The Book Thief By Liesel And Liesel's The Book Thief

In the beginning of The Book Thief, Liesel is traveling on a train with her mother and brother to meet her new foster parents, she has a dream about the Führer (Adolf Hitler), and one of his powerful speeches. As she wakes from the dream, she sees that her brother is dead. Death revealed that Liesel was the book thief after she steals The Grave Digger’s Handbook which was dropped by the apprentice grave digger that buried her brother. At the beginning of the novel, she understands the effect that words can have on people, despite the fact that she can neither read nor write. She also doesn't believe that she speaks very well.

When Liesel arrives on Himmel Street she cannot read and struggles to learn, because of this she is made fun of in school. She realizes how powerless she is without words; so Hans her foster father, a painter and accordion player, teaches her how to read with midnight lessons in the basement, reading from The Grave Digger's Handbook. The midnight lessons helped build a strong relationship between Hans and Liesel.

Books also help Liesel build relationships with two other people; Max and Ilsa. Liesel’s relationship with Ilsa started

Books helped Liesel bring comfort to others, in one occasion Liesel reads to the other residents of Himmel Street in the bomb shelter during the air raids to try and calm the people down and make them feel safe. She finds comfort in books even when she gives up books; when Ilsa gives the blank book to Liesel she begins writing The Book Thief, the story of her life. Books saved her life, the only reason she was still alive after the bombing of Himmel Street was that she was staying up to edit. Throughout Liesel's life books helped her create relationships, resist against the Nazi regime, gain power and confidence over her words, soothe people, make refuge, and even saved her