Thalia Kids' Book Club

About This Audiobook

This isn’t just another author Q&A—it’s a lively, unfiltered conversation where *Inkheart* creator Cornelia Funke pulls back the curtain on her world-building process, revealing the hidden gears of her trilogy’s climax. Recorded live at a Thalia Kids’ Book Club event, the audio crackles with the energy of young fans asking sharp, unexpected questions, while Funke’s warm, slightly gravelly voice (think a storyteller who’s smoked one too many late-night writing candles) makes even her technical answers feel like secrets shared over hot cocoa.

What sets this apart from typical author interviews is the *dual narration*: Funke’s German-accented cadence plays off moderator Madeline Cohen’s crisp, enthusiastic delivery, creating a dynamic that’s part masterclass, part campfire chat. The hour-long runtime flies by, packed with Funke’s sketches of deleted scenes, her frustrations with ‘perfect’ villains, and a surprisingly vulnerable moment about killing off beloved characters. It’s less a promotional tool and more a love letter to the messy, thrilling work of storytelling—ideal for kids who’ve ever scribbled their own stories in the margins of a notebook."

"review": "I’ll admit: I approached this skeptical. Author interviews can often feel like polished PR, all safe answers and rehearsed anecdotes. But *Thalia Kids’ Book Club* disarms you immediately. Funke’s narration is the star—her voice has this wonderful, weary charm, like a librarian who’s seen too many kids sneaking books under their beds but adores them for it. When she describes the ‘physical pain’ of writing the trilogy’s ending, you believe her. The live format helps: you hear pages rustling, kids gasping, even a mic bump at one point, which somehow makes the whole thing feel more *real* than a studio recording.

That said, the pacing stumbles in the middle. Cohen, the moderator, occasionally steers into overly broad questions (‘What’s your *favorite* character?’) that Funke batts away with polite but generic answers. And while the Q&A with young fans is adorable, some questions are inaudible or repetitive—editors could’ve tightened this. Still, the gold outweighs the dross: Funke’s riff on why ‘happy endings are overrated’ is worth the price alone, and her impromptu reading of a deleted *Inkheart* scene (complete with dramatic pauses) gives me chills. For aspiring writers or *Inkheart* die-hards, this is catnip. Casual listeners might find it niche, but for the right kid, it’s the equivalent of finding a map to Narnia in the back of a wardrobe."

"tags": [
"middle-grade writing craft