Night of the Crystal (unfinished)

Kristallnacht is an event that happened in Nazi Germany on Nov. 9-10 1938

UNFINISHED

Our class is now reading a book called the Book Thief, which is a story about a young girl caught in a Nazi fanatical Germany during world war two. The girl was dropped off on the front step of a middle aged couples house and has to deal with her abusive step mother and paranoid Nazi's as death himself narrates this wonderful book. The author of this book is Markus Zusak he is Australian 30 years of age, and has been writing sense he was 14. Zusaks mother grew up in Germany during the holocaust and witnessed the horrible treatment of the jews and a terrible bombing in a town called Munich. He has written a few other best sellers such as The Underdog, Fighting Ruben Wolfe, Getting The Girl, and I Am The Messenger. Markus Zusak has recieved many awards for his liturature:

The Book Thief

2008 Ena Noel Award - the IBBY Australia Ena Noël Encouragement Award for Children's Literature

2007 Michael L. Printz Honor book by the Young Adult Library Services Association

2006 Kathleen Mitchell Award 2006

The Messenger (a.k.a. I Am The Messenger)

2007 Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis

2006 Michael L. Printz Award Honor book 2006 Bulletin Blue Ribbon Book

2005 Publishers Weekly Best Books of the Year-Children

2003 Children’s Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Award

2003 New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Ethel Turner Prize for Young People's Literature

When Dogs Cry/Getting the Girl

2002 Honour Book for Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year (Older Children)

Fighting Ruben Wolfe

2001 Honour Book for Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year

shortlisted for the New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards Ethel Turner Prize for Young People's Literature

Many people wonder where he got his ideas from for The Book Thief He got his ideas from two stories he heard from his German mother. one of the bombing of Munich, the other is how a young kid tried to give an emaciated Jew a piece of bread and both of them were whipped.

New Thoughts

This year we read a book called The Hunger Games it is about a dystopian government that has split its own country into 12 districts where children between the ages of 12-18 are picked to compete in a death match called The Hunger Games to see who will win. The second book in this series is called Catching Fire and based on The Hunger Games here are some predictions on the second book: I believe that there will be controversy between Peeta and Gale, and a smattering of rebellion against the government.

Head High 'Till I Die

I did research on a "rebel" in history that has shaped the way our society is today, the "rebel" I chose is Chief Joseph an Indian chief who lead his people against the U.S. Army to fight against oppression where his people were unfairly being rounded into reservations where they were expected to live off barely any supplies and even poorer conditions glog

"The Crucible"

John Proctor is caught in a whirl wind of mischief, and vengeance. As he try's to figure out how he will save his marriage from a young whore of a girl, he finds himself having to defend his name from the ignorant people of Salem Mass. who believe that the devil has come to earth to recruit souls for his witchcraft.

A Short Drop And A Sudden Stop

For our current book I have chosen "Execution" for my word of the day. I chose this word because over the one year span of the Salem witch trials there were 19 people executed for NOT confessing to witchcraft, While the ones who confessed were not hanged.

O Lonely Witch

O lonely witch, Blessed Be,
thy soul has longed to be free
for the spells you cast in secret,
if the Unpuritans hear them,
will surly bring them to an end.