Katya had an excellent session of close critical reading with The Book Thief (Skype). We discussed the strategies used by Zusak and how he used these fabulous writing techniques to create mood, enhance the story, develop and deepen character, and put forth philosophical questions. The critical thinking element "point of view" was especially vivid in one scene. This gave opportunity to help Katya see how to look for things when analyzing or evaluating for essay writing.