The Thief Lord

This was the first time that I have ever heard of Cornelia Funke. I was a little skeptical at first when I heard that we were now reading another story about Venice but that it was now a 5th grade level one. Once I started I loved it! I was so surprised at how much I like it actually. I began to really care about the children and Victor, however funny his character is, still made my angry when he was trying to get to Bo and Prosper. I felt like that was what they really wanted to do and where they really wanted to be. They felt at home there despite the fact that they really had no "real" home, or one that is up to our standards. Their family transpired past the boundaries of the "traditional family" Bo and Prosper found a home and a new family with Mosca and Riccio and Hornet. Sicpio became something of a provider for them, even though he was deceitful about it, I think that he really meant well and also that he did not "fit in" to the life that he was born into.
The quality of the story was astounding, there was much more detail in the story compared to the 2nd grade level one we read. There was also more depth, the children had to deal with really hard problems and also encountered somethings that most people will ever have to deal with, such as the police and having to live in an abandoned movie theater. The book was also very historically correct and gave great visual descriptions of the city its self. I went with my dad one year to Italy and I was fortunate enough to be able to go to Venice for several days. One thing I will say about that city is that it is terribly confusing and I got lost on more than one occasion through all of the alleys and such. I want to get some pictures to post to the blog but unfortunately my dad has all of them on his computer.
The plot in this story really surprised me, being used to reading upper level stories, of course, there was never a dull moment. The children were also on the run or looking for something. Scipio would always make up fake places for the children to stake out. I think part of this was to keep them entertained and also to help with his cover ups. Despite the fact that he lied to everyone I think that they really did love him even after they found out the truth. He had been there for them and had helped them make a stable life for what they were working with.
This was a book that I would definitely want my 5th grade class to read, if I should have a 5th grade class.