Lear- Book 2 and 3 of the Book Thief

The Book Thief Strikes Again!

 

 

Liesel Meminger has finally settled into life in Molching when Christmas rolls around.  She wasn't expecting a gift, but she got two books.  One was called Faust the Dog and the other was called The Lighthouse.

 

 

 

In school, Liesel was learning how to write letters.  She thought it was ridiculous to write letters to a person when you can speak to them personally.  So, she decided that she wanted to write to her mother.  When she sends them, she never gets a reply.  That is when she learns that "they" might have taken her mother, like they did her father.

 



It is now Hitler's birthday and everyone is celebrating.  To celebrate, there will be a parade in the streets where children will march through.  Then, there will be a fire that burns all of the old papers and other objects that people wanted to get rid of in Hitler's name.  When that fire is being cleaned, that is when the book thief will strike again.

 



Hitler's 50th Birthday in 1939

 

 

During Hitler's celebration, Liesel starts to understand what a communist is and what it means in this time.  Once she understands completely, she starts to hate Hitler, and she says so to Hans.  "I hate the Führer.  I hate him."  That is what Liesel said.  Then, Hans smacked her across the face.  Liesel was upset because she never expected that from him, but he did what was necessary to get the point across that she should never say that in public.

 

 

While some workers were cleaning up the burnt paper and trash, Liesel noticed that some of the books were wet when the fire was ignited, so they didn't get burned.  When she thought no one was looking, she ran, grabbed a book, and then went back the way she came.  The book was warm, so it burned her when she touched.  It was called The Shoulder Shrug.  What Liesel didn't know, until it was too late, was that someone, that she recognized, saw everything.

 

Hans finds out about Liesel's stolen book an promises, on her request, that he wont tell Rosa, on the condition that she will do a favor for him when the time comes.  During the whole part 3, Liesel and Hans work through The Shoulder Shrug.

 

 

The person who saw Liesel steal the book was Ilsa Hermann, the mayor's wife.  For a while, Liesel avoids that house during her runs with the laundry, but when she finally gets the courage to go back to the house, Frau Hermann invites her into the library.  Liesel is amazed at the amount of books.

 

 

At this point, the author changes the setting to Stuttgart, where a Jewish man named Max is living in a secret storage room.  This man is told that he may have just received an identity card.

 

 

Back in Molching, Liesel and Rudy start stealing food because they are poor and always hungry.  Although is living a hard life, some people have it worse, like Max.  In the book it says, "anything is better than being a Jew." 

The Hiding of Jews

 

When Max arrives in Molching. he goes straight to the Hubermann household and gets ready to unlock the door and enter with the key he was given.

 

 

Long-Term Effects of Holocaust Survivors







Figurative Language- Book 1- The Book Thief

Ain't That Ironic?

The Book Thief has a lot of figurative language in it.  In book 1, some examples of figurative language is irony, foreshadowing, and simile.

 
Foreshadowing-  In the book, the author uses foreshadowing by saying, "Trust me, the words were on their way."  By saying that, he is foreshadowing that she will be able to read and write someday.
Definition of Foreshadowing

Simile- On page 67 of book 1, the author writes "Liesel would hold them in here hands like the clouds, and she would wring them out like rain."  This means that when Liesel finds the words, she will write and read them until she can't anymore.
Definition of Simile

Irony- The author uses irony by making Liesel find a book called The Grave Digger's Handbook at the grave site of her recently perished brother.  Although Liesel didn't know what the book was about at the time, it is still ironic.
Definition of Irony

Another type of figurative language used in The Book Thief is epithet, which is putting something in as someone's name.  It is used in The Book Thief because Adolf Hitler is called the Führer instead of Hitler.
Definition of Epithet

Lear- Reading Blog- Book 1

A New Life, A New Book

Liesel Meminger went through one of the worst days of her life.  First she was on her way to a new home, and a new life, which meant she had to leave her mom forever.  Her and her brother were supposed to, both, go to a new home, but, sadly, her brother didn't make it.  He died on the train ride, staring at the floor, eyes lifeless.

 

 

 

Following the funeral, one of the grave digger's dropped a book.  The grave digger didn't notice, but Liesel did.  She picked up the book, and that was her first act of book thievery.  The book was called The Grave Digger's Handbook.

 

 

 

Liesel's new home is in Molching, Germany, during the time of the holocaust.  Hitler ruled, and there was nothing to be done about it. 

 

 

Liesel's foster mother was named Rosa Hubermann.  She was loud-mouthed and a very foul tongue.  Liesel's foster father was an accordion player and a painter named Hans Hubermann.  He played a very big role in the life of Liesel Meminger.  He is the one that taught her to read and write.  Sadly, Hans was against Adolf Hitler, so he was always looking over his shoulder, afraid something would happen to him.

