Details
Synopsis
Escaping the aunt who wants to adopt only one of them, two orphaned brothers run away from Hamburg to Venice, finding shelter with a gang of street children and their leader, the thirteen-year-old "Thief Lord," while also eluding the detective hired to return them to Germany., Two brothers, having run away from the aunt who plans to adopt the younger one, are sought by a detective hired by their aunt, but they have found shelter with--and protection from--Venice's "Thief Lord.", When they learn that their aunt and uncle plan to adopt only one of them, two orphaned brothers (Prosper, age 12 and Bo, age 5) run away from their home in Germany and forge a life for themselves in Venice, Italy. Prosper and Bo, pursued by a detective hired by their aunt, are soon taken in by the Thief Lord, a charismatic youngster who oversees a group of street urchins and proudly claims to earn a living from robbing the most elegant houses in the city. When a mysterious man approaches the Thief Lord to steal an unusual object, the brothers and their new friends find themselves caught up in an amazing and magical adventure. A New York Times Notable Book for 2002.
| Details | | Series: | BOOK SENSE BOOK OF THE YEAR CHILDREN'S LITERATURE (AWARDS) | | Illustrator: | Christian Burmingham |
| Size | | Length: | 349 pages | | Height: | 8.8 in | | Width: | 6.0 in | | Thickness: | 1.2 in | | Weight: | 18.4 oz |
Publisher's Notes
First Line: "It was autumn in Venice when Victor first heard of Prosper and Bo. The canals, gleaming in the sun, dappled the ancient brickwork with gold. But the wind was blowing ice-cold air from the sea, reminding Venetians that winter was approaching."
Industry Reviews
"With gun-waving, counterfeit money, missing children and identifiable villains, it's as if we had E. Nesbit and Paul Berna (now there's an underrated children's author) rolled into one. Simply terrific."
Literary Review - Michael Thorn (10/01/2002)
"Adults who have left their own childhoods too far behind may worry that a book aggrandizing thievery and condoning lying is inappropriate for unformed minds. They should relax. The lies are mostly white and receive their just deserts in the end. And, without piety, the children themselves work thorough the ethics of money and power, of stealing for survival versus stealing out of greed....[a] splendid novel."
New York Times Book Review - Rebecca Pepper Sinkler (11/17/2002)
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