Part 1
“Arrival on Himmel Street”
Setting: Germany 1939; January
Characters: Liesel, her brother, and her mother are travelling by train
“How does a book thief end up kneeling… (Death is going to tell her story)
“Years earlier, the start was snow. (The setting was snowy)
“The time had come. For one.” (The brother died)
1. Who is the book thief? How old is she?
Liesel Meminger; 9
2. What do you know about her education?
She cannot read or speak well; she has not been in school much
3. About whom was she dreaming? What is it about this person that intrigues her?
The Fuhrer – Adolf Hitler / his use of words
4. To what is Death alluding when he says “When it came down to it, one of them called the
shots. The other did what he was told. The question is, what if the other is a lot more than
one?”
Hitler and the Germans
5. What does Liesel steal? Why is this action ironic?
a book the one grave digger drops / she can’t read (symbolism-silver writing on cover,
the color of emotion, sensitivity and they’re at a burial)
6. Why were Liesel, her mother, and her brother on the train? Where were they going?
to Munich, to a foster home for the children – the mother couldn’t afford to feed them
7. What does Himmel mean? What might this foreshadow? But what does Death assure us?
Heaven / a good life, death / the name is ironic
8. Why might Death describe the color of the day as gray (and Europe)?
Gray is the color of compromise—what Germany had to do with Europe and other
nations after the Treaty of Versailles, with which Hitler did not agree
9. Who were Liesel’s foster parents? What is your initial reaction to them? What is Liesel’s
reaction?
The Hubermanns – Hans and Rosa / Rosa is irritated, loud, and mean; Hans is reserved / She refuses to get out of the car, then kicks and screams while holding onto the gate
10. What is the title of the book Liesel had stolen?
The Grave Digger’s Handbook
“Growing up a saumensch” (pig)
11. What does it mean that “Liesel had a starving smile”?
She was undernourished and didn’t smile often
12. The reader is told that Liesel only knew one thing about her father. What is this? How does
Death insinuate that this is not acceptable?
Communist / bold faced typed, separated from story, Liesel knew she was being
“saved,” Liesel was afraid to ask what the word meant, the mother wouldn’t tell her
13. Why did Liesel’s mother leave her?
She wasn’t sure, but she felt inside it was to save her; she knew her mother was sick and
they were poor
14. What words does Death use to tell us the following about Hans? CHARACTERIZATION
He is creative “painting skills were excellent,” liked rolling cigarettes, music skills above
average,
He is lucky survived Death twice in war
He is kind patient with Liesel, “gentle voice,” eyes were made of “kindness,” winked
at Liesel when Rosa corrected her, “She should have no problem calling
him Papa”
He is valuable Liesel noticed “His manner,” “Liesel…understood that Hans Huberman
was worth a lot.”
15. What words does Death use to tell us the following about Rosa? CHARACTERIZATION
She is hardworking did “washing and ironing of 5” households to supplement income
She is a terrible cook “Her cooking was atrocious”
She is verbally abusive “bashing her [Liesel] with wooden spoon words”
She is always angry-looking wore her hair in a bun / aggravated almost everyone she
Met
“The Woman With the Iron Fist”
Read the following quotes and interpret each one. Then make a connection to each.
Example: “..her mother carried the memory of him…”
Meaning: After the boy died, the mother always remembered him.
Connection: When you really love someone, they are always inside you, even after
death.
16. “Not leaving: an act of trust and love…”
Meaning: People trust others when they know they will be there in all times of need and never abandon them.
Connection: Children trust that their parents will always come to their aid in the
middle of the night, after school, when they do good and bad, etc.
17. “No one had ever given her music before.”
Meaning: No one in Liesel’s life had ever done anything just to make her feel safe.
Connection: Sometimes people go to others for the specific personality traits they
provide in an attempt to make others feel good: a grandmother who
allows you to help bake cookies, a friend who will always let you win, etc.
18. “It didn’t really matter what the book was about. It was what it meant that was important.”
