About the Author

Cornelia Funke is the internationally acclaimed, bestselling author of The Thief Lord, Dragon Rider, and the Inkheart trilogy, along with many other chapter and picture books for younger readers.

Reviews

New York Times bestsellerALA Notable Children's Book Award WinnerWinner of the Book Sense Book of the Year Children's Literature AwardAdapted into a major motion picture starring Brendan Fraser and Helen Mirren"A true feast for anyone who has ever been lost in a book." - Kirkus"I don't think I've ever read anything that conveys so well the joys, terrors and pitfalls of reading." - The Guardian"Seems to have been sprinkled with some magical fairy dust of its own." - The New York Times Book Review

Gr 4-8-Characters from books literally leap off the page in this engrossing fantasy. Meggie, 12, has had her father to herself since her mother went away when she was young. Mo taught her to read when she was five, and the two share a mutual love of books. Things change after a visit from a scarred man who calls himself Dustfinger and who refers to Mo as Silvertongue. Meggie learns that her father has been keeping secrets. He can "read" characters out of books. When she was three, he read aloud from a book called Inkheart and released Dustfinger and other characters into the real world. At the same time, Meggie's mother disappeared into the story. Mo also released Capricorn, a sadistic villain who takes great pleasure in murdering people. He has sent his black-coated henchmen to track down Mo and intends to force him to read an immortal monster out of the story to get rid of his enemies. Meggie, Mo, Dustfinger, and Meggie's great-aunt Elinor are pursued, repeatedly captured, but manage to escape from Capricorn's henchmen as they attempt to find the author of Inkheart in the hope that he can write a new ending to the story. This "story within a story" will delight not just fantasy fans, but all readers who like an exciting plot with larger-than-life characters. Pair this title with Roderick Townley's The Great Good Thing (2001) and Into the Labyrinth (2002, both Atheneum) for a wonderful exploration of worlds within words.-Sharon Rawlins, Piscataway Public Library, NJ Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

New York Times bestsellerALA Notable Children's Book Award WinnerWinner of the Book Sense Book of the Year Children's Literature AwardAdapted into a major motion picture starring Brendan Fraser and Helen Mirren"A true feast for anyone who has ever been lost in a book." - Kirkus"I don't think I've ever read anything that conveys so well the joys, terrors and pitfalls of reading." - The Guardian"Seems to have been sprinkled with some magical fairy dust of its own." - The New York Times Book Review