Publisher and date of publication: The Chicken House, 2003 then published in English by Scholastic Inc in 2003
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy
Grade: 4-6
Twelve-year old Meggie lives alone with her father, Mo. Mo is a talented bookbinder who has passion for books. He also has an unending love for his daughter and lost wife. Mo, passed down his passion for books to his daughter Meggie as well. Meggie had never been told where her mother went or why she left, all she knows is she has been without her mother since she was three-years old. In spite of that emptiness in her life, Meggie's life with her father has been near perfect, until one night when a stranger, by the name of Dustfinger comes to visit Mo. A whispered conversation between Mo and Dustfinger, behind the closed door of Mo's workshop, embarks Meggie on a journey that begins with a trip to Meggie's aunt Elinor's house and ends by nearly killing them in the village of a villain named Capricorn. It isn't long before Meggie learns that bookbinding is not her father's only talent. He also has the ability to “read” people and objects right out of stories and into the real world. But this can also cause major trouble because this is what started the whole journey, when Mo read the evil villain Capricorn out of his story Inkheart. On the journey Meggie also learns the story of how her mother disappeared and the discovery that she has inherited her father's talent. Capricorn is after Mo because of his ability and he is also after the last copy of “Inkheart” which is in Mo's possession. Capricorn and his followers will stop at nothing to capture and control Mo and gain possession of the book. It is up to Meggie to find a way to use her talent and end this story with a happy ending.
Inkheart was a magnificent story. I have fallen in love with the works of Cornelia Funke. Her writing is so detailed and descriptive that you can't help but get lost in the pages of this wonderful story. She uses such great character development that by the end of the story you feel like you have sat down at the kitchen table with each and every one of them and had the greatest of conversations, except for maybe Capricorn. What I loved about it was that most fantasy stories like this have the reader fall into the story and live in there book. However in this story the characters come to life. They learn to live and survive in our world. Some love it hear but others like Dustfinger wish for nothing more than to return to his home in Inkheart. The battle between good and evil it so real that there were some parts of the story where I was gripping on the ends of the pages hoping that good would soon prevail. Another aspect that I loved so much was that there was no predicting the ending of this story. It had twist and turns literally until the last page that will keep you turning the pages faster than you can read them. Also, almost everything that happens in this book could happen in real life well, except for the reading of fictional characters into the real world. But a lot of things that take place and obstacles that Meggie face could really happen which makes it so interesting. I wonder what my students would do if they were ever faced with some of these tough situations. There are many themes to this book that could be explored in the classroom that the possibilities are unlimited. Meggie is a brave soul and I can only wish that at 12 years old I could be as brave as her. She deals with love, courage, despair, betrayal and so much more. But she handles it all like a champ. My favorite character however was aunt Elinor. She had tons of wit and did not bite her tongue even if it could save her life. She reminds me of an aunt in my family and I am sure everyone has an aunt Elinor in their life. She brought such sarcasm to the story . There were times she made me laugh out loud. I can not wait to share this wonderful story with my students and I look forward to reading the next installment, I wonder where the journey will take me this time.
In the classroom an obvious thing to do would be to discuss the themes of the story. However this story is so unique that I would love to see what my students could come up with if I were to ask them to write a story where their characters come to life. What kind of characters would they create? I also think another fun thing would be to have them write there own ending to the story much like Senior Fengolio had to. How would they have destroyed capricorn and ended the story with a happing ending of would they give it a happy ending? I think to challenge their minds like this to be creative and think outside the box is what our students look for from us. I think that giving them the freedom to change the ending or create there own unique characters will inspire them to write more, read more and be more creative.
For those of you who are interested this is a link to movie trailer...yes, they are coming out with a movie:
Here is some lesson plan stuff:
Books mentioned in Inkheart:
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