Friday, October 26, 2012

The Book Thief Takes the Stage (and Screen!)

Holy moly.  Does it ever feel to you like all of the world is coming together at once to get you to do something?  Earlier this week, an English teacher asked me to be her audience while she did a dry run-through on a sample oral book report she was giving for Markus Zusak's The Book Thief.  That reminded me about how much I love that book and inspired me to make it my Friday Flashback review.    Then on Wednesday, our receptionist came into the library asking to borrow a copy of The Book Thief because her book club was reading it.  Then, I come into work on Thursday and find out that:

a) the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago is doing a stage production of the book! How I wish I was living in Chicago and could attend a performance.

b) within the aforelinked NYTimes article, it notes that it's BEING MADE INTO A FILM!?!?!

I am beside myself.

My favorite part of the NYTimes article is where Markus Zusak describes the book: "It’s set in Nazi Germany. It’s narrated by Death. It’s 560 pages long. You’ll love it."  That's exactly how I book talk it to kids.

And so, the universe is compelling me to booktalk it to the 7th grade on Monday.  And I will abide.

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2 comments:

  1. Oh, I like Zusak's booktalk too!

    But 7th grade, I dunno. I was a strong reader in 7th grade but I wouldn't recommend it to my 7th grade self - too postmodern, too abstract, too many allusions and assumptions (would I, even as a Jewish kid, have realized what being sent to a camp "to concentrate" referred to?), and just too long. But I'd be interested in hearing if your 7th graders like it/get it - I was recommending it for high school and adults.

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  2. Reading the article now and...ew. "It’s the rare young-adult title, not part of a series, that appeals to both children and adults, male and female"? Sounds like someone's parroting what he thinks he knows about YA lit.

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