The Book Thief

Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. 2005. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 9780375842207

Plot Summary

Liesel is alone in the world after her brother dies and her mom drops her off for a foster family to take care of. Her new foster home is on Himmel Street in the midst of World War II. It may seem like the story of any other poor child, but this story is different. It is narrated by Death itself. With his unique perspective on events, Death tells us the tale of the book thief, one of the humans that haunts him. He shows how one girl's love of literature connects her to others, from the rich mayor's wife on in the mansion on the hill, to the poor boy down the street, to the Jew hiding in her basement.The way their lives interweave are put to a satisfying, if sobering, conclusion. 

Critical Analysis

The narrator of this book, Death, is reliable and factual. He has no need for sentimentality or suspense. He tells his tale in a non-linear fashion, jumping from the present, to the future, to the past, without difficulty, like a child playing hopscotch. Reading this book is almost like putting together a puzzle--you have the big picture, and each piece is put in, but not necessarily in a straight line. But in the end, all the pieces connect to create a more beautiful picture than you first expected. 

The characters are highly sympathetic and naturally flawed. From Papa with the silver eyes to Max with the feather (or stick) hair, Zusak is very visual in his descriptions. He also litters German words here and there (though many of them are swear words!) that help to establish authenticity and a reminder of the setting. 

The themes of family, love, and mortality are all woven throughout this dark, warm tale. The reader will feel Liesel's struggle as she worries that Max will not wake up, or what will happen to Papa when he is sent away. As Liesel grows into a young woman, she has to deal with the regular pains of growing up in addition to navigating being poor and living in Nazi Germany. But she turns out to be very resilient, continuing life, when there is no other choice. 

Professional Praise

From School Library Journal: "Zusak has created a work that deserves the attention of sophisticated teen and adult readers."

From Bookmarks Magazine: "The Book Thief will appeal both to sophisticated teens and adults with its engaging characters and heartbreaking story."

2006: National Jewish Book Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature

2007: Michael L. Printz Honor Book

2006: School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

Connections

If you liked the book, try watching the film!

Other books by Markus Zusak include:

I Am the Messenger (2006) ISBN 978-0375836671

Underdogs (2013) ISBN 978-0545542593

Or check out these books about kids during World War II: 

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, by John Boyne. (2007). ISBN  978-0385751537

Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry (2011--reissued) ISBN 978-0547577098

The Boy on the Wooden Box, by Leon Leyson (2015) ISBN 978-1442497825

Rules

Lord, Cynthia. Rules. 2008. New York: Scholastic. ISBN 9780439443838

Plot Summary

Catherine loves her brother David, but sometimes his autism can get pretty frustrating. To help him cope with life's realities, she made him a book of rules, such as "When you want to get out of answering something, distract the questioner with another question," or "Sometimes people laugh when they like you. But sometimes they laugh to hurt you." The rules help to make sense of the world, both for David and for Catherine. If only life were really that black-and-white. When Catherine begins a friendship with one of the other clients at David's occupational therapy clinic, she starts to realize that as difficult as it is to have someone "different" in her family, it's nothing compared to being the one who is "different." 

Critical Analysis

In this realistic novel, Cynthia Lord explores what it is like to live with a brother with autism. She successfully captures both the affection and protectiveness Catherine feels for him, balancing it with the annoyance, frustration, and isolation she feels also. Catherine is a very believable character, one who the reader can easily identify with. She is very compassionate, but also very self-aware. She comes to a greater realization of her own shortfalls while still managing to overcome them.

This story takes just a slice of life during Catherine's summer, focusing on her summer vacation. The interactions and relationships developed in this story are limited to her family, her neighbors, and the people at the OT clinic, but it provides an excellent stage for the theme of seeing people as the total package of themselves. This was brought to the forefront when Catherine drew a picture of her with Jason without his wheelchair, and it really hurt his feelings. His disability was a part of who he is, and for him, to ignore it was just as bad as staring or making fun. Far from being didactic, Lord relies on the story to teach the lessons. 

Overall, Lord did a great job of providing realistic, sympathetic, flawed characters who give a window (or a mirror) for the reader to look into. I personally have had limited exposure to what it's like to live with someone with autism, so it provided an interesting peek to help me understand others' lives better. 

