One night, Meggie's father reads aloud from Inkheart, and an evil ruler named Capricorn escapes from the pages of the book and lands in their living room. Suddenly, Meggie is living in the kind of adventure she has only read about in books. And she must somehow learn to harness the magic that... read more
The book is about a man named Mo, and his daughter Meggie. While reading aloud to Meggie’s mom, Mo read three characters out of the book. These characters were: Capricorn, an evil villain; Basta, one of Capricorn’s most loyal men and Dustfinger, a fire eater who just wants to get back to his... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)
“I'm sure it must be very comfortable sleeping with a hard, rectangular thing like that under your head.”Mortimer Folchart
“Everyone has a few secrets, Meggie, Now, come along, do get in. We have to leave.”Mortimer Folchart
“Pack up the food and take plenty to read!”Mortimer Folchart
“It's a good idea to have your own books with you in a strange place.”Mortimer Folchart
“How many? Do you think I count them like buttons or peas? A very, very great many.”Elinor
“She can see it, but you hide it away from me.”Meggie
“Ask him why he doesn't read aloud to you, And don't let him put you off with excuses.”Dustfinger
“Tragic story. Forbidden love, pursuit, death, grief, pain.”Elinor Loredan
“The written word is a powerful thing. You have to be careful with it.”Fenoglio
“I prefer stories that have the good sense to stay on the page where they belong.”Elinor Loredan
“Welcome to the devil's house!”Cockerell
“My dear Elinor, you were obviously born into the wrong story.”Dustfinger
“Hey, don't take this the wrong way, but don't come back, ok?”
“I don't want to go back into my stinking book.”Farid
“Don't worry Toto; you're just not in Kansas anymore.”Meggie Folchart
“Oh you are going to love him, and by love I mean cower in terror from.”Capricorn
“Do you know how your story ends...?”Dustfinger
“There is no need for me to explain to most of you why the three prisoners you see there are to be punished. For the rest, it is enough for me to say it is for treachery, loose talk, and stupidity. One may argue, of course, over whether or not stupidity isa crime deserving of death. I think it is, for it can have exacty the same consequences as treachery.”Capricorn
“If you take a book with you on a journey,” Mo had said when he put the first one in her box, “an odd thing happens: The book beings collecting your memories. And forever after that you have only to open that book to be back where you first read it. It will all come into your mind with the very first words: the sights you saw in that place, what it smelled like, the ice cream you ate while you were reading it … yes, books are like flypaper - memories cling to the printed page better than anything else.”
“Some books should be tasted, some devoured, but only a few should be chewed and digested thoroughly.”
Ch. 1 A Stranger in the Night
Ch. 2 Secrets
Ch. 3 Going South
Ch. 4 A House Full of Books
Ch. 5 Only A Picture
Ch. 6 Fire and Stars
Ch. 7 What the Night Hides
Ch. 8 Alone
Ch. 9 A Poor Exchange
Ch. 10 The Lion"s Den
Ch. 11 A Coward
Ch. 12 Going Farther South
Ch. 13 Capricorn's Village
Ch. 14 A Mission Accomplished
Ch. 15 Good Luck and Bad Luck
Ch. 16 Once Upon A Time
Ch. 17 The Betrayer Betrayed
Ch. 18 Treasure Island
Ch. 19 Gloomy Prospects
Ch. 20 Snakes and Thorns
Ch. 21 Basta
Ch. 22 In Safety
Ch. 23 A Night Full of Words
Ch. 24 Fenoglio
Ch. 25 The Wrong Ending
Ch. 26 Shivers Down The Spine And A Foreboding
Ch. 27 A Good Place To Stay
Ch. 28 Going Home
Ch. 29 Only An Idea
Ch. 30 Talkative Pippo
Ch. 31 In The Hills
Ch. 32 Back Again
Ch. 33 Capricorn's Maid
Ch. 34 Capricorn's Secrets
Ch. 35 Different Aims
Ch. 36 In Capricorn's House
Ch. 37 Carelessness
Ch. 38 A Quiet Voice
Ch. 39 The Punishment For Traitors
Ch. 40 The Black Horse Of The Night
Ch. 41 Farid
Ch. 42 A Furry Face On The Windowsill
Ch. 43 A Dark Place
Ch. 44 Farid's Report
Ch. 45 Telling Lies To Basta
Ch. 46 Woken In The Dead Of Night
Ch. 47 Alone
Ch. 48 The Magpie
Ch. 49 Basta's Pride And Dustfinger's Cunning
Ch. 50 No Luck For Elinor
Ch. 51 A Narrow Escape
Ch. 52 A Fragile Little Thing
Ch. 53 The Right Words
Ch. 54 Fire
Ch. 55 Treachery, Loose Talk, And Stupidity
Ch. 56 The Shadow
Ch. 57 A Deserted Village
Ch. 58 Homesickness
Ch. 59 Going Home
Followed by Inkspell.
Parents need to know that the villains are really quite wicked, and Meggie is often in mortal danger. There's an edge to the villainy here that some children find enthralling, others disturbing. Book-loving children and their parents will enjoy the literary references and celebration of books in the lives of the heroes. This is also an excellent book to be read-aloud to children as the system of magic in the book depends upon the spoken word out of a book.
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