Reading Level: ages 9-12

Inkheart is the second book to be published in the US by Germany's best-selling children's author, Cornelia Funke. Her first book, The Thief Lord (see review), was a wonderful tale as well, but in Inkheart, she has penned a treasure for booklovers everywhere. Twelve-year-old Meggie's doting father, Mo, a bookbinder, has imbued her with a love of stories and books, which has helped her to fill the void left by her mother, who ran away when Meggie was but a small child. One rainy evening, a mysterious stranger named Dustfinger arrives at their cottage, calling Mo "Silvertongue", and Meggie begins to learn a lot of things, especially about her father, who has a strange and fantastical ability. He is called "Silvertongue" because when he reads aloud, he can bring the characters of a book to life. Unfortunately, he can also read people from this world into the story in the printed pages.

From that night on, nothing is ever the same again.

As William Goldman, whose quote from The Princess Bride begins Chapter 10 (each chapter of Inkheart is delightfully begun with a quote from a much-loved book) says,

"Look. I'm not about to tell you this book has a tragic ending, I already said in the very first line how it was my favorite in all the world. But there's a lot of bad stuff coming."

— Kay Morris