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Product Description
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Imagine a Dickens story with a Venetian setting, and you'll have a good sense of Cornelia Funke's prizewinning novel The Thief Lord, first published in Germany in 2000. This suspenseful tale begins in a detective's office in Venice, as the entirely unpleasant Hartliebs request Victor Getz's services to search for two boys, Prosper and Bo, the sons of Esther Hartlieb's recently deceased sister. Twelve-year-old Prosper and 5-year-old Bo ran away when their aunt decided she wanted to adopt Bo, but not his brother. Refusing to split up, they escaped to Venice, a city their mother had always described reverently, in great detail. Right away they hook up with a long-haired runaway named Hornet and various other ruffians who hole up in an abandoned movie theater and worship the elusive Thief Lord, a young boy named Scipio who steals jewels from fancy Venetian homes so his new friends can get the warm clothes they need. Of course, the plot thickens when the owner of the pawn shop asks if the Thief Lord will carry out a special mission for a wealthy client: to steal a broken wooden wing that is the key to completing an age-old, magical merry-go-round. This winning cast of characters--especially the softhearted detective with his two pet turtles--will win the hearts of readers young and old, and the adventures are as labyrinthine and magical as the streets of Venice itself. (Ages 9 and older) --Karin Snelson
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From Publishers Weekly
Wacky characters bring energy to this translation of an entertaining German novel about thieving children, a disguise-obsessed detective and a magical merry-go-round. After their mother dies, 12-year-old Prosper and his brother, Bo, five, flee from Hamburg to Venice (an awful aunt plans to adopt only Bo). They live in an abandoned movie theater with several other street children under the care of the Thief Lord, a cocky youth who claims to rob "the city's most elegant houses." A mysterious man hires the Thief Lord to steal a wooden wing, which the kids later learn has broken off a long-lost merry-go-round said to make "adults out of children and children out of adults," but the plan alters when Victor, the detective Aunt Esther hired to track the brothers, discovers their camp and reveals that the Thief Lord is actually from a wealthy family. There are a lot of story lines to follow, and the pacing is sometimes off (readers may feel that Funke spends too little time on what happens when the children find the carousel, and too much on the ruse they pull on Prosper's aunt). But between kindhearted Victor and his collection of fake beards, the Thief Lord in his mask and high-heeled boots, and a rascally street kid who loves to steal, Prosper's new world abounds with colorful characters. The Venetian setting is ripe for mystery and the city's alleys and canals ratchet up the suspense in the chase scenes. Ages 9-12.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A MUST READ STORY,
By Tyler 10 years old (Cranston , Rhode Island) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Thief Lord (Hardcover)
I really really liked this book . It was just sitting on my shelf.When i had no books to read. I read the back of the book a said WOW!!!!!!!!!!!! i must read this i read it it only took me about two days to read a 53 chapter book .Then i read it again and a again now im reading it for my 5 grade project YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good imagination,
This review is from: The Thief Lord (Paperback)
The Thief Lord is about a band of orphans who run around causing trouble. Bo and Prosper are the main characters. They runaway 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.
3.0 out of 5 stars
fun, so long as you can suspend disbelief,
By
This review is from: The Thief Lord (Paperback)
I enjoyed this book, but I didn't love it. I am an adult who thought it might be fun to read some juvenile fiction. I imagine that late elementary and early secondary students will find it most charming. Things work out too neatly for the book to be considered realistic. It reminded me in places of my own kid fantasies about leading a life with kids in charge, where the grown ups were just miraculously out of the picture. It's worth the read--the descriptions of Venice are nifty, as are the magic device that's described later in the book--but it's got to be read as fantasy.
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