Professional Praise

2007 Newbery Award

Schneider Family Book Award

From Booklist:  "Torn between love for her brother and impatience with the responsibilities and embarrassment he brings, she strives to be on her parents' radar and to establish an identity of her own."

From School Library Journal: "This sensitive story is about being different, feeling different, and finding acceptance. . . A lovely, warm read, and a great discussion starter."

Connections

Cynthia has written other great stories to check out:

A Handful of Stars (2015). ISBN 978-0545700276

Touch Blue (2012) ISBN 978-0545035323

Half a Chance. (2014) ISBN 978-0545035330

For more stories about being "different," you might check out these books:

Out of My Mind, Sharon M. Draper (2012). ISBN 978-1416971719

Wonder, R. J. Palacio (2012) ISBN 978-0375869020












Fish in a Tree, Lynda Mullaly Hunt (2015). ISBN 978-0399162596

The Arrival

Tan, Shaun. The Arrival. 2007. New York: Scholastic, Inc. ISBN 9780439895293

Plot Summary

Who needs words to tell a story? Shaun Tan certainly doesn't in his graphic novel The Arrival. The story begins with our protagonist leaving his family to travel to a new, strange land. The reader sees him struggle to understand and be understood. He wants to find food, so he draws a picture of bread. Instead, he is shown various strange shapes that his companions demonstrate how to prepare and eat. He learns from others how they, too, left their homelands to travel to this strange place. Once he starts to get the hang of his new surroundings and saves up enough money, he sends for his family to join him. The sweet reunion is made all the more poignant in the way that his daughter helps the community cycle to begin again. 

Critical Analysis

With only the use of gray-scale and sepia-tinted illustrations, author/illustrator Shaun Tan takes the reader on a visually fantastic journey into the life and experience of an immigrant. While the illustrations are beautiful enough to be enjoyed by younger children, the struggles of the immigrant experience will resonate with older children and even adults. 

Tan's illustrations connect the reader immediately to the main character. The emotion and sensitivity are evident through the multitude of small, detailed snapshots included on each page, interspersed with full-page and double-page spreads that draw back to let the reader see the big picture. 

The setting at first seems familiar, when the protagonist is saying goodbye to his family. But when he arrives at his destination, it is evident that he is nowhere that the reader has every experienced. The buildings are strange, the language unintelligible squiggles, the transportation odd. Even the household appliances will take some figuring out. Yet even in this strange setting, the reader gets the idea that it is more familiar than you first thought. 

It wasn't until he was introduced to the strange foods in that country that it dawned on me that this confusion, frustration, and uncertainty is what some immigrants must feel like when coming to my very "normal" country. As I continued reading with that lens, watching him try to find and keep a job took on new meaning. When he realized that all the posters he had posted were upside down because he couldn't read the language, I felt his embarrassment, even his shame. But even through moments of difficulty, he is able to connect with others, many of whom have their own stories to tell. It is through the building of this small community that he is able to start to build his new life.

His struggle ends up being worth it, though, when he is able to send for his family. Ultimately, the struggle was for them, to give them a better life. As his daughter adapts to her new world, she is able to also help other new arrivals to find their way. 

Professional Praise

 New York Times Best Illustrated Book of 2007

ALA Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults, 2008

2007 Parents' Choice Gold Award

From School Library Journal: "Tan captures the displacement and awe with which immigrants respond to their new surroundings in this wordless graphic novel."

From Booklist: "The Arrival proves a beautiful, compelling piece of art, in both content and form."

Connections

If you loved Shaun Tan's beautiful fantasy book, you might enjoy these that he's also done:

Lost & Found. (2011). ISBN 978-0545229241

Tales from Outer Suburbia. (2009). ISBN 978-0545055871

The Bird King: An Artist's Notebook. (2013). ISBN 978-0545465137

Lily's Crossing

Giff, Patricia Reilly. 1999. Lily's Crossing. New York: Dell Yearling. ISBN 0440414539

Plot Summary

Lily is that girl your mom always warned you about. Snoopy. Borderline disrespectful. Flighty. Reckless. She was determined not to be friends with the Hungarian refugee, Albert, who was there for the summer. All that changes when Albert sees someone throw a kitten in a sack into the water, but he can't swim to save it. Lily rescues the kitten, and she and Albert learn they may have more in common than they realized. But something is standing in the way of their fragile, fledgling friendship. It's the lies Lily can't seem to stop saying. And one of those lies she fears has put Albert's life in danger. She hopes she will have the courage to make it right before it's too late.

