Senior Library Books

Resource Key

When accessing content use the numbers below to guide you:

LEVEL 1

brief, basic information laid out in an easy-to-read format. May use informal language. (Includes most news articles)

LEVEL 2

provides additional background information and further reading. Introduces some subject-specific language.

LEVEL 3

lengthy, detailed information. Frequently uses technical/subject-specific language. (Includes most analytical articles)

Linked Databases

JSTOR
Scholarly resources on JSTOR include Archival and Current Journals, Books, and Primary Sources.

Introduction

This research guide has been created for Year 11 students studying The Book Thief. Through close reading, students develop the ability to identify and evaluate the viewpoint/perspectives, stylistics features/choice, context and generic conventions of narratives.

Blurb

It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will be busier still.

By her brother's graveside, Liesel's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger's Handbook, left behind there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordian-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found.

But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up, and closed down.

In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.

Interviews with Markus Zusak

Zusak, M. (2009). Interview with Markus Zusak. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7B8ioiZz7M

Chicago Public Library. (2020). Markus Zusak interview. Retrieved from https://www.chipublib.org/interview-with-markus-zusak/
Actress, writer and director Heidi Stillman wrote the stage adaptation of The Book Thief, playing at Steppenwolf Theatre this fall. Heidi and Markus Zusak took part in the following conversation about The Book Thief via email in spring 2012.
Sales, L. (2014) The 7:30pm Report. Retrieved from https://www.abc.net.au/7.30/the-book-thief-reveals-australian-connection/5189576
Liegh Sales, Presenter: 'The Book Thief' is one of the publishing industry's international success stories, selling more than eight million copies since it was published seven years ago. It's been translated into more than 40 languages and this week a major Hollywood film of the book, starring Geoffrey Rush, will open in Australia. You may not realise that the author of this huge hit is an Australian, Markus Zusak.

Biography

Chicago Public Library. (2020). Markus Zusak biography. Retrieved from https://www.chipublib.org/markus-zusak-biography/
Markus Zusak was born in 1975 in Sydney, Australia, the youngest of four children of immigrant German and Austrian parents. Neither parent could read or write English when they first arrived in Australia, but they wanted their children to master the language and strongly encouraged them to read and communicate in English from an early age. Zusak began writing fiction at age 16 and pursued a degree in teaching. Before becoming a professional author, Zusak worked briefly as a house painter, a janitor and a high school English teacher.

Definitions HIGHLIGHT

Context
the circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood.
Narrative conventions
Narrative conventions
The use of repeated codes and techniques that contribute to the creation and construction of the narrative specific to each media type or genre. (e.g. In a documentary, using interviews with a number of witnesses to establish information; the use of a chase sequence to show interaction between antagonist and protagonist in an action film; a third person point of view is adopted in newspaper articles).
Narrative structure
This is the way the chain of events or cause and effect are manipulated to form a plot (e.g. linear (beginning, middle, end), multiple plots, reverse chronological order).
Viewpoint
Viewpoint is the expression of an opinion from a particular angle or position. It is the perspective through which an issue is viewed and can be determined by factors such as an individual's context of age, gender and ethnicity.
Style
It is the technique that an individual author uses in his writing. It varies from author to author, and depends upon one's syntax, word choice, and tone. It can also be described as a “voice” that readers listen to when they read the work of a writer.

Podcast

Getting, C. (2017). The Book Thief [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from https://overduepodcast.com/episodes/2017/12/18/episode-276-the-book-thief-by-markus-zusak
Markus Zusak's breakthrough novel The Book Thief is the story of a young girl in 1940s Germany told by Death itself. It is equal parts heartening and heartbreaking in its depiction of people just trying to live, and it doesn't shy away from showing how "just trying to live" can create a slippery moral slope.