International Basic Sciences Knowledge Contest

Cornelia Funke

German

Cornelia Funke is a German writer, author of books for children, for which she gained a lot of award. Chiefly, she writes fantasy. Her books are very popular in Germany as well as translated into some languages, including Russian.

She was born on 10 of December 1958 in Dorsten.She spent her childhood in a small hick town with few interesting things for a little girl. It was a cause why young Cornelia spent a plenty of time reading books which she in quantities took in a local public library, together with her father. According to Funke, from these volumes she sipped different world knowledge: due to favorite works, she visited, in her imagination, each corner of the Earth and experienced extraordinary adventures. But despite all her love to books, Cornelia could not even suppose that once, she herself begins creating books.

After getting education, the girl became a social worker. She helped to adjust to life to disabled children. They were first to hear Funke’s magic stories and it was then that she firstly saw how kindly tales can influence children: little disabled forgot for a while about their pain and take active part in narrations, completely submerging in Cornelia’s fantasy world. The next stage of her career was studying of book illustration subtleties in Hamburg designer college and work for a publishing house as an author of drawings for children’s books; a bit later, Funke was struck with an idea to start her own literary activities and nowadays, she is an author of more than forty children’s books.

Especially popular with little readers and their parents is Funke’s Inkheart trilogy, describing adventures of a tween girl Maggie and her father, who can magically enliven book events. The fantasy world of Inkheart, Inkspell and Inkdeath is full of amazing fictive beings, and the writer, with their help, comprehends in her books eternal questions of good and evil, love and friendship, justice and duty, and helps to reach previously unknown sides of character to her heroes. Nowadays, the writer still reads a lot and creates her magic stories, residing in Los Angeles with her family.

As of the moment, five her novels have been filmed: The Thief Lord, The Wild Hens, The Wild Hens And The Love, Inkheart and The Wild Hens And The Life.

In 2005, Times Magazine has called Cornelia Funke “the most influential German woman in the world”. The Thief Lord gained two prestige American awards for children’s fiction, in the Best Children’s Book of a Year Category, and The Guardian Magazine positioned this novel at the first line of its children’s fiction rating.

Works (major)

Beyond series

The Thief Lord (2000)

Dragon Rider (2004)

When Santa Fell to Earth (2006)

Igraine the Brave (2007)

Saving Mississippi (2010)

Ghost Knight (2012)

MirrorWorld series

 Reckless (2003)

Fearless (2014)

Heartless (2015)

Inkheart trilogy

Inkheart (2003)

Inkspell (2006)

Inkdeath (2008)

Ghosthunters

Ghosthunters and the Incredibly Revolting Ghost (2006)

Ghosthunters and the Gruesome Invincible Lightning Ghost (2006)

Ghosthunters and the Totally Moldy Baroness! (2007)

Ghosthunters and the Muddy Monster of Doom! (2007)

The Wild Hens

Die Wilden Hühner (1993)

Die Wilden Hühner auf Klassenfahrt (1995)

Die Wilden Hühner — Fuchsalarm (1998)

Die Wilden Hühner und das Glück der Erde (2000)

Die Wilden Hühner und die Liebe (2003)

Other scientists