Introduction
The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke focuses in on two brothers, Prosper and Bo, who are on the run from their aunt and uncle and find themselves traveling from England to Venice. While there, they befriend a group of young thieves who are bonded through their runaway status. Leading the pack is a boy named Scipio, also called the Thief Lord. Throught all of this, Prosper and Bo are chased around the city by a private detective named Victor. Funke's use of their adventures and friendships accentuates the pros and cons of growing up and shows the reader that a child can grow up too quickly; or too slowly.
Process
The New York Times-
The Times gives a brief summary about The Thief Lord and then goes into more details about the pros and cons of the book. The pros seem to be that it encourages the mind to believe in the fantastical and nurtures the imagination. However, it also has many lovable characters stealing and extracting violence on others. However, the review also comes back to say that the wrong actions do eventually get punished fairly.
Scholastic-
This review is focused on teachers and informing them on whether or not they should encourage their young students to read The Thief Lord. Not only does Scholastic speak highly of the author, talking about her many accomplishments as a writer, but also speaks of how magical The Thief Lord is and how well illustrated. In this review, I didn't witness any negative comments relating to the writing. However, it does not go into too much detail on why the book is recommended.
Metapsychology-
This source seemed to dive much deeper into the behind the scenes of The Thief Lord than the others did. Although the book is given quite a bit of praise, it is said to also be related to Olive Twist by Charles Dickens... Perhaps too related. Metapsychology's review seemed to think that The Thief Lord is a copy of Oliver Twist with an added character or two. On the other hand, it does seem to find the story and the characters to be magically and exciting for kids to read.
Goodreads-
Goodreads has only an educated summary and uneducated opinions on the book, but there are still lots of responses that we are able to learn from. For instance, when looking at the first few replies it is clear that there are many differences of opinions. Some found The Thief Lord to be inspirational and exciting for kids to read while others found it to be unromantic and surface level. These differences of opinion can be used to help other readers to look more closely at their own ideas on the book and the depth of its story development.
Break Point-
From a Christian perspective, The Thief Lord is seen as tame. There is violence and theft but those who act this way suffer the consequences in a fair yet easy for kids way. Kids are able to understand why there are consequences without scaring them. One of the most intersting and unique points that Break Point made in light of the book was the fact that the author used quite a few different view points and ideas in order to write it, creating attachment to the majority of the characters.
Conclusion
Some Last Minute Questions and Thoughts:
1) What level of the thievery and violence is okay? How do we KNOW what is right and wrong?
2) Do the same laws apply if the kids don't "know any better"?
3) Which characters seem the most selfish...?
4) Reflect on the depth of growing up. Think a bit about growing up quickly and acting entitled and then think about being a full grown baby.
Credits
Works CitedLatsch, Olivia. "The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke | Scholastic.com." Scholastic Teachers. Scholastic Inc., n.d. Web. 02 May 2016.Roper, John E. "The Thief Lord." The Thief Lord. Break Point, 26 June 2012. Web. 02 May 2016.Sinkler, Rebecca Pepper. "Theft in Venice." The New York Times. The New York Times, 16 Nov. 2002. Web. 02 May 2016.Terry, Su. "Review - The Thief Lord - Children and Teens." Review - The Thief Lord - Children and Teens. Metapsychology, 29 Apr. 2003. Web. 02 May 2016."The Thief Lord." Goodreads. Goodreads Inc., n.d. Web. 02 May 2016.