“There was another reason [she] took her books whenever they went away. They were her home when she was somewhere strange. They were familiar voices, friends that never quarreled with her, clever, powerful friends -- daring and knowledgeable, tried and tested adventurers who had traveled far and wide. Her books cheered her up when she was sad and kept her from being bored.”

German author of children's fiction

Cornelia Funke is a German author of children’s fiction, known for fantasy novels for young readers. Born in 1958 in Dorsten, North Rhine-Westphalia, she first worked as a social worker and later as a book illustrator. She began writing novels in the late 1980s and built her career around stories in which children face hardship and danger. Her books have been translated into several languages, and by 2012 she had sold more than 20 million copies worldwide.