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The Book Thief Summer Reading Packet This packet is for students taking Regular or Honors Survey Literature in the 2015-16 school year.

Our brains are complex, but simply put they are divided into two hemispheres: the left hemisphere and the right hemisphere. The left hemisphere is where we develop our reasoning, speech, writing, and number skills. The right hemisphere is our creative side where we develop our appreciation for talent in art, music, and other creative outlets. It is important to nurture both sides of our brains so we can grow and develop in many ways. SO, this summer in your Summer Reading Packet, you will exercise BOTH parts of your brain.

Pick ONE project for the left side of the brain and ONE for the right side of the brain. You will turn in a TOTAL of TWO assignments on Friday September 11, 2015. All written material is subject to being submitted to turnitin.com. Please make sure you have an electronic copy available for submission to this website. Further instructions for this will come from your English teacher.

RIGHT SIDE OF THE BRAIN (Choose one from this section) 1. Art Journal: Art journaling combines the written language and visual language to give a greater breadth of expression and understanding. In essence art journaling is the combination of art making and journaling with the intention of creating greater insight and understanding of the self and others. In this case you will be art journaling on The Book Thief. There are a lot of ideas and techniques at www.artistsjournals.com. You are encouraged to view examples. In considering The Book Thief, you might want to use Liesel’s books as your anchors for the art journal’s pages: The Gravedigger’s Handbook, Mien Kampf, The Shoulder Shrug, The Word Shaker, The Last Human Stranger or The Whistler to name a few. You may also chose to consider the 13 presents she gives Max as a place to start. These are only ideas….be creative. You should have 5 completed pages of an art journal to submit as your project. The journals should be no larger than 8.5 x 11 and no smaller than 5” x 7”. For each page you need a one paragraph typed summary of what is being represented on the page. Pages should represent plot, theme, characters, symbols, conflict, or motifs in the story. 2. Think of other protagonists who might be Liesel and Rudy’s age. Some authors to consider, but not limited to, are Suzanne Collins, Ranson Riggs, Rick Riordan, Anne Frank, Harper Lee, or J.K. Rowling, Using GoogleMaps, research either Liesel’s hometown or your other character’s hometown. Pretend one is hosting the other in their hometown in 2012. Create a weekend itinerary visiting the sites (museums or other notable sightseeing destinations) and sampling regional food fare. Create a scrapbook of the weekend complete with maps, pictures, menus, and any other notable items. The scrapbook should be at least 5 pages with a typed paragraph included in the design of the page or on a separate page that describes the relevance of the site, a conversation between the two protagonists, or other pertinent information that ties in the characters, plot, setting, or themes in the represented books. 3. Pick three important people in the book with whom Liesel has a relationship. Create three separate illustrations that depict the relationships. Please be thoughtful in picking the scenarios. The drawings should be quite detailed and give insights into the nature of the relationships. The three original illustrations should each be no larger than 8.5 x 11. Additionally for every illustration, there should be one typed paragraph summary of the significance of the relationship and within the paragraph you should have at least three quotes embedded that help prove the importance of it. LEFT SIDE OF THE BRAIN (Choose one from this section.) These are essays and should be typed, 12 font, Times New Roman. When you quote The Book Thief, please use parenthetical references. Here are three examples that show how to do this:

“The dark came in pieces, and with the cigarette brought to an end, Liesel and Hans Hubermann began to walk home” (118). Page number is in parenthesis and punctuation is after that.

When the Jewish man “Max Vandenburg arrived in the kitchen of 33 Himmel Street, he was twenty-four years old” (185). Page number is in parenthesis and punctuation is after that.

Rosa Hubermann’s term of endearment for everyone is “Saumensch”, but the irony of this is that it means pig in German. This would NOT be considered a quote, but is definitely a word used by all characters in the book. It’s special to the way they interact....so it should be put in quotes. Also notice no page number is used, because it is used repeatedly through out and is only one word.

To embed a quote means to use it in the paragraph in such a way that it doesn’t interrupt the fluidity of the discussion. Quotes should be used to illustrate or punctuate a point you are making.

1. The Book Thief is narrated by Death. And as Janet Maslin says in The New York Times book review, “How can a tale told by Death be mistaken for young-adult storytelling? Easily: because this book’s narrator is sorry for what he has to do.” Please write a five paragraph essay discussing the role of Death as the narrator of this story. Hint: Don’t let the irony of Death’s character be lost in your analysis of the character. You should have a minimum of 4 quotes from the text embedded in your paper. (1200 word maximum)

2. Clearly the Hubermann family disagrees with the philosophy of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime. Write a 5 paragraph essay in which you discuss how the Hubermann family demonstrates against Hitler’s doctrines and what kind of character traits they show in doing so. A minimum of 4 quotes should be embedded in the text of your paper. (1200 word maximum)

3. In a five paragraph essay, analyze Liesel’s relationship with books and the important role they play in her life. Think about the notable occasions in which she comes to steal books, books as gifts, books as her refuge, and her struggle to learn to read. After you have discussed the important role of books in her life in the first four paragraphs, in the final fifth paragraph, compare their role to the role of books in our society today. (1200 word maximum)

Common Core Standards: Reading for Literature: 1,2,3,7; Writing: 1,2,4,6,7,8; Language Standards: 1,2,3,4,5