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.