The Book Thief (74 page)
Authors: Markus Zusak
I am indebted to Trudy White for her grace and talent. It’s an honor to have her artwork in these pages.
A big thank-you to Melissa Nelson, for making a difficult job look easy. It hasn’t gone unnoticed.
This book also wouldn’t be possible without the following people: Cate Paterson, Nikki Christer, Jo Jarrah, Anyez Lindop, Jane Novak, Fiona Inglis, and Catherine Drayton. Thank you for putting your valuable time into this story, and into me. I appreciate it more than I can say.
Thanks also to the Sydney Jewish Museum, the Australian War Memorial, Doris Seider at the Jewish Museum of Munich, Andreus Heusler at the Munich City Archive, and Rebecca Biehler (for information on the seasonal habits of apple trees).
I am grateful to Dominika Zusak, Kinga Kovacs, and Andrew Janson for all the pep talks and endurance.
Lastly, special thanks must go to Lisa and Helmut Zusak—for the stories we find hard to believe, for laughter, and for showing me another side.
THIS IS A BORZOI BOOK PUBLISHED BY ALFRED A. KNOPF
Text copyright © 2005 by Markus Zusak
Illustrations copyright © 2005 by Trudy White
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto. Distributed by Random House, Inc., New York. Originally published in Australia in 2005 by Picador, an imprint of Pan Macmillan Pty Ltd., Sydney.
KNOPF, BORZOI BOOKS
, and the colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Zusak, Markus.
The book thief / by Markus Zusak.—1st American ed.
p. cm.
SUMMARY:
Trying to make sense of the horrors of World War II, Death relates the story of Liesel—a young German girl whose book-stealing and story-telling talents help sustain her family and the Jewish man they are hiding, as well as their neighbors.
eISBN: 978-0-307-43384-8
1. Germany—History—1933–1945—Juvenile fiction. [1. Germany—
History—1933–1945—Fiction. 2. Books and reading—Fiction.
3. Storytelling—Fiction. 4. Death—Fiction. 5. Jews—Germany—
History—1933–1945—Fiction. 6. World War, 1939–1945—Jews—
Rescue—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.Z837Boo 2006
[Fic]—dc22
2005008942
v3.0