Showing, Not Telling.
“Don’t tell me how she sang, bring her on stage and make her sing!”
The most prominent narrative device Zusak uses is personification.
Personification is attributing human characteristics to non-human objects or
situations.
Take these examples from his book:
“The globe was dressed in snow. Like it had pulled it on, the way you pull on a
sweater”
"Cold sweat--that malignant little friend--outstaying its welcome in the armpits
and trousers."
“There were erased pages of Mein Kampf, gagging, suffocating under the paint as
they turned”
"The darkness stroked him."
"Dead leaves were slumped on the road.”
“The plane was still coughing. Smoke was leaking from both its lungs”
“Even the wrinkles in her eyes were holding hands”
There are so many examples in The Book Thief, it’s hard to turn a couple of pages
without seeing something being personified.
Challenge: Attribute human characteristics to one of these scenarios, bringing it to
life:
1: A bomb landing and exploding.
2: A house fire.
3: Eating a meat pie.
Now come up with one of your own.
 The second trick Zusak uses is the simile – this is when one thing is referred
to being ‘like’ or ‘as’ something else.
Take these examples from the book:
“His blond hair, although darkened, was like a candle”
“It was raining on Himmel Street when the world ended for Liesel Meminger. The
sky was dripping. Like a tap that a child has tried its hardest to turn off but hasn’t
quite managed”
"Faces like ghost towns."
“Flames and burning books were cheered like heroes”
Nice…
However!! a WARNING!!! Do not get caught in the trap of writing worn-out
clichés everyone knows.
Here are a couple of well-known, worn-out similes:
As fast as lightning
He was as strong as an ox.
She lived her life like a candle in the wind.
Challenge: change two of the above examples into better descriptions.
 The third useful trick is using metaphors – when one thing is described as
being another (not simply like it).
For example, from The Book Thief:
“Papa was an accordion”
“The bodies of Mama and Papa, both lying tangled in the gravel bedsheet of
Himmel Street.”
“Curtains of rain were drawn around the car”
“Papa’s lungs were full of sky”
Lovely…
 The fourth trick is to use more dynamic verbs. Remember that people are
wired for action, not staring at blank walls. Give them something to watch.
Here are examples from The Book Thief:
“A gang of tears trudged from her eyes”
“Frozen blood was cracked across her hands”
“Her blood loudened”
Cool…
Challenge: Read the following boring sentences and come up with new, stronger
and more interesting verbs:
1: The puppy ran into my arms and licked my face.
2: The singer tried to crowd surf, but fell and broke her ankle instead.
3: The kangaroo hit the car so hard, it went off the road.