Cornella funke dragon rider biography

German author of children's fiction (born )

Cornelia Maria Funke (German:[kɔʁˈneːli̯aˈfʊŋkə]; born 10 December ) is a German author of children's fiction. Born in Dorsten, North Rhine-Westphalia, she began her career as a social worker before becoming a book illustrator. She began writing novels in the late s and focused primarily on fantasy-oriented stories that depict the lives of children faced with adversity. Funke has since become Germany's "bestselling author for children". Her work has been translated into several languages and, as of , Funke has sold over 20 million copies of her books worldwide.

Funke achieved acclaim as the author of the children's novels The Thief Lord () and Dragon Rider (), which were translated and released in English after originally being published in Germany. She subsequently achieved wider recognition with the Inkheart series of novels, which include Inkheart (), Inkspell (), and Inkdeath (). The Thief Lord, Dragon Rider, and Inkheart have all been adapted into feature films and spent numerous weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list.

Often referred to as the "German J. K. Rowling", Funke was chosen by Time as one of the most influential people in the world in their list.

Early life

Cornelia Funke was born in in the town of Dorsten in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, to Karl-Heinz and Helmi Funke. As a child, she wanted to become an astronaut or a pilot, but ultimately decided to study pedagogy at the University of Hamburg. After finishing her studies, Funke worked for three years as a social worker. During her social work she focused on working with children who came from deprived backgrounds. She had a stint illustrating books, but soon began writing her own stories, inspired by the sorts of stories that had appealed to the deprived children she had worked with.

I&#;m crossing another classic middle grade book off of my long reading list. Cornelia Funke published Dragon Rider in The story follows Firedrake, one of the last silver dragons as he searches for the fabled dragon homeland, the Rim of Heaven. A place where he and his brethren will forever be safe from humans.

Firedrake is accompanied by his friend Sorrel, who is a brownie. I was expecting a little elf-like creature, but Funke&#;s version of a brownie is much more cat-like.

I looked up brownie on Wikipedia, just to see if I was entirely wrong, but this is what I found:

But that&#;s one of the great things about beings from folklore, they grow and change with each retelling and each new story imagined.

The pair is joined early in the story by Ben, a homeless human boy who is more than willing to help them.

The oldest of the dragons was able to describe his memories of the homeland. It lies in the midst of the tallest mountains in the world, and is carpeted in blue flowers. His memory is diminished and the only other clues he has to offer are &#;the eye of the moon&#; and &#;beware of the golden one&#;.

Sorrel is slower to trust than Firedrake, but Ben becomes a natural third companion. The three learn that the golden one is a gigantic golden armored dragon that hunts other dragons. His name is Nettlebrand and he has spies everywhere. It doesn&#;t take long for the secret mission to be discovered.

Firedrake, Ben and Sorrel meet many fabulous creatures and wonderful humans on their adventure, and more than a few evil minions of Nettlebrand. Their peaceful disposition and accepting nature prove that fighting isn&#;t always necessary, at least until the final showdown with Nettlebrand.

The reason I listened to this book -while crocheting- was that Funke has a new book coming out about Firedrake, Sorrel and Ben.

I&#;m sure more of their friends will come back for the sequel, but until I get my hands on it, I can&#;t tell you much more.

I did want

German children's novel by Cornelia Funke

Dragon Rider (original title: Drachenreiter) is a Germanchildren's novel by Cornelia Funke. Originally translated by Oliver Latsch, Dragon Rider was published in English in by The Chicken House in the United Kingdom and Scholastic Inc. in the US, using a translation by Anthea Bell.Dragon Rider follows the exploits of a silver dragon named Firedrake, a cat-like brownie named Sorrel, and Ben, an orphaned human boy, in their search for the mythical part of the Himalayas mountain range called the Rim of Heaven to find a safe place for Firedrake's kin to live when the dragon finds out that humans intend to flood the valley where he and his fellow dragons live.

The novel became a massive success following its English-language release, and remained on The New York Times Best Seller list for 78 weeks, reaching number one on the Children's Best-Seller list.

A sequel, Dragon Rider: The Griffin's Feather, was published over a decade later, in , and a feature film adaptation of the same name was released in

Plot

Firedrake is a young dragon who lives in a hidden valley in Scotland with other dragons. After realizing that humans intend to flood the valley and the dragons living there are no longer safe, Firedrake sets off with guidance from the eldest member of his clan (Slatebeard) to avoid the "Golden One" and to find the Rim of Heaven, a legendary location that is a haven for all dragons.

Firedrake travels to the city with his friend Sorrel, a forest brownie with cat features, to find Gilbert Graytail, a rat who specializes in making maps. The duo meets Ben who provides Sorrel with human clothes so she may go in disguise to find Gilbert while Firedrake stays hidden. After finding Gilbert and providing payment, Gilbert hands over a map leading to the Himalayas, marking dangerous areas along the way. Only a