Inkheart by Cornelia Funke

When I was halfway through this book, I had to put it down to do something grown-up and houseworky, and I found myself thinking that I'd like to read this book my someday kidlets. (Which is a little bit ironic, given the story.)

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from Inkheart when I bought it through Scholastic for my classroom (not that it actually made it to my classroom). I got a Neverending Story/Pagemaster/Here, There Be Dragons kind of vibe from it, but not quite. I'd also read Funke's The Thief Lord, and even though I enjoyed that book, I didn't have huge expectations for Inkheart. (I could have, though, and Inkheart would have exceeded them all brilliantly.)

So here's the scoop: Our main character is Meggie, whose father is a bookbinder, and they are both bookworms. Instead of becoming part of a book's story, though, Meggie's father has the ability to read things (including characters) out of a story. How cool is that?

But it does cause more than a few problems (as evidenced by this book's hefty 534 pages). Some of those characters who came out of the books were quite happy in their previous worlds and are none too happy with being stuck in this one. But worse are the ones who find this one quite to their liking . . .

Inkheart is fantastic fun. You should consider it--if not for yourself, then for the kids in your life.*

*Keep Inkheart in mind with the holidays coming up. Plus, the other two in this trilogy (Inkspell, Inkdeath) have been released, so you can get all three--no waiting! Also, if you're not familiar with the Buy Books for the Holidays movement, several book bloggers have begun a movement to try to boost the publishing business this year, and have committed to buying books as gifts when possible.