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The Thief Lord (Paperback)
by Cornelia Funke
| Category:
Honesty, Story, Teens |
| Market price: ¥ 98.00
MSL price:
¥ 88.00
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In Stock |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
Two brothers, having run away from the aunt who plans to adopt the younger one, are sought by a detective hired by their aunt, but they have found shelter with-and protection from-Venice's "Thief Lord." |
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Author: Cornelia Funke
Publisher: The Chicken House
Pub. in: October, 2003
ISBN: 043942089X
Pages: 376
Measurements: 7.6 x 5.2 x 0.9 inches
Origin of product: USA
Order code: BC00048
Other information: Reprint edition
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- Awards & Credential -
The winner of the Zurich Children's Book Awards (2000) and the children's Book Award from the Vienna House of Literature (2001). |
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- MSL Picks -
The Thief Lord first published in Germany in 2000. This suspenseful tale begins in a detective's office in Venice, there’s a band of orphans who run around causing trouble. Bo and Prosper are the main characters. They run away from their aunt and uncle and run into the orphans. Bo and Prosper decide to join the orphans. The title character, the Thief Lord, only comes out at night and has a terrible dark secret. Will Bo and prosper or any of the orphans find out why the Thief Lord only comes out at night? There's only one way to know for certain. Read the book.
Through the book you will find that Bo and Prosper are regular kids who runaway from their aunt and uncle because they want more in life. Bo and Prosper really have no goals, except to not get caught when causing trouble. If anybody is caught they'll go straight to the orphanage. The author Cornelia Funke makes the characters seem real and interesting to me because Bo and Prosper will do anything to fit in the group.
The vivid descriptions of the scenery in Venice in the book can give us a deep impression. An example is shown from this quote in the book "It was quiet between the houses and soon they entered the hidden heart of the city, where there were hardly any strangers. Cats darted away as their footsteps rang out on the paving stones. Pigeons cooed from the roofs." The way Funke describes the water is always amazing which can be portrayed in this excerpt "The ever-present water swayed beneath the bridges, splashing against boats and wooden posts, and reflecting back the old faces of the houses." I think you will like this adventurous book.
Target readers:
Kids aged up 8
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Cornelia Funke is Germany's bestselling children's author after J. K. Rowling and R. L. Stine. In the fall of 2002, she made her brilliant debut in the English-language market with the release of The Thief Lord, the fantastical New York Times bestseller which Kirkus called "One spellbinding story." Ms. Funke lives in Hamburg, Germany with her family.
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Prosper and Bo are orphans on the run from their cruel aunt and uncle. The brothers decide to hide out in Venice, where they meet a mysterious character who calls himself the "Thief Lord." Brilliant and charismatic, the Thief Lord leads a ring of street children who dabble in petty crimes. Prosper and Bo relish being part of this colorful new family. But the Thief Lord has secrets of his own. And soon the boys are thrust into circumstances that will lead them, and readers, to a fantastic, spellbinding conclusion.
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E. A Solinas (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-26 00:00>
Cornelia Funke's The Thief Lord is one of those few books that deserve at least some of the hype that they're given. While it's not the best I've read, it is a solid adventure story, quite well-written, with likable characters and a good, suspenseful storyline.
Prosper and Bo have run away to Venice, escaping a vicious aunt who wants to adopt only Bo. Now, they have joined up with Scipio the Thief Lord, a wily kid of their own age with a mystery identity and a band of loyal street kids, including Hornet, Riccio and Mosca. Though Prosper doesn't like stealing, he has no choice; he has to look out for his little brother, and somehow keep out of sight.
Their aunt, however, has hired a private detective (who is preoccupied with turtles) who is trailing the boys through Venice. A nasty merchant named Barbarossa has offered the Thief Lord a massive job on behalf of a mystery client. And the detective starts to home in on the two boys, as the true identity of the Thief Lord comes to light...
The Thief Lord isn't particularly groundbreaking, but it has a slightly classic feel to it. The settings in Venice, the names of the characters (Prospero, Scipio) and the dramatic details like Scipio's costume. But Funke balances it out with funnier things like Barbarossa's ride on the carousel and Victor's preoccupation with his pets. The magical element of the carousel (shades of Ray Bradbury?) seems a bit out of place, however, as there hadn't been any magic up until then.
The writing is quite detailed and descriptive, and Funke doesn't skimp on the descriptions of how gorgeous Venice is. What's more, the translation is, as far as I can tell (which isn't far since I don't speak German), pretty flawless. If I didn't know better I would think that it was originally written in English. It doesn't have quite the sparkle of other authors like Tolkien or Diana Wynne-Jones, but it moves steadily.
