"A richly imagined, adeptly illustrated adventure with a strong message of respect for all species of creatures. (map, cast of characters) (Fantasy. 9-14)"
In this sequel to Dragon Rider (2004), Ben, the protagonist of Book 1, teams up with friends to try to procure a sun feather from that most dangerous of fabulous creatures, the griffin.
Read full book review >
"Training wheels for Funke's future fans. (Fantasy. 7-9)"
Emma and her dog, Tristan, steal down to the moonlit sea for some quiet time and find a mysterious bottle bobbing on the waves; inside, of course, is a genie.
Read full book review >
"Not quite crash-proof but a thoroughgoing delight featuring new content galore and cutting-edge visual effects. (Requires iOS 6 and above.) (iPad fantasy app. 10-14)"
A companion to Funke's two-volume Mirrorworld series, driven by spectacular graphics and positively loaded with both worldbuilding detail and back stories for many of the characters and events in the books.
Read full book review >
"Sword-swinging ghosts will haunt readers of this droll, harrowing and historically grounded ghost story. (author's note) (Fantasy. 8-12)"
"Banished" to boarding school in contemporary Salisbury, England, 11-year-old Jon finds himself targeted by phantom riders determined to punish him for something that happened centuries before.
Read full book review >
With time running out, aptly named treasure hunter Jacob Reckless returns to Mirrorworld, desperately seeking a way to prevent his own death in this riveting sequel to Reckless (2010).
Read full book review >
Funke deftly escorts readers on another fantasy adventure, this time to dark, enchanting Mirrorworld, a fairy-tale land inhabited by humans, faerie creatures and the Goyls, a warring stone race.
Read full book review >
"While Funke's storytelling is as compelling as ever, the natural audience for this brooding saga seems, sadly, to be teens and up and not the children who so eagerly responded to Inkheart. (Fantasy. 13 & up)"
A monumental third installment brings the Inkheart trilogy to a grueling, blood-spattered, mortality-obsessed close.
Read full book review >
"Illustrated with pen-and-ink sketches of Igraine in action, plus many tiny tomes sporting stubby limbs and animated faces, this engaging read, or read-aloud, is 'joust' the ticket for all young fans of non-gender-specific knightly valor. (Fantasy. 9-11)"
The author of Princess Knight (2004) offers a longer tale along the same lines, here in its first English translation.
Read full book review >
"Replete with both spooks and with comically cluttered illustrations, this will win many new fans. (Fantasy. 9-11)"
Intrepid veteran Hetty Hyssop, her young amanuensis Tom and their moody, slime-oozing spectral associate Hugo nearly meet a fiery doom in this smoothly translated import, the second episode of four originally published in Germany.
Read full book review >
"The humor, plus some unusual character types, sets this apart from the general run of holiday tales. (Fantasy. 10-12)"
Two children discover that Santa's not just one person when a brightly decorated wagon crashes down in their neighborhood shortly before Christmas.
Read full book review >
"While the permeability of the membrane between imagination and reality may form the base of the novel, Funke delivers more than enough action, romance, tragedy, villainy and emotion to keep readers turning the pages—and waiting for the sequel the cliffhanger ending promises. (Fiction. 10+)"
One year after the events of Inkheart (2003), one by one, the characters find themselves read from the real world into the Inkworld.
Read full book review >
"Meyer's bright, droll mixed-media pen-and-ink paintings of bushy bearded, scruffy, pot-bellied males countered by a voluminous slightly grotesque matriarch with her buxom throng add to the amusing comeuppance. (Picture book. 3-6)"
In this well-translated humorous turnabout from the author of The Princess Knight (2004), similar themes of female strength and empowerment come through protagonist, Molly, a little girl in her own sailboat who's kidnapped by pirates.
Read full book review >
"This solid adventure lacks the lusciousness of language and intricacy of plot that marked last year's Inkheart, but it does carry the reader along at breakneck pace, the inevitably victorious ending no less satisfying for all its predictability. (Fiction. 8-12)"
When human development threatens the remote Scottish valley where the earth's last remaining silver dragons have hidden, Firedrake, a determined young dragon, and his friend Sorrel, an irascible brownie, set out to find the Rim of Heaven, a remote Himalayan valley said to be the ancient home of the dragons.
Read full book review >
After training his three sons in the manly arts of jousting, sword-fighting, and giving orders, the King decides to treat his young (motherless) daughter the same way.
Read full book review >
"Master translator Bell takes the German text and spins out of it vivid images and heart-stopping language that impel the reader through this adventure about narratives—a true feast for anyone who has ever been lost in a book. (Fiction. 10+)"
It is hard to avoid preciosity in books about books, but here Funke pulls off the feat with vigor.
Read full book review >
"Although the core of this tale is heartwarming, the merry-go-round, like Ray Bradbury's carousel in Something Wicked This Way Comes, hints at darkness, leaving its riders and the novel's readers changed forever. (map, glossary, not seen) (Fiction. 10-14)"
When the orphans Prosper, 12, and Boniface, 5, run away from Hamburg to Venice to escape separation by their aunt and uncle Hartlieb, the crotchety, childless couple hires private detective Victor Getz to find Bo, the only brother they want.
Read full book review >
Thank you! You’ll get the first email of recommendations from our critics within a week!
Bummer. There was a problem adding your email address. Please try again.
Subscribe to Pro Connect
Be the first to discover new talent!
Each week, our editors select the one author and one book they believe to be most worthy of your attention and highlight them in our Pro Connect email alert.
Sign up here to receive your FREE alerts.
