Contents
Chapter 1 - Arrival on Himmel Street
Overview
Liesel Meminger’s younger brother dies en route to Munich, and Death collects his soul as Liesel watches. At the burial, Liesel steals The Grave Digger’s Handbook, her first theft. She is then delivered to foster parents Hans and Rosa Hubermann on Himmel Street, resisting before Hans gently coaxes her inside.
The chapter establishes grief as Liesel’s origin, the power of words via the stolen book, and the contrasting temperaments of her new guardians that will shape her future.
Summary
Death recalls a future image of Liesel howling under a red sky, then returns to the beginning: snow and a crowded train in January 1939. Liesel’s six-year-old brother, Werner, coughs and dies as their mother sleeps. Liesel wakes from a dream of Hitler to see Werner’s body and watches Death lift his soul.
The train halts for snow, and guards escort the family to a township. After two days, a priest and two shivering grave diggers bury Werner. As the ceremony ends, a young apprentice drops a small black book. Liesel lingers, tries to dig her brother back, and then notices and pockets the fallen volume: The Grave Digger’s Handbook.
Liesel and her mother continue to Munich, where a painful, chaotic goodbye follows at the station. Liesel is assigned to a foster home in Molching, on Himmel Street. She rides by car through gray rain, clutching her suitcase with the hidden book.
At the Hubermann house, Liesel refuses to leave the car and clings to the gate as neighbors gather. Rosa Hubermann curses the onlookers, while Hans Hubermann quietly coaxes Liesel inside. Beneath her clothes lies the stolen handbook—her first act of thievery and the quiet beginning of her life with the Hubermanns.
Who Appears
- Liesel MemingerThe book thief; witnesses her brother’s death, steals The Grave Digger’s Handbook, and arrives on Himmel Street.
- DeathNarrator; collects Werner’s soul and observes Liesel’s grief and first theft.
- Hans HubermannGentle foster father; patiently coaxes Liesel into the house.
- Rosa HubermannGruff foster mother; curses onlookers and manages the tense arrival.
- Liesel’s motherExhausted, grieving; delivers Liesel to foster care after Werner’s burial.
- Werner MemingerLiesel’s younger brother; dies on the train and is buried in the snow.
- Frau HeinrichFoster care official who transports Liesel to the Hubermanns.
- Apprentice grave diggerYoung worker who accidentally drops The Grave Digger’s Handbook.
- PriestConducts Werner’s brief burial service in the snowy cemetery.
- Train guardsEscort the family off the train and to the township after Werner’s death.
- Unnamed escortSilent man in the car; observes Liesel’s resistance outside the Hubermanns’ home.