Critical Analysis

Lily's Crossing is a historical novel set along the Atlantic coastline in the summer of 1944. The protagonist, Lily, is not your normal heroine. She is flawed in so many ways, but that helps to make her more real. As she is struggling with difficulties in her own family, including having her dad go off to war, she is also struggling internally, trying to confront the effect of her lies. 

The pacing of the story is fairly slow, which probably matches the pace of life of that region at that time. The author is not overly descriptive, though she does an excellent job of creating a coastal feel. While there are some period-specific references, such as what movies were playing at the cinema, overall I thought the book was lacking in historical setting. It was difficult for me to remember sometimes that this story didn't take place in, say, the 1970s. Then a reference to the war would pop up, and I would think, "Oh, yeah. World War II." 

Professional Praise

1998 Newbery Honor Book

1998 ALA Notable Book

From Booklist: "With wry comedy and intense feeling, and without intrusive historical detail, Giff gets across a strong sense of what it was like on the home front during World War II."

Connections

Find out what happens to Lily's friend Margaret in Giff's 2007 book, Willow Run. ISBN 978-0440238010

Or check out these other historical novels by Patricia Reilly Giff:

Nory Ryan's Song. 2002. ISBN 978-0440418290

Maggie's Door. 2005. ISBN 978-0440415817

Or read more about what life was like in the U.S. during World War II:

The Home Front Kid. By Del. S. Placides. 2014. ISBN  978-1939472137

World War II for Kids. By Richard Panchyk. 2002. ISBN 978-1556524554

Elijah of Buxton, Unabridged Audio Edition

Curtis, Christopher Paul. 2008. Elijah of Buxton. Narr. Mirron Willis. Listening Library. ISBN: 978-0739367193

Plot Summary

Elijah is the freeborn son of runaway slaves who live in the free community of Buxton. Canada. Growing up free, he doesn't completely understand what it was like to live in slavery, but the adults in his community can never forget. Elijah, who is very trusting and friendly, finds out that a shady member of the community seems to have run off with the life savings of another slave who was intending to purchase the freedom of his family. Elijah determines to help his friend by recovering the funds, taking him across the border into Detroit, where the realities of the slave trade break into his consciousness like no second-hand stories ever could. Elijah is left with the struggle of wanting to do the right thing, but not knowing what that might be.

Critical Analysis

Curtis' Elijah of Buxton is an authentically written tale of a free-born black in North America. Curtis is a master storyteller who can deftly weave smaller, seemingly insignificant stories into to the creation of an artistic tapestry for a character. From the "rope cookies" in the jar to the antics of the conjurer, the reader/listener can't help laughing along with good ol' 'Lijah. But these stories also build his character, show how respectful, thoughtful, and sweetly naive he is, which is how the climax of the story (his traveling to America) remains so believable and powerful.  

The style of the writing only aides in transporting the reader or listener to that time and place. Curtis handles the dialect perfectly, both in phrases, such as Elijah watching the "flimflam" of the conjurer, to the grammar ( "I's sorry, ma'am, I's just 'bout to bust from not seeing my mama!"). While the style may take some getting used to, especially for those only reading the book, the audio component can help to bridge that gap for inexperienced readers. The way Mirron Willis reads it, it flows seamlessly and authentically. Willis is also able to handle the various voices on the CD with no problem.His pacing, accents, pitch, and tone all help to distinguish between characters. 

One of the major themes that I enjoyed about this book was Elijah's coming-of-age. It seems that with each chapter, he grows in his understanding of what a grown-man is supposed to be. Whether it's helping Mrs. Holton memorialize her husband with just the right words, or stepping up to help slaves in need when even the grown-ups around him won't help, Elijah learns how to follow his own heart in what he knows is right. In the end, he finds out that being grown and doing the right thing can sometimes break your heart, but is always satisfying. 

Professional Praise

2008 John Newbery Medal

2008 Coretta Scott King Award for Authors
2008 Scott O'Dell Award

From Booklist: "Many readers drawn to the book by humor will find themselves at times on the edges of their seats in suspense and, at other moments, moved to tears. A fine, original novel from a gifted storyteller."

