Outside Reading: The Book Thief

Recently in The Book Thief, Liesel Meminger gets adopted by a foster family, the Hubermans. Liesel took her first ride in a car on the way to meet her new foster parents who reside on Himmel Street (Himmel means heaven).Hans Huberman is a man who enjoys rolling his own cigarettes, a lesson he teaches Liesel to ease the tension and uncomfort of her new home. He is a gentle man capable of great compassion. On the contrary, Rosa Huberman is a cold woman who "was good at being furious" (Zusak 32). In fact Rosa is described as having "a face decorated with constnat fury" (Zusak 33). She is a short, stout woman with "a distinct waddle to her walk" (Zusak 27). Liesel finds it hard to adjust to her new home and remains in the back seat of the car until at last they were able to coaz her from the car. She also refused to undress for a bath, and this angered Rosa Hubberman. Rosa cursed at her until Hans came in and told her to leave Liesel alone. Hans, to ease the tension, gave Liesel a lesson on how to role a cigarette. Though it may seem that Rosa is a cruel woman uncapable of love, she really did love Liesel, she just had a different way of showing it. Rosa asks Liesel to call her mama and to call Hans papa. Liesel finds that she has a much easier time calling Hans papa than calling Rosa mama.