Chapter Book #7

Author:  Cornelia Funke
Title:  The Thief Lord
Illustrator:  Cornelia Funke
Readability score:  Grade 6 to Grade 8
Genre:  Fiction
Subgenre:  Fantasy
Theme:  Birds of a feather flock together.  Keep family close.  Be loyal to friends.
Primary and Secondary characters:  Prosper, Bo, Hornet, Mosca, Scipio, Riccio, Victor, Ida Spavento, Dottor Massimo, Barbarossa, Renzo, Morosina, Esther Hartlieb, Max Harlieb
Awards:  2003 Mildred L. Batchelder Award, 2002  New York Times Notable Book, 2005 Young Readers' Choice Award
Date of Publication:  2000
Publication company:  Scholastic, Inc.
eISBN number:  978-0-545-41510-1

Victor Getz first heard of Prosper and Bo when their aunt and uncle, Esther and Max Harlieb, came to hire him in Venice.  Victor was a detective and Esther Harlieb was desperately searching for Bo, the younger of the two boys.  She wanted to take him in.  The boys did not want to be separated from one another, though.  They ran away to Venice, the city their mother told them was full of wonders.  Prosper and Bo befriended a group of orphan children who lived in an abandoned movie theatre.  The children, Hornet, Mosca, Riccio, and Scipio took the boys in.  Scipio was the leader and provider for the group.  The children gave him the title, Thief Lord, even though he was not much older than the others.  He was the Thief Lord because he was a thief.  He stole precious trinkets from rich homes and sold the items to a crooked man named Barbarossa.  The other children stole smaller items, like wallets and food.  This was their method of survival.  Victor began searching for the boys and happened upon Bo in St. Marks Square.  Bo, being unafraid and extremely young, told him that they lived in an abandoned movie theatre.  Meanwhile, Scipio had found a new job.  A man named the Conte wanted him to steal a wooden wing that he so desperately wanted from a lady named Ida Spavento.  He would pay Scipio a great sum of money.  The group of children decided they would all help steal the wing, but Victor spoiled their plans.  He found their hide-out one night.  The children captured him and took him prisoner.  While he was their prisoner, he told the children that he had found something out about their mysterious leader, the Thief Lord.  He was actually the son of a very wealthy, Dottor Massimo.  Dottor Massimo owned the theatre and it was from him that Scipio stole all of the valuables.  The children decided that they would still complete the job for the Conte, without Scipio.  When they go to Ida's home to steal the wing, they run into Scipio trying to steal it also.  They get caught by Ida.  The children are forced to tell her why they are stealing the wing.  In return, she tells them the story of the wing.  It once belonged to a winged lion on a merry-go-round.  The merry-go-round had special powers that would turn the old young again, but it had disappeared.  All that was left was the wing.  Ida wants to solve the mystery of the merry-go-round so she lets the children take the wing to the Conte.  They follow him to a mysterious island, but are caught.  Scipio and Prosper want to know more about the merry-go-round, so they sneak off one night to the island.  The Conte and his sister mend the broken wing so that the merry-go-round will turn them young again.  It works.  Scipio decides he will ride, too.  He becomes an adult.  Meanwhile, Bo has been taken by his aunt.  He behaves very badly and runs away.  Ida decides to take in the children and give them a home.  Scipio begins to work with Victor as a detective.

This story is a modern example of fantasy fiction.  The story takes place in Venice.  There is a map of Venice at the beginning of the book.  I would have the students use the map or a larger map of Venice to scout out the places that Prosper, Bo, and the other characters visited in the book.  Pairs of students will work together to research one place in the story.  Then, in a virtual tour, they will share the place with the class.  The places the class might visit are St. Mark's Square, the Rialto Bridge, the islands, and the Grand Canal.  This activity will help the students imagine the events in the story better as they relate to the setting.  Also, the students will become immersed in the Italian language and culture of Venice.