The Thief Lord is a children's novel written by Cornelia Funke. It was published in Germany in 2000 and translated into English by Oliver Latsch in 2002 for The Chicken House, a division of Scholastic publishing company. It was Funke's first novel published in the United States and was adapted into a film in 2006. Plot summary Two brothers, Prosper and Boniface Hartleib, run away to Venice and are taken in by a group of street children who are led by a proud orphan named Scipio, AKA "The Thief Lord." The runaway boys' aunt and uncle figure out where they are and hire a detective, Victor Getz, to find them. While investigating the thief gang, Getz discovers that Scipio is actually the son of a successful doctor, Dr. Massimo, but the doctor is abusive and Scipio has run away from home. A man calling himself the Conte asks the "Thief Lord" to steal a wooden lion's wing for him. The wing belongs to a woman named Ida Spavento. At her house, Ida tells them the wing is from a magical merry-go-round, which has the ability to change a person's age. She agrees to let them have the wing if they let her accompany them to the exchange. The gang, along with Ida, goes to make the exchange the next night, leaving Boniface and Caterina "Hornet" Grimani, the gang's only girl, to guard the hideout. When they return, they find Boniface and Hornet gone and discover the money they received for the wing is counterfeit. With Getz's help, they find Hornet and Boniface. While the others stay with Ida Spavento, Prosper and Scipio return to the Conte's island home to get the money they are owed. On the island, the Conte's sister, Morosina, catches them climbing the wall and locks them inside the stables. The next morning, Scipio and Prosper meet the Conte and Morosina, who are now both young children. They tell him that the magical merry-go-round worked. Scipio demands a ride and comes off an adult. Just as Scipio gets off the merry-go-round, the gang's fence Barbarossa arrives, and also demands a ride. Barbarossa becomes a seven-year-old boy, but accidentally breaks the merry-go-round. Scipio and Prosper leave after promising the Conte that they will not talk about the merry-go-round. Barbarossa will be forced to give the Conte all the money in his shop safe. The next day, Prosper, Scipio,