Cornelia Funke

Cornelia Funke was born in 1958 in Dorsten, a little town in Germany. She was good in school and loved to write essays, though they were always too long. She wanted to be an astronaut, a pilot, or live with the Red Indians.

After she left school she studied education because she wanted to be a social worker. She had learned a lot about children, but she realized that she couldn't live without using her gifts of writing and drawing.

So she decided to write. She wrote The Thief Lord in which she tried to describe how much children care for each other even when left alone. She has also written Inkheart and Dragon Rider. She illustrates her work but her passion for writing is much greater than illustrating.

She enjoys writing in a small room in Malibu, California where she can hear the ocean. However, she thinks her writing room in Hamburg is nice too. Her favorite movie is Gods and Monsters by Bill Condon, her favorite music is by Henry Purcell, Neil Young, and Annie Lennox.

She now lives near Hamburg, Germany with her husband, Rolf and her children Anna and Ben.

By Nicola, fourth grade, 2005