The magical world of Cornelia Funke

In her most recent fantasy novel, bestselling youth author Cornelia Funke relies on tried and true imaginary creatures like dragons and trolls. The main protagonist Ben and his silver dragon Firedrake travel to Indonesia to rescue the Pegasus species, which is on the brinct of extinction. Funke illustrated the entire book herself.

Cornelia Funke has been creating fantasy worlds for several decades. The writer first began exploring imaginary realms as an illustrator of children's books. The idea for her story about the mermaids, Lilli and Fin, came to her as she painted underwater images of sunken ships, treasure chests and sea creatures. "Lilli, Flosse und Seeteufel" (Lilli, Fin and Sea Devil) was one of her first works.

Funke has more than 50 published works to her name. Her international breakthrough came in 2000 with "The Thief Lord," an adventure-filled chase through the alleyways and canals of Venice. Her most popular works, including the "Inkheart" trilogy and the recent "Reckless" series, have been translated into more than three dozen languages.

The exhibition, "Cornelia Funke: Another world" at the Günther Grass House in Lübeck, explores the different facets of her work with pictures, sound recordings and film installations. About 60 original drawings are part of the display, providing insights into the writer's sources of inspiration and the development of her stories.

These three original cover designs for "Inkheart" were rejected because they appeared too childish. The publisher was convinced the story would appeal to young and adult readers alike, and instead opted for a more "grown up" cover.

Shadowy figures in a scorching inferno are incorporated into the "adult" version of the "Inkheart" cover. The story is about a family who is sucked into the fantasy world of a magical book. Hugely successful, "Inkheart" (2003) was quickly followed by the release of the sequels "Inkspell" (2005) and "Inkdeath" (2007).

If you're worried about making your way through the fantastical realm of the "Inkheart" trilogy without getting lost, never fear. This map should help you keep track. But Cornelia Funke didn't just create the diagram to help readers find their bearings. It also served as a tool to inspire her own creative process.

The majority of Funke's books were written and illustrated for children, and there's no shortage of creepy creatures in these works for younger readers. Her 1993 book "Monstergeschichten" (Monster Stories) is a short story written from the perspective of Gobo from the planet Galabrazolus, which shows that even humans can be monsters.

In Funke's 1996 story entitled "Mondscheindrachen" (Moonlight Dragon), a dragon jumps out of the book into the real world. A powerful, recurring message in many of her works is that literature can be a gateway to other worlds.