The Book Thief

1. The Book Thief By Markus Zusak

2. Markus Zusak • Zusak is the award-winning author of four previous books for young adults:The Underdog, Fighting Ruben Wolfe, Getting the Girl, and I Am the Messenger. • A recipient of a 2006 Printz Honor. •  He lives in Sydney, Australia, with his wife and daughter. •  Both of his parents grew up in Europe during World War II (http://loudoun.vhost.vipnet.org/lcpl/onebook07/author.htm)

3. Characters • Liesel Meminger - is a tomboyish girl on the verge of adolescence. She is fostered by the Hubermanns. Her younger brother, Werner, dies on the way to the Hubermann household. Upon arrival at Himmel Street, Liesel makes friends with Rudy Steiner, one of her neighbours. Despite her many refusals to Rudy's requests for a kiss, her love for him is not unclear, as seen by the lustful nature of some of her fantasies of him. Liesel finally grants Rudy's much-awaited kiss as he lies dead among the ruins of Himmel Street. • Hans Hubermann - Liesel's foster father. He does not agree with the Nazi party, but is forced to join, and enlist in the army in order to protect his livelihood and his family. He has eyes like silver and is very tall. He was taught the accordion by Max's father. He rolls his own cigars and smokes like a chimney. • Rosa Hubermann - Liesel's foul-mouthed foster mother. Although she regularly swears at Liesel, she has a strong love for her. She has two of her own children, Trudy and Hans Jr. Death mentions that she has looked after foster children before Liesel. Apparently she "straightened some out." • Max Vandenburg - a Jewish fist-fighter that the Hubermanns stow away in their home for a period of time. He becomes almost like an older brother for Liesel. Both Liesel and Max have nightmares and they both have a way with words. • Rudy Steiner - Liesel's best friend and neighbor. Rudy often asks Liesel for a kiss in return for favors. He and Liesel finally share a kiss as his lifeless body lies among the ruins of his home on Himmel Street at the end of the novel. • Death - the narrator of the book throughout the whole story. The Character of Death is portrayed as sympathetic to all mankind. Originally, death was a character that was enamored of his job, and all the death that came about as a result of World War II. The character was repurposed after the author decided that Death was too cold to convey the story.

4. Summury of the Book The story takes place in Germanybefore and during World War II. The story is told from the point of view of Death, who narrates the story. "Death" sees a girl that he becomes very interested in, he calls her the Book Thief. Her name is Liesel Meminger. Her story begins when she and her brother are sent to a foster home by their mother when she goes to the Dachau Concentration Camp. Her brother however, dies before they get there. Liesel later arrives at the home of foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann, in Munich. They treat her well, although Rosa swears a lot at her. She does this to cover up the love she actually does feel for Liesel. She then meets Rudy Steiner, a neighbor that's her age, and they end up becoming best friends. Rudy is known well in the neighborhood for running  around the Hubert Oval as Jesse Owens. Rudy and Liesel's relationship steadily becomes more romantic over the years and Rudy continually asks Liesel for a kiss. Max, a 24 year old Jewish man that the Hubermann family helps to hide, composes his experiences with Liesel in a series of sketches, as well as 2 homemade books. The novel ends with everyone on Liesel's street, with the exception of Liesel herself, being killed in a bombing raid. It then later tells you that Liesel died many years later in Sydney.

5. Stats • Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of disease, disability, and death in the United States. • Between 1964 and 2004, cigarette smoking caused an estimated 12 million deaths, including 4.1 million deaths from cancer, and 5.5 million deaths from cardiovascular diseases. • When smoking tobacco, the user inhales tar, nicotine, carbon monoxide, and 200 known poisons into the lungs. •  The nicotine in cigarettes is powerfully addictive. (SAMHSA Tips for Teens: The Truth about Tobacco, 2008 ; NIDA InfoFacts: Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products, 2008 ; NIDA. Research Report Series - Tobacco Addiction, 2006)

