The Book Thief: Part 1: The Kiss (A Childhood Decision Maker) Summary & Analysis

Death introduces some of the other characters that live on Himmel Street: the Nazi-supporting Frau Diller, twitchy Tommy Müller, and the vulgar Pfiffikus. Everyone on the street is generally poor. Next door is the Steiner family whose son Rudy is obsessed with the American athlete Jesse Owens. He is to become Liesel's best friend.

Liesel goes out into the street where the neighborhood kids are playing soccer. Liesel has to play goalie (the goal is two trashcans) because she is new. Rudy (who is the best player) gets a penalty kick against Liesel, but she blocks it. He hits her with a snowball and she curses at him with Rosa's favorite word, "saukerl."

Death gives some facts about Rudy: he is blond, blue-eyed, and always hungry. People think he is crazy because of "The Jesse Owens Incident," which will be explained later. Rudy seems destined to be Liesel's best friend. He starts to walk to school with her and tell her about the people of Himmel Street, especially Frau Diller, who owns a shop where if you don't "heil Hitler" when you enter, she won't serve you. Rudy and Liesel walk past Rudy's father's shop (he is a tailor) and the Jewish ghetto, which has many broken windows and doors painted with the Star of David.

Rudy starts to spend time with Liesel at school too, and Death implies that he is already in love with her. One day the two children taunt Pfiffikus (who is called that because he likes to whistle), and Pfiffikus curses obscenely at both of them as they run away. Afterwards Rudy challenges Liesel to race, and proposes that he gets to kiss her if he wins. She is confused, but she wants to stop being goalie in soccer if she wins. They run and slip in the mud but the race is a draw. Rudy still wants his kiss, but Liesel refuses and doesn't mind still playing goalie. She promises to herself to never kiss Rudy. She is more worried about her muddy clothes, which Rosa berates her for.