A Worthwhile Read: A Blog About The Book Thief

      My reaction upon turning the last digital page of this book: Damn.

 

      After finishing this book, I was lost for words. I was simply awestruck. This has just made my list of absolute favorite books in the whole world. What a unique and compelling story. This story is so amazing, especially because it is told from death's own point of view. It makes sense considering it takes place during the Holocaust and so many deaths take place throughout the story itself. The Book Thief almost seems real to me. Talk about suspension of disbelief. This writer is awesome. I like to write myself, and all I can say is that I hope I can reach half of this guy's writing ability some day. 

 

      As usual, I have to admit that my love for this book was not immediate. It took me a while to really start liking it. My problem with it was the length. I felt like I would never get done. I felt like it could be told in less words. Now that I'm done with it, I wouldn't change a thing. The Book Thief is a masterpiece. It really makes me think about the state of the human race, how ugly and horrible we really are. So horrible that we haunt death himself. We are the real monsters.

     For that reason, I would love to use this in the classroom. I think it would be a good book to use as a class read-aloud even if it is super long. It could be a really long read-aloud accompanied by individual or group research and projects. Or journals and sketchbooks. Even excerpts would be good. The Book Thief is simply perfect for teaching a unit about World War II. How many books are about Germans who were against Hitler and hid Jews? 

 

      I would also use this book in the classroom because of Liesel's love for books. I feel like her character is so authentic and relatable that her love for books would be contagious. 

     

      All in all, I would definitely use this book in my Social Studies or Language Arts classroom. It will be on my shelf. I think it is a book I will be reading again and again. 

 

Zusak, M. (2006). The book thief. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Blog: Locomotion

     Overall, I enjoyed the novel Locomotion. I admit it was good but not one of my favorites since I am not a huge of fan of poetry, especially poem novels. However, I understand how the story needed to be told through poetry. I appreciated the insight into the main character's mind. 

 

      However, I do have one big issue with this novel. It can be hard to grasp because it is not your typical novel. It can be hard to find the plot in this book because it seems to be made up of snippets. Honestly, I don't think this is the novel most teens would pick off of a shelf. I might do it as a class read aloud to expose kids to poetry. I think it is good for that: making poetry relatable to teens today. Kids can easily see poetry as a way for expressing their own feelings by reading this book. 

 

      One thing I did like about this book was how the main character questions religion. I think that during the adolescent years, people start questioning their parents' beliefs and deciding what they believe in. That is clearly done in this novel, which I think is something teens will easily relate to. 

 

      There is also the issue of Black and White and how the main character kind of resents his White teacher for not understanding what it is like to be Black. I think that is a huge issue that our increasingly diverse students experience today. Heck, I know I kind of went through that and probably still do. And it's not just about race. It is about socioeconomic status as a whole. 

 

      I think this book deals with a lot of important social issues, although it is not necessarily action-packed. 

 

      Moving on to the articles. 

 

      I found the Ben excerpt interesting but hard to relate to my book. Is it supposed to offer a different perspective? I'm not sure since it is not does not even take place in the same time period. I just got that this man was marrying this young woman and he would end up running a plantation. Even though he is against slavery. And so is she. 

 

      I thought the Paterson article was really interesting in terms of Locomotion. I think it is important to talk about how books can potentially offend some readers. However, like he argues, what matters is that he is not doing it to injure readers. He is simply portraying reality as he sees is. As someone who likes to write fiction as well, I can relate to that. 

 

      The other article, which is also by the Locomotion author, was also really thought-provoking. I can definitely see her point. Why write about something if you haven't been in that person's shoes? You can't write about being Black if you're not Black. That's true. 

 

     For the most part, I think. 

 

      I think that most people who write about experiences outside of their own probably fail. It takes a very good writer to write about someone who is nothing like him or her. It's hard not to do it without getting something wrong or portraying a prejudice.

     However, I do think that it should be done.

     Why?

     Well, I recently read a novel about being sold into prostitution. Was that author a prostitute? Was she from Nepal as was the main character? No and no. But I think she did justice to this story that needed to be sold. However, she spent a long time traveling to Nepal and talking to those girls. I think that gave the story the authenticity it needed. It was a good example of how some writers can write a story that is not their own.

Lester, J. (1971). Ben. In J. Lester, The long journey home: Stories From Black   History (pp.60-88). New York: Dial.

Paterson, K. “Cultural politics from a writer’s point of view.” The New Advocate.

Woodson, J. (2003). Locomotion. New York: Puffin Books.

Woodson, J. (2003). “Who can tell my story?”. Stories matter: The complexity of cultural authenticity in children’s literature. Urbana Illinois: National Council of Teachers of English.