Property of the Rebel Librarian

Property of the Rebel Librarian By Allison Varnes

Celebrate the freedom to read with this timely, empowering middle-grade debut in the spirit of The View from Saturday or Frindle.

June Harper is a good kid. She follows the rules, plays flute in band, and spends her spare time reading. Nobody would ever call her a rebel . . . until her parents take strict parenting to a whole new level.

It starts with one book deemed "inappropriate" by June's parents. What follows is a massive book ban at Dogwood Middle School, and suddenly everything June loves--the librarian, books, an author visit--is gone. All seems hopeless. Then June discovers a Little Free Library on her walk to school. When her classmates realize she has access to contraband, she (secretly) becomes the most popular girl in school. A risky reading movement begins at Dogwood, which could destroy June--or gain enough power to protect the one thing she cares most about: the freedom to read!

Equal parts fun and empowering, this novel explores censorship, freedom of speech, and activism. For any kid who doesn't believe one person can effect change . . . and for all the kids who already know they can!

"[A] funny and fast read." --School Library Journal

Download a poster and activities!

Download a banned books reading checklist!

Meet the author!

The Book Thief

The Book Thief By Markus Zusak

Liesel Meminger is only nine years old when she is taken to live with the Hubermanns, a foster family, on Himmel Street in Molching, Germany, in the late 1930s. She arrives with few possessions, but among them is The Grave Digger’s Handbook, a book that she stole from her brother’s burial place. During the years that Liesel lives with the Hubermanns, Hitler becomes more powerful, life on Himmel Street becomes more fearful, and Liesel becomes a full fledged book thief. She rescues books from Nazi book-burnings and steals from the library of the mayor. Liesel is illiterate when she steals her first book, but Hans Hubermann uses her prized books to teach her to read. This is a story of courage, friendship, love, survival, death, and grief. This is Liesel’s life on Himmel Street, told from Death’s point of view.

Learn more!

Teaching Resources for The Book Thief

Download the RHCB Reading Group Guide for The Book Thief
Use the free TeachingTolerance Learning Plan for The Book Thief
- Explore primary sources about the Holocaust for grades 6-8.
- Explore essential questions and learning tasks for grades 6-8, 9-12.
Explore the National Coalition Against Censorship Resources
- After discussing censorship as a theme in The Book Thief, talk about the right to read and the first amendment with students.

Explore free printables on ReadWriteThink.org

Use a character development chart to track how Death is characterized.
How is color used as a literary technique in The Book Thief? Define and discuss connotations of colors, and ask students to keep a color journal as they read.
Read The Book Thief, then watch the 2013 major motion picture. Compare and contrast the book and the film.

Praise for The Book Thief

“Brilliant . . . it’s the kind of book that can be life-changing. ” —The New York Times

★ “Beautiful and important.”
—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

★ “An achievement. ” —Publishers, Starred Review

★”Exquisitely written and memorably populated, Zusak’s poignant tribute to words, survival, and their curiously inevitable entwinement is a tour de force to be not just read but inhabited.” —The Horn Book Magazine, Starred

★ “An extraordinary narrative.” —School Library Journal, Starred

“One of the most highly anticipated young-adult books in years.” —The Wall Street Journal

Property of the Rebel Librarian