Prosper and Bo are orphans; their aunt wants to adopt Bo and put Prosper in a boarding school where the brothers will only be able to see each other a few times a year – if that. The kids decide that this idea really sucks, and run away to Venice where they meet up with a group of kids, headed by The Thief Lord. These kids live in an abandoned movie theatre, and live off the money they get from selling stuff that the Thief Lord steals.

Of course, Prosper and Bo’s aunt and uncle don’t just let the kids run away and not look for them. They find themselves in Venice as well, hiring a detective to hunt down the kids for them. During the time when the kids are avoiding their aunt and uncle, the Thief Lord is hired to steal something – a great big wooden wing that is the last piece missing from a magical merry-go-round.

I’ve been meaning to read something by Funke for years. I’ve picked up her books I don’t know how many times, but there have just been so many other books that I’ve wanted to read as well. It took me realizing that this book had been made into an adorable movie before I actually got it from the library, though.

I have to admit that at first I was a little worried that this story was going to be so anti-grown ups that I would get annoyed, but thankfully it wasn’t like that at all, and some of the adults actually turned out to be pretty cool.