

Liesel is sure the woman will tell on her and cause her to be arrested. However, Liesel becomes frightened of the silent woman when she witnesses Liesel stealing a forbidden book out of a Nazi party bonfire. Liesel finds the mayor's wife, Ilsa, cold and quiet. One of the few customers remaining on Rosa's customer list is the mayor and his wife. However, this proves to be a misconception in this time of economic struggle. When the war breaks out and money becomes tight, Rosa begins sending Liesel on the laundry runs alone, hoping the customers cannot fire Rosa when faced with communicating with the child. Rudy and Liesel play soccer together with the other neighborhood children on the afternoons when Liesel is not required to help her foster mother, Rosa, pick up or deliver the laundry she washes to make extra money. Soon Liesel makes friends with a neighbor boy her own age named Rudy. Liesel begins to settle into her new home. However, Liesel soon learns to read well enough that she begins to perform better in school. It is a slow process since Hans does not read well himself.
THE BOOK THIEF SUMMARY HOW TO
As a way to keep her distracted from her dreams, Hans begins to teach Liesel how to read the book. On one of these nights, Hans discovers the book Liesel has stolen. Hans, her foster father, comes to her rescue on these nights, sitting up with her until she feels secure enough to sleep. Liesel has nightmares in the middle of the night that make it impossible for her to sleep. The father is a kind, accordion-playing house painter who knows exactly what Liesel needs to hear. The mother is a foul mouthed, tough woman who does not know how to be gentle with the traumatized child.

Liesel is taken to the rural town of Molching where she is placed with a foster family. Liesel and her mother continue on their journey. During the funeral, Liesel steals a book someone has carelessly left beside the grave.

Before they reach their destination, Liesel's brother dies and is buried in a strange town by strange people. Liesel Meminger travels by train to Munich with her brother and mother. The Book Thief is a complicated story of survival that will encourage its readers to think and to be amazed at how resilient the human spirit really is. Liesel begins to steal books in her efforts to deal with the cruelty of the world around her. When the war begins, comfort becomes a rare state of mind, so Liesel finds ways to seek it out. Liesel learns to turn to books for comfort. Liesel's foster father begins teaching her to read on these nights to distract her from her pain. Liesel's brother dies en route to their new home and this leaves Liesel traumatized, causing her to have terrible nightmares in the middle of the night. Liesel Meminger is a young girl who has been placed in foster care by her mother. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is a novel of cruelty, poverty, and hope.