Funke managed something pretty impressive in her little band of outlaws: teens and preteens fending for themselves are almost never portrayed well, but she manages it. Prosper is a likable lead character, with a lot of doubts and worries but overcoming them for his little brother; Scipio seems a little too mature, but that's okay. Victor and the street kids are strong supporting characters as well.
Cornelia Funke's book (along with the movie "Heaven") is one of the best things to come out of Germany in recent years. |
B. Lin (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-26 00:00>
The Thief Lord is a fun book that has many mysteries and surprises to the book. Its starts out as two young boys whose parents had died and are left in care of their aunt, Ester. The aunt only thinks the little brother is cute so takes in only the little brother named Bo. The older brother, Prosper was sent to a boarding school. The two bothers did not want to be separated so they decided to run away. When they run away they meet a small group of kids, who are also orphans and their leader who is know as The Thief Lord takes them in. But the Thief Lord has a secret no one knows, it is a secret that will change the groups trust in him.
I liked the book The Thief Lord because it shows trust in it. It shows the children's trust in the Thief Lord until the secret got out. Then it put a lot of descriptions to show how when the secret got out about Scipio many of the orphans did not want to be with him any more because of that one thing. The writing of the book was not too hard and not too simple, and the books length was a good amount too. I hope that there will be a sequel to it.
My favorite part was when Bar Barossa, the shop merchant got what he deserved. It had funny and accurate details about what happened to him. It was the best part of the book for me. Another part of what I liked was when the detective was tricked by Scipio and his crew. I liked that part because it was his fault for underestimating the kids. If you want to know the whole story and how it happened, read the book The Thief Lord! |
A kid (MSL quote), USA
<2006-12-26 00:00>
"How often do I have to tell you not to let yourself be photographed?" said Prosper to his little brother Bo from the book The Thief Lord. If his photo is seen by his auntie Esther, she will know where they are and will take them with her. In the book Prosper and Bo both ran away from their aunt. She just wants to adopt Bo, but not Prosper, so they run away to Venice to live the life of stealing to survive. "Yes. Yes you will get you money." This quote automatically told me that stealing was involved and that meant action so I knew right away I would like to read this book.
In addition to the two brothers, there is a girl involved in the story named Hornet. She found them in the streets and invited them to live in their hide out with Scipio, the thief lord. Victor is a detective in the book that was asked by Esther to search for the two kids in Venice. He is the biggest problem because if he found them it will be the end for the two of them. This whole epic adventure takes place in a magical place called Venice, Italy. Another problem is that they were asked on a mission to steal a wooden wing. What do you think the wing for? Well you better read it and find that out for yourself.
This book is not in a sequel, prequel, or series. It is one of a kind. That is why this book is so great and you should go out there and read it. If you like books that include a theme about a journey and a hero on a magnificent quest then you will love The Thief Lord. Prosper, the hero, has to go through this certain process that includes accomplished tasks and choosing sides. It also includes a final battle.
My opinion of this book is that it is great and interesting. Any type of reader will not regret reading this. Every page that you flip through has something exciting and amazing action. At first when I had to read it for reading class I thought it was going to be boring but it was not. While I was reading I had many feelings like sadness, curiosity, surprise, and emotional, and I didn't want the book to have an ending. I'd rather read this than watch T.V. If you like Maniac Magee which is about a boy who runs away from home and goes from town to town than you will like The Thief Lord!
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Bensmomma (MSL quote), Ann Arbor, Michigan
<2006-12-27 00:00>
I enjoyed this book very much; surely it will be one of the best if not the best and/or most popular kids' book published this year. It is a fast, gripping read, with entertaining characters, and Venice as its backdrop - surely the finest city in the world for a work of magic and imagination.
It does come off as a bit of a collage built from other books - orphans Propser and Bo escape from an evil aunt and uncle (like Harry Potter), encounter a child-criminal mastermind (like Artemis Fowl), join a gang of kid thieves (like Oliver Twist) and tackle a historical mystery (like the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler). The characters are not quite as well developed as in these books, and it's less fantastical than Harry or Artemis (with one major exception that I will not spoil for you).
If you are a cynic you might think the author wrote it all with an eye to the main chance (selling the movie rights), in part because she dedicates the book to Bob Hoskins (presumably the actor) declaring that the character Victor looks just like him.
But if you're not so cynical you will really enjoy it - the author makes marvelous use of the city of Venice, it's funny and surprising and exciting. It seems like a screenplay pretending to a book, but it's really going to make a great movie.
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