Inkheart

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Meggie’s father, Mo, has an wonderful and sometimes terrible ability. When he reads aloud from books, he brings the characters to life--literally. Mo discovered his power when Maggie was just a baby. He read so lyrically from the the book Inkheart, that several of the book’s wicked characters ended up blinking and cursing on his cottage floor. Then Mo discovered something even worse--when he read Capricorn and his henchmen out of Inkheart, he accidentally read Meggie’s mother in.

Meggie, now a young lady, knows nothing of her father's bizarre and powerful talent, only that Mo still refuses to read to her. Capricorn, a being so evil he would "feed a bird to a cat on purpose, just to watch it being torn apart," has searched for Meggie's father for years, wanting to twist Mo's powerful talent to his own dark means. Finally, Capricorn realizes that the best way to lure Mo to his remote mountain hideaway is to use his beloved, oblivious daughter Meggie as bait!

ANNOTATION

Twelve-year-old Meggie learns that her father, who repairs and binds books for a living, can "read" fictional characters to life when one of those characters abducts them and tries to force him into service.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Twelve-year-old Meggie learns that her father, who repairs and binds books for a living, can "read" fictional characters to life when one of those characters abducts them and tries to force him into service.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Tackling Funke's (The Thief Lord) meaty, intricately plotted tale of magic and books, Redgrave colors her reading with appropriately varying degrees of suspense, revelation and drama. Twelve-year-old Meggie, a self-proclaimed bookworm, finds it odd that her bookbinder father, Mo, has never read aloud to her. But when a mysterious man named Dustfinger appears in the rainy shadows of the garden one night, Meggie begins to unravel the secret her father has kept all her life: when Mo reads aloud from books, the characters come to life and appear before him. This magical power proves dangerous, as characters from a certain book-Inkheart-are on the loose and after Mo. Many twists and turns that will particularly intrigue those who love books unfold before Meggie ultimately learns that she and her father have something in common when it comes to magic. Redgrave's voice takes on growling, sometimes whispery qualities as she portrays villains; a brighter inquisitive tone prevails as Meggie makes observations and interacts with the other characters. The end result is a satisfying listen, perfect for long winter evenings by the fire. Ages 11-up. (Oct.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature - Tiffany Burgess

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 taskof 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, Ages 10 to 15.

Alan Review

Meggie is a rather mature 12-year-old who lives with her father, Mo. She even calls him Mo and has for as long as she can remember. One thing she does not remember is how one night when she was just 3 years old, while her father was reading aloud to Meggie, her mother vanished from the room, out of the very bed she had been sitting in. Mo has a special gift (which he passes down to Meggie) of reading characters out of books when he reads aloud. As her mother disappears, three men, Capricorn, one of the most dangerous characters; Basta, his cruel and heartless servant; and Dustfinger, a man who plays with fire, stand across the room from Mo and Meggie. They are characters from Inkheart, the book Mo had been reading aloud. After Mo chases them out of his house, he is left with Meggie; for nine years it is just the two of them, and for nine years Meggie listens intently when Mo tells stories of her mother's mysterious and exciting trips around the world. Meggi, believing her father, hasn't realized her mother is trapped in a book. Filled with twists and turns, ups and downs, this fantasy will leave you moved, especially at the reunion of three people separated for many years. Most likely in the end you will feel as Meggie and her Aunt Elinor did, that books are better left under their covers and not meant to come alive. 2003, The Chicken House, 554 pp. Ages young adult. Reviewer: Evita Wiatr

School Library Journal

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.

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