The Thief Lord

Title: The Theif Lord

Author: Funke, Cornelia

Publisher and Date:First Scholastic Paperback Printing, September 2003

Genre: Magical Realism

Age Range: 4th-6th

I absolutely LOVED Cornelia Funke's The Thief Lord. It is one of the best pieces of children's literature that I have ever read. The setting is phenomenal, the characters are unforgettable, and the story itself is amazing. After reading all 345 pages of the book, I still craved more.

The imagery that was used throughout the book was fantastic. Funke used rich descriptions to help the reader envision everything about the city of Venice from the pastry shop beside Barbarossa's store to the giant horses at the Basilica. You could hear the lapping water of the canals, see the freshly fallen snow, and feel the pelting of the large raindrops. The imagery of the story could capture any reader young or old and bring the city of Venice to life in their minds. One of my favorite descriptive passages from the book is on page 275, when Scipio and Prosper finally see the magical merry-go-round. Funke describes the characters as such: "They each hung on their pole beneath the wooden canopy, and seemed to float. The merman held his trident in his wooden fist, the mermaid looked into the distance out of pale green eyes, dreaming of the waters of the open sea. The sea horse with its fish tail was so beautiful, that it made you forget that there were horses with four legs at all." The way Funke used realistic elements and fantastical elements in the books created a perfect blend of realism and fantasy that is sure to capture the imagination. Venice is such and extraordinary place that elements of fantasy are to be expected.

The characterization used in The Thief Lord is also phenomenal. At the end of the novel, I felt like I had six new childhood friends. I could not pick just one favorite character from this book; I just had to choose all six. There is Scipio, who embodied every child's fantasy of living a secret life, Prosper, the protective older brother who would sacrifice everything he had for his brother Bo, Bo, the naive and lovable "angel" of the group, Hornet, the avid reader and level-headed thinker, Roccio, the "hedgehog" who just could not keep his hands out of other people's pockets, and Mosca, a lover of the water and his boat.

The themes highlighted in The Thief Lord were all very applicable to fifth graders and up. The first theme that I noticed was the importance of family. Funke did a great job of establishing that family is not just flesh and blood relatives. Family is anyone you can count on, and who loves you and you love them. I think the children themselves were a family for each other. They all looked out for one another and worked to provide for all their needs. The next theme I noticed was that of lying and stealing. I thought it was interesting that Funke never came out and said that these things were wrong. She alluded to it several times through adults such as Ida and Victor, but she never stated it outright. I think this would be a good teaching tool to use when discussing moral values and dilemmas, and what the kids think of as right and wrong. In fifth grade most students would have the capacity the judge situationally what is right or wrong, and not just go by the rules. I also thought it was great that Funke focused her story on the plight of runaways and orphans. It was neat to see how she handled an often overlooked situation. Fifth graders reading this book could relate to these kids and could experience firsthand the dangers of being own their own.

I think that The Thief Lord definitely fits the Temple text's definition of an outstanding piece of literature.

"Good books expand Awareness." The Thief Lord excelled in this category. I learned much about the culture and the city of Venice just through the descriptions in the story. It was also neat how Funke incorporated Italian into the story. The glossary at the end of the book was very handy for translating. :-)

"Good books provide an enjoyable read that does not overtly teach or moralize." As I mentioned before I thought Funke did a great job with this. She never stated a theme in the entire story; the book was clear enough however that fifth graders could pick out the themes and morals.

"Good books tell the truth." I think that every character and situation that was introduced in the book had truth in it and was relatively realistic. (apart from the merry-go-round.)

"Good books embody quality." From the first sentence of the book to the last this book embodied quality. The imagery and descriptions used in this novel were outstanding enough to keep this young adult fully engaged.

"Good books have integrity." The characters, the imagery, the setting, and the plot all meshed well together, and made this book quite an enjoyable read.

"Good books show originality." This was definitely true of The Thief Lord. The situation of a band of orphans and runaways having adventures in Venice was different from anything I have ever read.

I can tell you for certain that this book will be used sometime during my teaching career. I loved everything about it. It opened my eyes to the beauty of the city of Venice and it opened my heart to care for six needy children. I cant wait to see what's in store for us next week!