Description:

**The extraordinary #1 New York Times bestseller. O****ver eight million copies sold.** * * * ***"Brilliant and hugely ambitious ... the kind of book that can be life changing"* The New York Times** **NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE** It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still. By her brother's graveside, Liesel's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Gravedigger's Handbook, left there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordion-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found. But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jewish fist-fighter in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up, and closed down. ***The Book Thief*** is a story about the power of words to make worlds. In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time. ***"The Book Thief deserves a place on the same shelf with The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank and Elie Wiesel's Night. It seems poised to become a classic." *USA Today** ***"Elegant, philosophical and moving ... Beautiful and important."* Kirkus Reviews** **Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best Book (South East Asia & South Pacific) 2006** **School Library Journal Best Book of the Year 2006** **Daniel Elliott Peace Award 2006** **Publishers Weekly Best Children's Book of the Year 2006** **National Jewish Book Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature 2006** **Bulletin Blue Ribbon Book 2006** **Michael L. Printz Honor Book 2007** **Book Sense Book of the Year Award for Children's Literature 2007** **Winner of the ALA Youth Medal Awards' Margaret A. Edwards Award 2014** * * *