The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
Publisher: The Chicken House, 2005
349 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Read Aloud: 9
Read Alone: 9-12
Abandoned movie theatres, enchanted merry-go-rounds, orphans, thieves, and villains abound in Venice in this novel of friendship, adventure and a little bit of magic. Although, it may sound like the makings of a fairytale, this thoroughly modern fantasy has more elements of realistic fiction than fantasy in my estimation. The bones of the story are formed by real emotions: loss, fear, unhappiness, deceit, and greed are counterbalanced by love, devotion, generosity and self-sacrifice. Add of touch of magic and some villains very easy to hate and you have an exciting adventure that sweeps the reader to the interesting and unfamiliar world of the alleys and canals of Venice.
The plot revolves around the struggle of two orphaned boys, Prospero (12) and Bo (5) to escape their vile aunt Esther whose sole goal seems to be to separate the brothers forever. They are aided by the benevolent and mysterious thief lord, Scipio, who is not all that he seems to be. A likeable but comic private detective, a wealthy patron, some nuns, and a greedy art dealer populate this novel as do any number of other quirky characters. Although this makes things interesting, it may make it hard for some children to follow the action and keep everything straight. Although I love the preponderance of details (think Dickens), this could also be off putting to some. Nonetheless, Funke’s skill as a writer keeps everything coherent and moving fast enough to make this all very entertaining.
Publisher: The Chicken House, 2005
349 pages
Genre: Fantasy
Read Aloud: 9
Read Alone: 9-12
Abandoned movie theatres, enchanted merry-go-rounds, orphans, thieves, and villains abound in Venice in this novel of friendship, adventure and a little bit of magic. Although, it may sound like the makings of a fairytale, this thoroughly modern fantasy has more elements of realistic fiction than fantasy in my estimation. The bones of the story are formed by real emotions: loss, fear, unhappiness, deceit, and greed are counterbalanced by love, devotion, generosity and self-sacrifice. Add of touch of magic and some villains very easy to hate and you have an exciting adventure that sweeps the reader to the interesting and unfamiliar world of the alleys and canals of Venice.
The plot revolves around the struggle of two orphaned boys, Prospero (12) and Bo (5) to escape their vile aunt Esther whose sole goal seems to be to separate the brothers forever. They are aided by the benevolent and mysterious thief lord, Scipio, who is not all that he seems to be. A likeable but comic private detective, a wealthy patron, some nuns, and a greedy art dealer populate this novel as do any number of other quirky characters. Although this makes things interesting, it may make it hard for some children to follow the action and keep everything straight. Although I love the preponderance of details (think Dickens), this could also be off putting to some. Nonetheless, Funke’s skill as a writer keeps everything coherent and moving fast enough to make this all very entertaining.
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