The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak
Sometimes it's hard to grasp the concept of a book if you are not old enough to understand it. The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak, takes place during the time of the Holocaust. It contains many horrific events that can be difficult for children to read about. It is narrated by Death and is about an orphan, named Liesel, who witnesses many fearful and depressing happenings. At the time, there is a lot of violence going on between Germans and Jews. Wars, suicide, harsh punishments, and many deaths take place. This can be very intense for young kids and hard for them to understand. It is meant to be a novel for the eyes of young adults, not children.
In the book, Liesel's adoptive father was whipped for giving bread to starving Jews. It states, "Wading through, a solider was soon at the scene of the crime. He studied the kneeling man and Papa, and he looked at the crowd. After another moment's thought, he took the whip from his belt and began. There was an image, fast and hot, and there was blood and bread crumbs on his hands." This could be confusing for young children, because a man was just giving another man a piece of bread, how could that be a crime? They may misinterpret this event and think that it's not right to help people who are different from you in any way. They wouldn't understand why the man is being whipped. In addition, the fact that he's being whipped at all is a very violent idea.
In another part of the book, the son of Liesel's neighbor, who was in the army, committed suicide. It says, "When Himmel Street woke later in July, a returned soldier was discovered to be dead. He was hanging from one of the rafters in a laundry up near Frau Diller's. Another human pendulum. Another clock, stopped." The idea of people killing themselves could be hard for young children to handle. They may wonder why a person would ever even want to kill himself in the first place? How could something so terrible happen that it could drive someone to want to be dead? Suicide is a very serious matter and it's definitely a lot for kids to take in.
Finally, the story is told in the perspective of death. In the book, Death says, "Here is a small fact, you're going to die. Reaction to the aforementioned fact, does this worry you? I urge you, don't be afraid. I'm nothing if not fair." This can be hard for young children to understand, because it's not like death is a real person. It can't literally talk to you. Also, by making death narrate the story, the author is trying to show how during the Holocaust, many people were killed and that it was a scary time in history. Death isn't usually a subject that young kids want to be thinking of, in fact, it could really worry them about the future. Everybody dies at one point, but it isn't something for children to be reading about.
Overall, The Book Thief should not be on a recommended reading list for young children. It contains violent content that is too mature for a younger audience. If children read these types of nonfiction books at an early age, it can be challenging for them to comprehend what's going on and why. It's important to learn about certain times in history, whether good or bad, but you have to be grown up enough to understand it.
In the book, Liesel's adoptive father was whipped for giving bread to starving Jews. It states, "Wading through, a solider was soon at the scene of the crime. He studied the kneeling man and Papa, and he looked at the crowd. After another moment's thought, he took the whip from his belt and began. There was an image, fast and hot, and there was blood and bread crumbs on his hands." This could be confusing for young children, because a man was just giving another man a piece of bread, how could that be a crime? They may misinterpret this event and think that it's not right to help people who are different from you in any way. They wouldn't understand why the man is being whipped. In addition, the fact that he's being whipped at all is a very violent idea.
In another part of the book, the son of Liesel's neighbor, who was in the army, committed suicide. It says, "When Himmel Street woke later in July, a returned soldier was discovered to be dead. He was hanging from one of the rafters in a laundry up near Frau Diller's. Another human pendulum. Another clock, stopped." The idea of people killing themselves could be hard for young children to handle. They may wonder why a person would ever even want to kill himself in the first place? How could something so terrible happen that it could drive someone to want to be dead? Suicide is a very serious matter and it's definitely a lot for kids to take in.
Finally, the story is told in the perspective of death. In the book, Death says, "Here is a small fact, you're going to die. Reaction to the aforementioned fact, does this worry you? I urge you, don't be afraid. I'm nothing if not fair." This can be hard for young children to understand, because it's not like death is a real person. It can't literally talk to you. Also, by making death narrate the story, the author is trying to show how during the Holocaust, many people were killed and that it was a scary time in history. Death isn't usually a subject that young kids want to be thinking of, in fact, it could really worry them about the future. Everybody dies at one point, but it isn't something for children to be reading about.
Overall, The Book Thief should not be on a recommended reading list for young children. It contains violent content that is too mature for a younger audience. If children read these types of nonfiction books at an early age, it can be challenging for them to comprehend what's going on and why. It's important to learn about certain times in history, whether good or bad, but you have to be grown up enough to understand it.
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