6. Financial Issues The financial consequences of lighting up stretch far beyond the cost of a pack of cigarettes. Smokers pay more for insurance. They lose money on the resale value of their cars and homes. They spend extra on dry cleaning and teeth cleaning. Long term, they earn less and receive less in pension and Social Security benefits. (MSN Money)

7. Smoking and Tobacco Facts • Cigarettes contain disgusting things that you would never think about putting in your body. For example, cigarettes contain tar, carbon monoxide, chemicals like DDT, arsenic and formaldehyde (a gas used to preserve dead animals). • The tobacco in cigarettes also contains nicotine--the drug that makes smoking addictive. All of these things are bad for your body. Nicotine raises your risk of heart attack and stroke. Tar and carbon monoxide cause serious breathing problems. And you know tobacco smoke causes cancer. Smoking Facts and Tobacco Statistics

8. Need a Reason Not to Smoke? • Expensive • Bad breath • Stained teeth and hands • Cough/sore throat • Problems breathing • Feeling tired and out of breath • Wrinkles (more, sooner) • Arguments with parents, friends • Cancer risk • Heart disease risk • Gum disease risk • Bad smell in your clothes, hair, skin • Cigarette burns in your car or on your clothes • Risk of secondhand smoke to people around you

9. Why do people smoke? •  They're bored and they think drugs will help.Some people say they are curious or bored and want to see how drugs will make them feel. •  They think drugs will help with stress. Other people say that they think they can make themselves feel "good" by taking drugs. They think that if they are unhappy, drugs will make them feel better. And some people say they think that taking drugs might help them to cope with stress in their lives. • People think drugs will help them fit in. Many people have the misperception that "everyone is doing it." •  They think drugs will make them seem rebellious or cool. Sometimes movies, television, and advertisements use images of drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes to make characters seem rebellious or cool to increase the ratings of a show or to sell products. So when young people see this, they mimic the actions. (NIDA. Research Report Series - Tobacco Addiction, 2006; NIDA InfoFacts: Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products, 2008; SAMHSA Tips for Teens: The Truth about Tobacco, 2008)

10. Tobacco Ads Lie

11. The Truth

12. Effects of Smoking http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ACu8V16SXQ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRHvZazd4IM

13. DON'T SMOKE!!!

14. What Can We do About it? There are many ways to help prevent people from smoking. • Raise the cost of cigarettes. •  An increase of school-based efforts to prevent tobacco use. • The increases in youth exposure through both state and national mass media campaigns.

15. Tips to Quit • Pick a stop date. Choose a date 2 to 4 weeks from today so you can get ready to quit. If possible, choose a time when things in your life will change, like when you're about to start a break from school. Or just pick a time when you don't expect any extra stress at school, work or home. For example, quit after final exams, not during them. • Make a list of the reasons why you want to quit. Keep the list on hand so you can look at it when you have a nicotine craving. • Keep track of where, when and why you smoke. You may want to make notes for a week or so to know ahead of time when and why you crave a cigarette. Plan what you'll do instead of smoking (see list above for ideas). You may also want to plan what you'll say to people who pressure you to smoke. • Throw away all of your tobacco. Clean out your room if you have smoked there. Throw away your ashtrays and lighters--anything that you connect with your smoking habit. • Tell your friends that you're quitting. Ask them not to pressure you about smoking. Find other things to do with them besides smoking. • When your stop date arrives, STOP. Plan little rewards for yourself for each tobacco-free day, week or month. For example, buy yourself a new shirt or ask a friend to see a movie with you. (

16. Credits • http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Insurance/       InsureYourHealth/HighCostOfSmoking.aspx • SAMHSA Tips for Teens: The Truth about Tobacco, 2008 • NIDA InfoFacts: Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products, 2008 • NIDA. Research Report Series - Tobacco Addiction, 2006 • Written by familydoctor.org editorial staff. American Academy of Family Physicians,Reviewed/Updated: 11/09