Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

This book swallowed my child. Really. She all-but-disappeared once she got her hands on this story.

It is kind of appropriate since the premise of this book is that Meggie’s father, Mo, is such a magical storyteller that his voice can read characters out of the story and into the present. He can also read people into a story.

Of course, things aren’t simple as it sounds. He doesn’t have control over this extraordinary ability. He accidentally read Meggie’s mother into the intriguing world of Inkheart, a place with fairies, trolls, giants, and castles. He also read characters out of that world into his: like Dustfinger, a good-hearted man who was a fire-eater in his own world, a place he longs to return to. He also read out characters like Capricorn and Basta, wicked men with no inclination to go back to their own world. They sense the potential for wreaking more havoc in ours.

This was one of our favorite read-alouds. I know most book-lovers have already discovered this one, but in case you haven’t yet, you’ll be glad.

We also enjoyed Cornelia Funke's The Thief Lord. I was more reserved about her novel The Dragon Rider because friendly dragons and fractured fairy tales seem more harmful to me after reading Michael O'Brien's Landscape with Dragons (I recommend this resource to all book-loving parents.)

Safety Rating: 3 Vatican Flags; High-Readability