#126 in Children’s books
The Thief Lord
- 376
- Pages
- about 7 h
- Reading time
- Film 2006
- On screen
Affiliate link: buying through it supports BookRank at no extra cost to you.
Our view
“The Thief Lord” is a children’s adventure carried by its Venice and by a gang of runaways whose loyalty to one another rings true. Readers consistently praise the setting and the vivid, well-drawn cast, and some note how believably its young heroes behave. Some find their interest dips in the second half, just as the main action begins. There are twists and a touch of magic along the way.
Worth knowing Cornelia Funke set it in Venice, among runaway children hiding in an abandoned cinema. Published in German in 2000, it became her international breakthrough: the 2002 English translation by her cousin Oliver Latsch reached The New York Times bestseller list and won the Batchelder Award for translated children’s books. A film followed in 2006.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
The Thief Lord is a children's novel written by Cornelia Funke. It was published in Germany in 2000 and translated into English by Oliver Latsch in 2002 for The Chicken House, a division of Scholastic publishing company. It was Funke's first novel published in the United States and was adapted into a film in 2006.
On screen
This book has been adapted for the screen once.
- FilmThe Thief LordIMDb
Adaptation data: Wikidata · On screen →
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.8 across 232 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 61% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Children’s books average of 7.9. That is how 7.8 comes out.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 6.8 | 17 | 7% |
| Hardcover | 7.9 | 215 | 93% |
Frequently asked
What age is The Thief Lord for?
The Thief Lord sits on the Children shelf in the sources we use, which by convention means roughly ages 5–10. This is a guide from the book’s category, not a publisher’s age rating. It has 376 pages — longer than 92% of the ranked books in Children’s books.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Children’s books — with scores between 7.8 and 7.9, closest to this book.
