InkheartCornelia Funke

Inkheart

Name: Inkheart
Author: Cornelia Funke

by Cornelia Funke

Ages 11–13 Reading age 12 Novel Set in somewhere magical adventurousspooky

Meggie's father can read characters out of books and into the world. One of the men he read out years ago has come looking for the book.

A story about children and a grown-up villain, adventurous and spooky in tone. We would put it with children of 11–13, and at a reading age of about 12 for reading alone.

Worth knowing before you buy

Frightening scenes
A character dies

None of this makes it a bad book — often the opposite. It is here so you can decide whether it is right for your child now or in a year or two.

Our take on this book

Meggie's father Mo has a rare and dangerous gift: when he reads aloud, characters come out of the book into the real world — and years ago he accidentally loosed a villain named Capricorn from the pages of a book called Inkheart, losing Meggie's mother into the story in exchange. Now Capricorn wants Mo to read more terrors into being. Cornelia Funke's novel is a booklover's fantasy, thick with the romance of stories and reading, and it builds a rich, layered adventure around its irresistible central idea. It is long and immersive, with real menace in Capricorn and his men, so it suits a confident reader ready for a substantial fantasy with genuine stakes. For a nine- to twelve-year-old who loves books about books, it is a spellbinding read — atmospheric, clever and full of the danger and magic of storytelling itself — and the first of a trilogy that rewards a reader willing to sink right in.