The Horn Book Guide

INTERMEDIATE FICTION

Funke, Cornelia

The Thief Lord

349 pp. | Scholastic/Chicken House | September, 2002 | Trade ISBN 0-439-40437-1 $$16.95

(2) 4-6 Translated by Oliver Latsch. A bachelor detective accepts a commission to find two runaway brothers. To avoid being separated by their aunt, the boys are living in Venice with a gang of thieving orphans led by the cocky Thief Lord. They become entangled in a caper that involves stealing the magical missing piece of a carousel. The story's pace is slow, but the resonance of the carousel image creates a potent atmosphere that laces the tale with excitement.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2002