Meaning: To Liesel, the book symbolizes her connection to her brother and mother.
Connection: People keep possessions of things because of who gave it to them or
what they remember of the event, not because of their monetary or
physical value. Hoarders.
19. “She often wished she was pale enough to disappear altogether.”
Meaning: She was embarrassed and ashamed of her lack of education.
Connection: Everyone has been in an uncomfortable and overwhelming situation that
they would rather leave but are forced to remain in.
20. “…He dragged her gently from her nightmare.”
Meaning: Hans would come to Liesel’s bedside when she had nightmares and
gently wake her from them, bringing her out of her fear.
Connection: All people have bad days, but someone comes to your side to remind you
of positivity that returns your faith and peace of mind.
“The Kiss”
21. Define key attributes of the following neighbors:
Rudy Steiner Liesel’s best friend, Jesse Owens wanna be, father was a tailor
Tommy Muller ear infections, bad at soccer
Frau Diller store owner, Nazi follower
Pfiffikus “gutter-mouthed” old man (name means “someone who likes to whistle”)
22. What can be inferred from the description of “The road of yellow stars”?
Jews were isolated, disliked, pointed out, not treated as humans
23. What were the terms of Liesel and Rudy’s race? What was the result?
If he won, he could kiss her; if she won, she didn’t have to be goalie anymore. / There
was too much mud to race, they both got filthy, and Liesel got in trouble with Rosa
“The Jesse Owens Incident”
24. What did Rudy do to demonstrate he saw Jesse Owens as a role model?
Colored himself with charcoal and ran an imaginary race at the track, pretending to be
Jesse Owens in the Olympics.
25. What did Mr. Steiner say to Rudy? Did he like the Jews? What was confusing about his
words? How long did it take for Rudy to truly understand?
Publicly acknowledging you envy the black race or the Jewish race could get you into trouble. He couldn’t give him a reason why because there honestly was no reason—it was just what they had to pretend to believe and support in order to survive the Nazi party. / 10 years later, as an adult and the war had ended.
26. Think about what Mr. Steiner tells Rudy, then think about how a person learns intolerance.
Is intolerance natural (within) or is it learned? Explain your answer.
OPINION / Children are not born with preconceived notions; they react to their environments and what they’re taught. A room of 3 year olds do not notice skin color or gender; it’s not until early puberty that gender becomes a part of their separation. Their instill family beliefs, churches instill religious beliefs, and schools instill political/social norms. They learn about history and other people’s ideals as they grow, play, and form friendships. These experiences instill in them a foundation upon which to form their own beliefs, but without this background knowledge, people would no basis upon which to form opinions of tolerance or intolerance. Thus, they would have no reason to be intolerant until someone did them wrong personally.
“The Other Side of Sandpaper”
27. Write a reaction, not a summary, of this chapter. 5-10 sentences should suffice.
OPINION / Everyone should have a Hans in their life. He is gentle and kind and patient. He clearly has unconditional love for Liesel and his ways have earned him her trust and love in return. He is also a very intuitive and creative man, more that of a nurturing mother figure than a manly fatherly one. Without Hans I do not think Liesel would have
been able to find happiness in Munich.
“The Smell of Friendship”
28. The middle paragraph on page 71 is clearly foreshadowing something to come. Make a
prediction as to what you think it could me.
OPINION
29. Explain the title of this chapter.
“The Heavy Weight Champion of the School Yard”
30. What words tell the reader Hans’s feelings about the war? Explain.
“…Hans Hubermann slumped into a chair…his voice was not remotely patriotic.”
31. How does Death illustrate his humorous side on page 75?
Makes comment to show his likeness for the human creation of the grim reaper and
says he likes the scythe, that it amuses him.
32. React to the last paragraph of this chapter, the one beginning “She was the book thief
without words. Trust me, though, the words were on their way…”
Liesel may not be able to read at this point, but Death is foreshadowing that something
will happen to her or someone will come into her life that will change this, and she will
come to dominate reading/books instead of defeating her.