The Book Thief and the Power of Storytelling

By Alyssa Smith
The film adaptation of Markus Zusak’s 2005 bestselling novel was directed by Brian Percival and released in November 2013. The Book Thief is the story of a young Liesel Meminger growing up in Nazi Germany. We are introduced to her by Death, who is unusually intrigued by Liesel’s quiet perseverance. He first encounters Liesel when her younger brother Werner dies in their mother’s arms. Liesel steals her first book at Werner’s funeral before being dropped off at the home of her new foster parents, Hans and Rosa Hubermann. With Hans’ help, Liesel learns to read, thus developing a ...