Dialectical Journal For The Book Thief

1. How many books have you read during the past year?

I have read about twelve books this past year, fourteen if the two I was required for school count.

2. During the summer months, how often do you read? (daily, weekly, monthly, rarely)

During the summer I read weekly.

3. List the title of the novel you read. Based on the title, what did you expect from this work?

I read the novel The Book Thief. Based on this title, I expected it to be about a dystopia where reading was not allowed, and the protagonist had a passion to read. This led he or she to stealing books and reading them. I imagined it to be somewhat like Fahrenheit 451.

4. Select five major characters and write three sentences identifying each one. Choose one of these characters

Rudy Steiner is Liesel’s destined best friend. Death says that Rudy was in love with Liesel the day he met her, and Liesel loved him only as a friend. Rudy wanted to be a runner just like Jesse Owens, but this caused problems for him and his family. Rudy is also described as a lemon haired boy with gangly blue eyes.

4. Max Vandenburg is Jew trying to escape his fate of the Nazis by asking the Hubermanns to take him in and protect him. Max’s father, Erik, and Hans were best friends in World War I, and Erik saved Hans’s life by volunteering him for writing letters. Erik taught Hans to play the accordion, and Hans returned the accordion left behind to the family and told the Vandenburgs that if they ever needed help to call him. Max was hoping that Hans would keep this promise and shelter him. Max was also a fist fighter, who had always loved fighting.

5. Rosa Hubermann was Liesel’s foster mother, and requested Liesel call her mama. In the book, Death mentioned that she loved Liesel just as much as Hans, she just didn’t show it the same way. Rosa was very strict, and to make money for the family, she did the rich’s laundry. Liesel and Hans always joked about how much mama complained, because she always seemed to be able to argue about everything.

5. List three to five minor characters. Write two sentences identifying each