The Book Thief
By Matt Berman,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Powerful, moving tale of book-loving girl in Nazi Germany.
Add rating
A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this book.
Where to Read
Community Reviews
Based on 28 parent reviews
Great book, A few draw backs
Report this review
Very good book.
Report this review
What's the Story?
Death himself narrates the story of Liesel, a German girl left with foster parents just before the outbreak of World War II. Along the way to her new home with her younger brother, he dies; after the funeral, Liesel steals The Gravedigger's Handbook, though she cannot yet read. It's only the first of what will become a series of book thefts. As she settles in with her harsh but caring foster mother, Rosa, and kind foster father, Hans, Liesel gets to know her under-resourced neighborhood and learns to read. Her obsession with books grows as the war closes in, rationing is put in place, air raids begin, and Hans hides a Jewish man in the basement. Through it all, Death travels the Earth, taking in more and more souls every day alongside his own internal trials and hardships.
Is It Any Good?
This is a devastatingly powerful book that bears several rereadings, and should become a staple of literature discussion groups for sophisticated teen and adult readers. The Book Thief has won many awards, including the ALA Best Books for Young Adults, Michael L. Printz Honor Book, and the School Library Journal and Publishers Weekly Best Children's Book of the Year. It will educate readers about living under Nazi rule and inspire them to think about human nature and why some heroic people are able to put their lives on the line to do what they know is right. Set against the brutality of the Nazis, the book's violence is critical to the story's emotional impact.
The participation of Death as a character and narrator is presented matter-of-factly from the start, and Death continues to figure in the plot. Death changes emotionally over the course of the novel, haunted by the humans who have died. And there's a powerful payoff in the Shakespearean ending, when author Markus Zusak wallops you again and again with the fates of these people, good and bad, whom you've come to care about. These are deeply mined characters acting in response to deeply dramatic circumstances.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what makes The Book Thief a young adult title, even though it's also very popular with adult readers. What separates a young adult novel from being either a children's book or an adult novel?
Liesel steals books that the Nazis have banned or tried to burn. Why were the Nazis concerned about book content? Is it ever appropriate to ban a book?
Death is a character in the novel. Why do you think the author made that choice to tell a story about life suring wartime?
Book Details
- Author: Markus Zusak
- Genre: Historical Fiction
- Topics: Great Boy Role Models , Great Girl Role Models , History
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
- Publication date: March 26, 2006
- Number of pages: 552
- Award: ALA Best and Notable Books
- Last updated: July 29, 2021
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.
Suggest an Update
Where to Read
Our Editors Recommend
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate