelty. At age 9, Liesel is illiterate, and the first book she learns to read is a manual about grave digging. Learning to read brings Liesel closer to the understanding that Hitler's propaganda is the root of his power and the reason why her mother, father, and brother are dead.
-Thievery: Liesel's thievery is a form of defiance and self-actualization. By stealing a book from a book burning, she defies Nazi censorship and takes her education into her own hands. When Ilsa offers Liesel a book, Liesel refuses it because she is enraged at Ilsa for firing Liesel's foster mother Rosa. Instead, Liesel breaks into Ilsa's home and steals the same book, later stealing others. Ilsa realizes what Liesel has done and is amused by it; she "helps" Liesel steal from her library by leaving her window open and placing books in visible locations. Ilsa is an encouraging figure who desires to help Liesel continue to read, even if it must be on Liesel's terms.
-Humanity and Dehumanization: Of Hans giving an old Jew being sent to a concentration camp a piece of bread, Death narrates: "If nothing else, the old man would die like a human. Or at least with the thought that he was a human. Me? I'm not so sure if that's such a good thing." Death struggles to understand humanity's capacity for both good and evil. Death is stunned both by the murderous Nazis and mankind's irrational taste for war and by the few human beings who exhibit remarkable compassion and strength, like Hans and Liesel. Wondering if the human race is worth anything, Death is torn by this opposition and cannot reconcile it: "I am constantly overestimating and underestimating the human race -- that rarely do I ever simply estimate it."
I have never read another book that puts so much meaning behind every single detain, character, and objects (Han's accordion for example).
~ Author Citation
       McCauley, Chloe Wendella. "The Book Thief." "The Blog Thief," Chloe McCauley, 17 November 2017, https://padlet.com/cminok4100/theblogthief.

]]> 2017-12-05 00:49:55 UTC https://padlet.com/cminok4100/theblogthief/wish/213120307 cminok4100 https://padlet.com/cminok4100/theblogthief/wish/213979487 ~Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. New York :Alfred A. Knopf, 2007. Print.
~I read 584 pages (part nine and ten)
~Liesel continues to steal from Frau Hermann's library, even though Frau encourages the stealing. Hans is still in the German army, he broke his leg in a car accident. Because of the accident he is being sent to work in an office instead of the field. Death reveals that Himmel street will soon be bombed and he will collect souls. Max is seen by Liesel in one of the parades and cries out to him, eventually joining him in the parade. The soldiers drag Liesel out of the parade and whip Max. Molching is bombed and the sirens came too late, most of the residents were asleep when the bombs came, Liesel was writing in the basement and survived the bombing. Rosa, Hans and Rudy die in the bombing.
~Character Chart
-Death - the narrator with the inside scoop
-Liesel Meminger - the main character, 9 years old living with foster parents in a -suburb of Munich
-Hans Huberman - Liesel's foster father who isn't a big fan of the Nazi party and takes Liesel under his wing
-Rosa Huberman - Liesel's foster mother who is stern at first but ends up defending Liesel to their rude neighbors
-Werner Meminger - Liesel's dead brother
-Paula Meminger - Liesel's estranged mother
-Hans Huberman Jr - Hans and Rosa's son who is heavily involved in the Nazi party and frowns upon his father for not being more involved
-Frau Holtzapfel - Rosa's sworn enemy until Liesel reads to her during a bombing and they become business partners of sorts
- Max Vandenburg - a Jew who is the son of one of Hans old war buddies who passed away during the war and he promised to take care of him so he is hiding in the Huberman home
-Frau Hermann - mayor's wife who lets Liesel use her library
-Frau Diller - rude candy shop owner
-Reinhold Zucker - a soldier in the German army who does not like Hans
-Michael Holtzapfel - Frau's son who has returned injured from the war, he breaks his neck and dies
~This book is a Senior level book based on it's syllables per 100 words and the age level is 18. I think this matches the themes and contents perfectly. I'm not surprised by the reading level because I'm the exact reading level. The word choice and setting is advanced enough for this reading level where you are still able to learn and understand what is going on at the same time.
~ This is a wonderful novel, i thoroughly enjoyed it. It was slow at time but never lost me. It had a sad and happy ending at the same time. I highly recommend this novel.
~ McCauley, Chloe Wendella. "The Book Thief." "The Blog Thief," Chloe McCauley, 17 November 2017, https://padlet.com/cminok4100/theblogthief.]]> 2017-12-07 04:33:28 UTC https://padlet.com/cminok4100/theblogthief/wish/213979487