Cornelia Funke created the fantasy world of “Dragon Rider” for Seven Arrows students last Friday, bringing with her a menagerie of characters as she read from her book at the morning assembly. Perched on a stool in the courtyard, she morphed into the wise female rat, affecting a high-pitched raspy voice to warn the brave young dragon Firedrake that his home is soon to be destroyed by humans. The silver dragon responded with curiosity and innocence, and the grumpy brownie shot back with a sarcastic tone. Like the author, Funke’s characters are animated and perceptive. They know that “humans never have everything they want” and that big animals don’t always listen to smaller animals, which can cause problems. These messages reach audiences young and old. A German native who has been compared to J.K. Rowling, Funke breathed fire into her adventurous narrative, which follows Firedrake as he embarks on a journey to the Rim of Heaven. Among the characters who accompany the young dragon is an orphaned boy called Ben, named for Funke’s son, who is a fifth grader at Seven Arrows. Funke chose to read from “Dragon Rider,” published in 2004, because she and Ben agreed that it did not require any prior explanation. Full of delicious details, the novel invites readers to explore a magical world where curious and witty characters fiddle with their whiskers, wrinkle their sharp noses and pick pieces of moss out from between their teeth, all while discussing the power of human nature. “It was my dog that inspired me first,” Funke said in response to a student’s question about the origin of the book. “He looked like a dragon.” Another student wanted to know if writing is hard for her. “Writing books for me is the easiest thing on earth,” she said, adding that if she’s not writing, she gets “grumpy.” Funke started her craft when she was 28, and said that as a young child, she was not necessarily encouraged to be a writer. “In Germany, teachers are not very good at that,” she said. “When I was in fifth grade, [a teacher] said that I wrote rather unusual things and not what I was asked to write. I always wrote too long.” She became a social worker and worked with underprivileged children, which she calls “one of the most important experiences.” However, she realized that the gift she had for writing and painting “just wanted to get through,” so she began working as an illustrator for children’s books. Funke was disappointed with the way some children’s stories were told, and admits, “I was often really bored. Authors often underestimate children; they’re frightened to tell the truth about anything serious.” She also thought some authors used language that was too simple, when “children are [actually] very open to sound and language.” As a child, Funke had read and been inspired by “The Neverending Story” and “The Chronicles of Narnia.” One of her favorite books is T.H. White’s “The Once and Future King.” She’s read the “Harry Potter” books to her own children, and believes that reading to kids in general is important for their growth. Now, Funke creates most of the illustrations that accompany her own novels, but tries to focus more on the scenery and setting of the world she describes, as opposed to the actual characters, which she prefers to leave to children’s imaginations. One student wanted to know if she has a plan before sitting down to write a novel, and she admitted, “I didn’t when I started, and then you end up in the jungle in the middle [of the book].” Now, she plans for half a year, organizing her chapters, before she writes the first sentence. “Sometimes my characters decide to go somewhere different and then I have to change it [the plan],” she said. “Sometimes I get stuck. It’s like you’re in a labyrinth and you have to find your way out. I believe the story has one way out.” A helpful technique she uses is reading the story out loud. She also completes about four or five rewrites before the novel is finished. “Do you like your book?” asked one student after Funke finished reading from “Dragon Rider.” “If I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t give it to my publisher,” said Funke, who has written more than 40 books and is published in 28 different languages. She writes in German, and corrects the English translation to make sure it’s as close to the original as it can be. Having her work translated into a foreign language’especially one like Chinese, which she doesn’t understand’makes her a little nervous. “Sometimes the book arrives and it’s slightly thicker or thinner.” Funke surprised the Seven Arrows audience when she said it usually takes her six to eight weeks to write a book, but she clarified that a major novel like “Dragon Rider,” requires a year or two. Her personal favorites are the two completed books in her trilogy, “Inkheart” and “Inkspell,” in which she has created a land of a book within a book and certain readers have the power to bring characters out of books and send them back. “I think my writing is best in those,” said Funke, who is currently working on the third book. Two of her novels have been made into movies in Europe, and a third, “Inkheart,” was recently adapted into a screenplay by New York playwright David Lindsay-Abaire (“Kimberly Akimbo”), and begins filming this summer. The film is being produced by Mark Ordesky, who did “Lord of the Rings.” “I’ll be on the set with my kids,” said Funke, who also has a daughter, Anna, who attends The Archer School for Girls. Her reading and talk at Seven Arrows concluded a week-long Literary Festival at the school. Funke spoke during the weekly Kuyam ceremony (Kuyam is a Native American word for meeting), which brings together students, administrators, teachers, parents and other family members. Last week’s ritual included a special musical presentation on Sweden’s St. Lucia (“festival of lights”) celebration and music from the school’s parent band, which includes music teacher Todd Washington. The students sang along to the Seven Arrows anthem as well as “Lean on Me” and U2’s “Pride.”
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