THE THIEF LORD by Cornelia Funke List Price: $6.99 Pages: 376 Format: Paperback ISBN: 043942089X Publisher: Chicken House, an imprint of Scholastic, Inc.

Cornelia Funke was born 1958 in Dorsten, Westphalia. After her Abitur (A-levels) she moved to Hamburg where she graduated in education theory. Following university, she worked for three years in an educational project while completing a course in book illustration at the Hamburg State College of Design.

She then worked as a designer of board games and as an illustrator of children's books until this work inspired her to write her own stories for young readers. At the age of 28, Cornelia Funke became a fully-fledged author and illustrator of children's books. Meanwhile she has written over 40 books. Her work ranges from picture books, books for first readers and younger children to large books for older readers.

Although Cornelia Funke is one of Germany''s best-selling children's book authors, she was relatively unknown in the United States until The Chicken House, whose books are published by Scholastic in the United States, published THE THIEF LORD in September 2002. The Chicken House's publisher and managing director, Barry Cunningham, received a letter from a bilingual (English and German) young girl living in England, who wanted to know why her favorite author wasn't published in English. Barry set about the task of tracking down the latest title from Cornelia Funke, HERR DER DIEBE. When he published its English translation, THE THIEF LORD, it immediately entered the New York Times bestseller list where it climbed to the #2 position in November 2002.

She has written over 40 books, including the highly acclaimed DRAGONRIDER and WILD CHICKS series, and her books have been translated and sold in many countries. THE THIEF LORD has won the Swiss Youth Literature Award, the Zurich Children's Book Award, and the Book Award from the Venice House of Literature. After its American release, it also picked up the Mildred L. Batchelder Award for the best translated children's book of the year, and several other accolades. Funke's success in America has been matched internationally, demonstrating the universal appeal – and power – of her storytelling.

Her next novel, INKHEART, takes her audience into the heart of imagination itself. It tells the story of Meggie, and her father Mo, who both possess an extraordinary gift – they can read a book out loud and bring the characters to life! The result is a page-turning thriller, a wonderfully satisfying piece of storytelling, replete with mystery and magic.

Cornelia Funke graduated from the University of Hamburg in Germany, where she received a degree in education theory. She then completed a course in book illustration at the Hamburg State College of Design. Following that, she worked as a designer for board games and as an illustrator of children's books, which inspired her to become an author herself. Aside from her novels, Funke works for the German state television channel ZDF.

Cornelia Funke lives near Hamburg, Germany with her husband Rolf, her daughter, Anna, and her son, Ben.

© Copyright 2004 by Cornelia Funke. Reprinted with permission by Chicken House, an imprint of Scholastic, Inc.. All rights reserved.

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