From AudioFile: "Mirron Willis delivers depth of emotion as he shapes the story's rhythms and pacing. He successfully shifts from a light comedic tone of much of the story to a tone of chilling determination when Elijah becomes involved in a dangerous mission to free a group of slaves."

Connections

Christopher Paul Curtis has so many other great books to check out!

The Watsons Go to Birmingham--1963 (2000) ISBN 978-0440228004

Bud, Not Buddy (2004) ISBN 978-0553494105

The Mighty Miss Malone (2013) ISBN 978-0440422143

You could also check out some of these books to help your reader with background information on slavery and the Underground Railroad

What Was the Underground Railroad? (2013) Yona Zeldis McDonough. ISBN 978-0448467122

If You Lived When There Was Slavery in America (2004) Anne Kamma. ISBN 978-0439567060

Henry's Freedom Box (2007) Ellen Levine. ISBN 978-0439777339

Breaking Stalin's Nose

Yelchin, Eugene. 2011. Breaking Stalin's Nose. New York: Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 9780905092165

Plot Summary

Sasha loves Joseph Stalin and the Communist party. He is all set to join the Young Pioneers, which is the group for future communist citizens. He views every interaction through the lens of communist devotion. When his classmates disappear, he feels certain that it is for their own good, and the good of the country. When his dad, who is the most devoted communist, is arrested, Sasha knows it is a mistake that Stalin himself will fix once he finds out. But things only go from bad to worse when Sasha accidentally breaks the nose off of Stalin's bust at school. He is certain that he will be taken away next for defacing the sacred likeness of the Soviet leader. The comfort and safety he felt by being a part of the communist community is quickly disappearing. Is there anywhere that Sasha can feel safe again?

Critical Analysis

Breaking Stalin's Nose is written by Eugene Yelchin, a former Soviet Union citizen. His experiences there contributed to the setting of this, his first novel. The book is smaller than average, with lovely black and white illustrations scattered throughout. The short chapters, simple sentence structure, and illustrations at first give the implication that this book is written for young children. However, as I read further, it seemed as though many concepts in the book would be far above the head of the average 10-year-old. An adult would likely need to provide some background information on communism, Joseph Stalin, and the Soviet Union. 

The point of view of Sasha is very believable. The perspective of this 10-year-old protagonist who believes wholeheartedly in the good of Stalin and communism is very sincere. This perspective of events, such as when a Jewish classmate is removed from the school, is hard to reconcile with our 21st century Western ideals, which is perhaps the author's intent. To have a sympathetic character buy-in to clearly disturbing ways of thinking helps us as readers see things from the inside. 

Yet as the day progresses, Sasha is forced to face the unsettling methods of his beloved country. It finally reaches the pivotal point where he can either carry on as he intended to, joining the Young Pioneers and submitting body, soul and mind to the Communist Party, or decide to walk his own path. Far from becoming a rioting revolutionary, Sasha finds that there are other ways to resist, sometimes just by surviving.

The Author's Note included at the end is an insightful and helpful description of the author's first-hand experiences in the Soviet Union in the 1960s. It helps to lend an air of authenticity to the novel that really helps you to feel like you might know now a bit of what it could have been like to live under the Soviet banner. 

Professional Praise

2012 Newbery Honor Book

From Horn Book: "This brief novel gets at the heart of a society that asks its citizens, even its children, to report on relatives and friends. Appropriately menacing illustrations by first-time novelist Yelchin add a sinister tone.” 

From School Library Journal: “Yelchin skillfully combines narrative with dramatic black-and-white illustrations to tell the story of life in the Soviet Union under Stalin.” 

Connections

First, check out Eugene Yelchin's website for this book at http://www.eugeneyelchinbooks.com/breakingstalinsnose/index.php

Then, check out some of these other books that will give readers a better understanding of the times and events in the book:

Capitalism vs. Communism (World Governments), Darcy Frisnia. 2007. ISBN 978-1553193548

Joseph Stalin (Wicked History), Sean McCollum. 2010. ISBN 978-0531223550

I Want To Live: The Diary of a Young Girl in Stalin's Russia, Nina Lugovskaya. 2007. ISBN 978-0618605750

Guest Post: Sofia

Check out my daughter's first book trailer for Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics! Throw a thumbs-up her way!