The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Zusak, M. (2005). The Book Thief. New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf.

The Book Thief  was written by Markus Kusak and published in 2005.  The story is told from Death’s perspective and revolves around the life and relationships of one young girl, Liesel.  Liesel lives in Nazi Germany with her foster parents during treacherous times. Times become even more dangerous when her family harbors a Jewish man in their basement and Liesel must help keep his presence a secret from everyone she knows even her best friend, Rudy. Throughout the story Liesel’s affinity for books and words grows prompting her to steal books from the mayor’s wife and even from Nazi book burnings.

The Book Thief would be a fantastic resource to use when learning about World War II and Nazi Germany. In particular, students could debate the censorship of books that is seen in the novel. Book burnings were common-place events in Liesel’s time. Students could conduct a debate about whether censorship is justifiable and the ramifications of censorship.

Overall, I liked the plot and theme of The Book Thief, however, it was a bit hard to get accustomed to reading the story from Death’s perspective. The writing is abrupt at times and includes atypical breaks in the action of the story to state facts or descriptions. Quickly, though, the reader is drawn into the story by Kusak’s  charming characters and suspenseful plot and thus able to look past some of the atypical elements. I believe this award winning book would be well loved by middle and high school aged students.

(Image retrieved from amazon.com)

Bull Run by Paul Fleischman

Fleischman, P. (1993). Bull run. New York, NY: Harper Collins Publishers.

Bull Run by Paul Fleischman is a historical fiction novel about the First Battle of Bull Run during the American Civil War. Told from the perspective of 16 different people, Bull Run offers a glimpse of the battle both on the battlefield and behind the scenes. The sixteen characters are comprised of Northerners, Southerners, whites, African Americans, men, and women each giving their own account of the battle.

Bull Run could be used in a social studies lesson about the American Civil War. Students could read the story and then “adopt” one of the characters. Students would write a monologue for their character based on what they read in the book and create an appropriate costume as well. Then students would present their monologues to the class.

Reading about the battle from different perspectives is eye-opening! Generally, much of what we learn in history is told from one perspective which offers a limited of view of events. However, in Bull Run you come to understand the plight of people that come from all walks of life during that time period. The author’s writing is clear and succinct, but still creates a believable story. I would highly recommend this book to upper elementary and middle school aged children.

(Image retrieved from amazon.com)