 

Life in Camps During the Holocaust

 

 

Another person that Liesel became fond of was Rudy Steiner.  He was a boy that lived near Liesel.  They became very good friends, and Rudy wanted to be more, but Liesel didn't want that, at least not yet.  Proof that Rudy liked Liesel is that if Rudy won a race between the two of them, Rudy would get a kiss.  His exact words were: "If I beat you, I get to kiss you." 

 

After a while, Liesel became comfortable in her new home.  She got used to Rosa, and became very close to Hans because he taught her so much.  Hans was always nice to her.  A few times, Liesel wet the bed during her daily nightmares about her brother.  All Hans did was clean her up, and that's it.  Every night after these nightmares, Hans would comfort Liesel until she feel back asleep. 

 

During the first of these bed-wetting incidents, Hans found Liesel's stolen book.  He didn't yell at her.  He just offered to teach her how to read it, which went like this:

"'Is this yours?"

"Yes, Papa."

"Do you want to read it?"

Again, "Yes, Papa."

A tired smile.

Metallic eyes, melting.

"Well, we'd better read it, then.'"

Soon enough, Liesel learned to read, well enough, but not soon enough.  During school, she had to read from a book in front of the whole class.  Liesel wasn't prepared enough, so she started reciting The Grave Digger's Handbook.  The teacher didn't appreciate that, so Liesel got a spanking.  During their free time that day, some boys started making fun of her.  Liesel got very angry, so she beat the kid up.  She was named the heavy weight champion of the school yard.

Liesel and Hans finished the stolen book, and soon enough it would lead to another.

 

Extra Extra!

Life for a Child During the Holocaust

Life for an Adult in the Holocaust

Schooling During the Holocaust







Non-Fiction Blog

Einstein's a Genius

Did it ever occur to you that Einstein really did change the world?  It may only be really important to scientists, but everyone should realize that he affected their lives.  I mean, without him, science wouldn't be as far as it is.  Don't get me wrong, all famous scientists changed something in their own little way, but Einstein even proved those people wrong.

Einstein Really A Genius

 

Albert Einstein discovered the Theory of General Relativity.  This theory is considered, by some, to be the Theory of Everything because it is so important to space and time.  In the article, "Einstein's Theory of General Relativity", it says that the Theory of General Relativity is " that the laws of physics are the same for all non-accelerating observers, and that the speed of light in a vacuum was independent of the motion of all observers."

 

 

In the same article that was mentioned above, it states that " Sir Isaac Newton quantified the gravity between two objects when he formulated his three laws of motion. Yet Newton's laws assume that gravity is an innate force of an object that can act over a distance."  Einstein added to Newton's predictions, and then some.

Einstein vs. Newton

 

Also in the article, it says that Einstein "found that space and time were interwoven into a single continuum known as space-time. Events that occur at the same time for one observer could occur at different times for another."  This is a very complicated concept and very hard to grasp.  Having space and time interwoven into one is very out there and really affects how our world works.  The Theory of General Relativity really moved along our understanding of the world around us and helped put things in perspective.

 

Earth is one of the simplest, yet complex objects in our universe.  We understand enough to be able to survive, but just don't get all of the little details.  Einstein's theory really brought new ideas to our attention.  And for that, he is considered a genius.

 

 

 The Theory of General Relativity



I just made a new Voki. See it here:

I just made a new Voki. See it here:
Rudolph explains the understanding of General Relativity.

I just made a new Voki. See it here:

I just made a new Voki. See it here:

A Reft Brain

Some people think that one hemisphere of the brain is more important than the other.  I disagree with that.  Everyone has two sides of their brain.  Yes, some people may have one side working better than the other, but they still have two hemispheres.

Here is a model of the brain:

 

See, there are two hemispheres of the brain and neither is more important than the other.

In Right Brain Rising, there were parts that suggested that some people thought that the right brain was inferior to the left brain.  For example, the article said, "As far back as the age of Hippocrates. physicians believed that the left side, the same side that housed the heart, was the essential half." 

Although many people think that the left brain is superior over the right brain, some people think the right brain is more important.  Some people believe in right-brain everything, such as this part from Right Brain Rising, "right-brain cooking and right-brain dieting, right-brain investing and right-brain accounting, right-brain jogging and right-brain horseback riding...."  The author keeps naming more examples of what people believed the right brain could do for us.  They called the right brain a "savior."

I can see why people might think the right brain is more important because creativity is more appealing than logic.  But you need both sides of your brain to do pretty much everything.

Here is one view on the differences between the brains, but they are both important.

You need both sides of your brain!!!!!!!!

Both sides of the brain are important in their own ways, as this diagram shows:

 

But you need both sides of the brain to do this:

A Rube Goldberg Machine that uses the left and right side of your brain!