The Book Thief Lesson Plan

Liesel remembers a chapter called “Tired Hearts” in A Song in the Dark. How is Liesel's heart tired? Who else in the book has a tired heart?

Discuss the people Liesel has lost (her brother, her mother, Max, and now Hans). What other things make one's heart “tired”? Worry? Love? Have students talk about ways that other tired hearts in the novel parallel Liesel's – Rudy's, Ilsa Hermann's, Rosa's.

Why is it important that the dead young boy that Hans trips over is named Rudy?

Re-read (or summarize) the events of page 435. Recall that Death has told us already that Rudy would be killed by a bomb. Discuss foreshadowing briefly.

Do you think "The Word Shaker" is a...