The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke Date of Publication:2000 ISBN: 043942089X Number of Pages: 376

REQUIRED READING ABILITY: High
GENRES: Fantasy, Adventure
THEMES: Appearance versus Reality, Good versus Evil, Coming of Age, Family, Friendship, Loyalty

SUMMARY:
Bo and Prosper are two young, orphaned brothers who have run away from their controlling guardian, Aunt Esther, and her husband, Max. As the story begins, they are hiding in Venice, Italy…a city their late mother had always described as magical. They have been taken in by a little band of street children under the leadership of the mysterious “Thief Lord,” and are living in an abandoned theatre. Though young himself, the Thief Lord’s thieving exploits provide the little makeshift family with enough to survive and even flourish.

When Aunt Esther hires a private detective named Victor to find the boys, the plot heats up. The detective is a sympathetic sort with a fondness for disguises, and as he tracks the boys, he learns more and more about the Thief Lord and his followers. When the young thieves are commissioned to perform an unusual task, they meet Ida, a young woman who becomes their ally, and learn some shocking truths about their leader as well. Soon they are on their way to complete the mysterious task, but the little group has no way of knowing that their lives, and the lives of those closest to them, will never be the same again…

WHO WOULD LOVE THIS BOOK? A kid who...

• likes mysterious, fantastical settings and plots
• is into Venice, Italy
• enjoys stories where things are often not what they seem
• likes underdog stories
• believes family and loyalty are everything
• likes to see villains get their just desserts
• can believe in magic and time-altering
  

WHAT ELSE?
Cornelia Funke is a German writer who has written a number of other books, including Inkheart and Dragon Rider. This book is equally popular with male and female readers, and has received numerous awards and accolades, including:

2003 Book Sense Book of the Year Award
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
A Parenting Magazine Book of the Year
ALA Notable Children’s Books
Winner of the 2003 Mildred L. Batchelder Award

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About the Author