KOTTEN KANDY'S BOOK ACTIVITY - INKHEART BY FUNKE

Kotten Kandy has really enjoyed the Inkheart trilogy by Cornelia Funke. She has bought all the books with her own money and devoured them in an instant. She loved them so much, that now I am reading them so she can talk about them with me!

When the girls' finish a book, I require them to do an activity with the book. Kotten Kandy choose to write an interview with one of the book characters. I thought her book "report" was really well written. She really has a great "voice" when it comes to writing. So I thought I'd share her work here (with her permission). But be warned, the following narrative does contain a lot of SPOILERS!

When the news showed up, Mo was upset. He accused Elinor of calling them. Elinor repeatedly promised she didn't. When they said they wanted to interview a few people, Mo was even more upset. When they asked to interview Meggie, he was red in the face.
No!" he said. "Now please leave and stay left!"
Meggie pleaded with Mo, "It's all right if they interview me, they won't go away until they get to interview someone."
"Fine" Mo replied. Mo went over to the news reporter and said, "only a few questions and then we'll have to leave. Do not follow us." The news-caster looked cheerful and agreed. They set up and began.
"Hi, my name is Inksinker, and I am your news-caster for today. I am talking to you live from Capricorn's Village! We are here with Mortimer, Meggies father, Elinor, Meggie's Mom's Aunt, and Resa, Meggie's mother. And of course we also have Meggie, or Miss Silvertongue! Dustfinger and Farid won't be joining us today."
"Aawwwwww!" groaned the crowd.
Inksinker continued, "Unlucky for us we will only interview Meggie."
The crowd groaned again.
"So sit tight and in just a moment we will be interviewing Meggie." Meggie came forward and waved awkwardly. "So, Meggie how are you doing this fine morning?"
"Good, how about you?"
"Good. Our first question today is, how did you feel when you first saw the mysterious visitor, Dustfinger?"
"Well, I felt kind of like I was imagining Dustfinger. I wasn't scared until I saw Mo's face when I told him about Dustfinger."
"All these years you thought your dad always told you everything. How did you feel when you found out he had secrets?"
"Well, I thought it was kind of strange that he was lying - I could see the lie in his face. It was when he hid the book from me and yelled that I was frightened and confused!"
"How did you feel when you first held the book in your hands?"
"I felt kind of curious." Meggie remembered. "When I saw Dustfinger's marten, Gwin, in the book - I was really bewildered!"
"What did you first think about your mother's aunt, Elinor?"
"When I first met her I thought she was crazy, but then I got to know her better."
"So do you like her better now?" Inksinker probed.
"Of course she thinks I am wonderful" thundered Elinor. "Besides, I didn't allow her to leave unsupervised. I kept her safe."
"Uh, thank you, Elinor, but we are interviewing Meggie right now."
Elinor was about to explode in righteous indignation, when Mo shot her a warning glance.
Inksinker continued, "Meggie, when Dustfinger showed you what he could do with fire, how did you feel, what were your emotions?"
"It was amazing! But when we heard the voices inside and Mo was being kidnapped, I suddenly wasn't too interested anymore."
"When Dustfinger came back and told you he knew where your dad was, did you suspect him of being a double agent, or were you just desperate?"
"I was mostly worried about Mo. I trusted Dustfinger. I should have listened to Elinor."
"When you first saw Basta and Capricorn, did they terrify you?"
"Both of them unnerved me. Capricorn's expressionless face was enough to horrify shadows, and Basta liked to torture and torment everyone. He was pure evil."
"I can only imagine how scared you were. So, when you found out that your dad had read your mother INTO the book and that he had read Dustfinger, Basta and Capricorn OUT of the book, how did you feel?"
"I thought Mo was just joking, like he usually does, but his face remained grave." Meggie then got a far away look in her eyes as she continued, "Then I heard Mo read out loud. I lost all my senses and only had ears for his voice. I could smell the story. I could feel the story. I had a desire to read like that. I wondered why he didn't ever read out loud for me before, but I quickly remembered what he had told me had happened to my mother, Resa."
"What happened when Dustfinger came and rescued you?"
"I first thought Dustfinger was Basta. When I saw it was Dustfinger trying to rescue us, I was relieved. During the rescue, Mo said we had to rescue the boy, Farid, too. So we did."
"When you first found out you were going to see the creator of the story Inkheart, what did you think?"
"All I wanted to do was go back to Elinor's house and have everything be all right like it was. But, at the same time, I wanted to meet the man who could think us such frightening characters like Capricorn and Basta."
"Speaking of Basta, when he showed up on your door step, were you scared again?"
"Well, I was more scared for Mo. I wondered if they had kidnapped him again. I was relieved when he said he was looking for Mo."
"Let's skip ahead in your story. When you found out you read things out of books like your father, were you excited? Or were you worried about the penalties that came with the gift of reading?"
"At first I was really excited and I couldn't believe it. But then I remembered the penalty. I was worried. When we heard Basta coming, I was even more panicked."
"When you first saw your mother, Resa, was she how you imagined her?"
"I wanted to hug her and never let go. But I knew they wouldn't let me." Meggie smiled at her mother. Resa smiled back.
"When the shadow first made an appearance, how did you feel?"
"It was nothing you could ever imagine. It was horrible. I could feel the terror."
"Don't ask her such question. We all want to forget what the Shadow looks and feels like!" Elinor interrupted.
"It's all right, Elinor." Meggie replied. "Elinor sat back and stuck out her chin rebelliously.
Before the news reporter continued, she shot a look at Elinor that seemed to say, "are you finished?" Then she pursued, "Meggie, are you glad all the exciting and scary stuff is over?"
"Very!" Meggie emphatically proclaimed. "I am glad Capricorn is dead, but I am worried about Basta and the Magpie. They escaped, you now."
"Yes, I heard." Inksinker lamented. "Well, thank you for letting me interview you, Meggie. I know you are very busy, so that will be all for today. Thank you all. And I hope everyone has a nice day."
"Mine's already ruined," muttered Elinor.
By Kotten Kandy