Announcements & Press Releases
Steal Some Time For a Good Book
Join your friends and neighbors in Central New York and steal some time to read The Book Thief between January 1 and March 31.
Written by Australian author Markus Zusak and published in 2006, the book has won numerous awards, including the Michael L. Printz Honor Book Award, National Jewish Book Award, Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year, School Library Journal Best Book of the Year, and the Book Sense Book of the Year Award for Children's Literature.
The Book Thief was chosen as the CNY READS ONE BOOK 2012 selection because it celebrates the importance of books in a sweep-you-away tale filled with characters that will be hard to forget. Teens and adults alike will appreciate its themes of struggle, devotion, fairness and hope.
The story begins in 1939 when 9 year old Liesel Meminger moves in with foster parents on Himmel Street in Molching, Germany. With the help of her foster father, Liesel learns to read from The Gravediggers Handbook, found near her brother’s grave. She soon adds other books to her collection, including one she pulls from a Nazi book burning, and another she steals from the mayor’s wife’s library.
During the years that Liesel lives on Himmel Street, the Nazis become more powerful, money is scarce, and the family risks its safety by hiding a Jew in their basement. Narrated by Death, Liesel’s story is about a girl who is somehow able to find courage and beauty in a time of terrible sadness and fear.
As The New York Times wrote about The Book Thief, "It will be widely read and admired because it tells a story in which books become treasures. And because there's no arguing with a sentiment like that."
An event on Thursday, January 12, at the DeWitt Barnes and Noble store will kick off the three-month-long 2012 season. Everyone is invited to hear local personalities read aloud from The Book Thief at 7:00 p.m., followed by refreshments, music, and a chance to win a copy of the book.
Last updated: January 6, 2012