A secret hidden so long from Meggie is about to fall into her world without her even being aware. As she and her father make their way through the an adventure full of characters from books and the real world their own character is challenged. An interesting selection of allies and enemies appear throughout the story until finally one of Meggie's lifelong problems is solved.
Bibliographic Citation:
Funke, C. (2003). Inkheart. New York, NY: Scholastic.
My Impression:
Well I should start of by saying that Inkheart the book was MUCH better than Inkheart the movie. There is just too much imagination to capture the true creativity of this story in a movie. From the first few pages I was enthralled in this story and it's characters and the conflicts and resolutions that occur throughout the plot. Although the book is clearly fantasy Cornelia Funke left me wondering what if... What if I could truly read the characters out of story, who would I choose, and would it be worth the risk of losing someone to the story??
Reviews:
Cornelia Funke, popular author of The Thief Lord, creates an astonishing magical world in this novel. When a mysterious stranger suddenly appears at Meggie's door, the quiet life she has led with her father, Mo, vanishes. This stranger is linked to her father's past, and Meggie discovers that Mo has been keeping a secret that involves the disappearance of her mother, a sinister man named Capricorn, and Meggie herself. As she and her father flee from their home, Meggie learns that when her father reads aloud, he is able to bring characters out of the pages and into their world. However, Mo's gift has a terrible price: every time something comes out of a book, something must go into it, even if it is something he loves. Now Capricorn wants to use Mo for his own nasty deeds and decides to use Meggie as bait. Hidden away, Meggie must wait for her father to save her from Capricorn and his hideous plan to bring an indestructible evil to Earth. In this magical world, Meggie has to discover that all actions have consequences and that sometimes the things we long for most are right in front of us. Beginning each chapter with a quote from a famous book, Funke gives the reader ample foreshadowing and creates a false feeling of what is to come. For example, when Dustfinger betrays Meggie to Capricorn, the quote for that chapter comes from C.S. Lewis' novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: "The reason there's no use looking, said Mr. Beaver, we know already where he's gone! Everyone stared in amazement. Don't you understand? said Mr. Beaver. He's gone to her, to the White Witch. He has betrayed us all." This novel would be excellent for use in the classroom to assist with the task of teaching foreshadowing, though it is also a wonderful coming of age story in which the female protagonist has to find the courage to survive in the magical world in which she found herself. 2003, The Chicken House/Scholastic, $16.95. Ages 10 to 15.
Tiffany Burgess (Children's Literature)
How to use this book in your library:
This book is too long to read aloud, but many portions of it could be used for creative writing exercises. Of course that would probably be more appropriate in a school library, but in public library discussion of the questions I asked above would be a great way to gets kids talking about other books and sharing some of their favorites with you and other kids.
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