Inkheart: Chapters 1-5

by Cornelia Funke
Mo has the power to bring characters from books into the real world; but when one of those characters kidnaps Mo, his daughter Meggie must embrace her own magical powers in order to rescue her father.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1-5, Chapters 6-16, Chapters 17-23, Chapters 24-45, Chapters 46-59

Here is a link to our lists for The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke.
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. pallor
    an unnatural lack of color in the skin
    The rain cast a kind of pallor on the darkness, and the stranger was little more than a shadow.
  2. lull
    make calm or still
    When she took refuge from a bad dream with him, nothing could lull her to sleep better than Mo's calm breathing beside her and the sound of the pages turning.
  3. scrutinize
    look at critically or searchingly, or in minute detail
    He scrutinized Meggie so thoroughly she felt quite embarrassed and didn’t know where to look.
  4. supercilious
    having or showing arrogant superiority
    “How old is she now?” Dustfinger smiled at her. It was a strange smile. Meggie couldn't decide whether it was mocking, supercilious, or just awkward. She didn't smile back.
  5. sparse
    not dense or plentiful
    Ginger hair sprouted on his cheeks, too, sparse as a boy's first beard but not long enough to hide three long, pale scars.
  6. brusquely
    in a blunt direct manner
    And sometimes he was so tired he lay down on the sofa and she made him a cup of coffee before she went to bed. But he had never ever sent her off to her room so brusquely.
  7. foreboding
    a feeling of evil to come
    A foreboding, clammy and fearful, came into her heart as if, along with the visitor whose name was so strange yet somehow familiar, some menace had slipped into her life.
  8. crockery
    ceramic dishes used for serving food
    Meggie heard the kettle whistling in the kitchen and Mo carrying a tray of clattering crockery back to the workshop.
  9. slink
    move or walk stealthily
    Only later did she understand that the evil had not appeared for the first time that night. It had just slunk back in again.
  10. commission
    charge with a task
    In fact, he went away quite often, whenever an antique dealer, a book collector, or a library needed a bookbinder and commissioned Mo to restore a few valuable old books, freeing them of dust and mold or dressing them in new clothes, as he put it.
  11. precarious
    not secure; beset with difficulties
    Meggie had picked her precarious way along the top of that wall hundreds of times, up to the rusty hinges of the gate and back again, eyes tightly closed so she could get a clearer view of the tiger she'd imagined waiting in the bamboo at the foot of the wall, his eyes yellow as amber, or the foaming rapids to her right and her left.
  12. wan
    lacking in intensity or brightness; dim or feeble
    The sky was still wan and gray and refused to clear.
  13. incredulity
    doubt about the truth of something
    Dustfinger looked first at Mo, then at Meggie with an expression of incredulity on his face.
  14. nettle
    plant having stinging hairs that cause skin irritation
    His mockery hurt like stinging nettles.
  15. wit
    mental ability
    There is a sort of busy worm,
    That will the fairest book deform,
    Their tasteless tooth will tear and taint
    The poet, patriot, sage or saint,
    Nor sparing wit nor learning.
  16. clamber
    climb awkwardly, as if by scrambling
    It looked alarming, with sharp ashen-gray spikes, a gate made of spearheads just waiting to impale anyone who tried to clamber over.
  17. notorious
    known widely and usually unfavorably
    "I know you like stories about robbers. See that ruined castle? A notorious robber band once lived there. I must ask Elinor about them. She knows everything about this lake."
  18. grim
    harshly uninviting or formidable in manner or appearance
    She was so tired she felt quite dizzy, but for the first time since they had set off Mo's face wasn’t looking grim with anxiety.
  19. stifle
    smother or suppress
    “Where does she live, then?" asked Meggie, stifling a yawn.
  20. warily
    in a manner marked by keen caution and watchful prudence
    Dustfinger followed warily, with his battered backpack over his shoulder.
  21. magpie
    long-tailed black-and-white crow that utters a raucous call
    A magpie fluttered out of one of the rhododendron bushes growing near the house, and a couple of fat sparrows pecked busily at invisible insects in the gravel, but that was all.
  22. contempt
    lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike
    Elinor inspected her again, this time with unconcealed contempt.
  23. haphazard
    marked by great carelessness
    There were no haphazard piles lying around as they did at home.
  24. dismissive
    showing indifference or disregard
    “These books,” announced Elinor with a dismissive gesture as they passed the closely ranked spines, “have accumulated over the years. They're not particularly valuable, mostly of mediocre quality, nothing out of the ordinary..."
  25. abomination
    an action that arouses disgust or abhorrence
    The thought of such incredible abominations, even if they had occurred centuries ago, made Elinor gasp for air.
  26. intrigue
    cause to be interested or curious
    Elinor wrinkled her brow, intrigued.
  27. reproachful
    expressing disapproval, blame, or disappointment
    Elinor cleared her throat and gave Mo a reproachful glance, as if it could only be his fault that his daughter was precocious enough to know such things.
  28. precocious
    characterized by exceptionally early development
    Elinor cleared her throat and gave Mo a reproachful glance, as if it could only be his fault that his daughter was precocious enough to know such things.
  29. reverence
    a feeling of profound respect for someone or something
    “No child,” she said as she pressed the handle down with almost solemn reverence, “has ever before passed through this door, but as I assume your father has taught you a certain respect for books I’ll make an exception today. However, only on the condition that you keep at least three paces away from the shelves. Is that agreed?”
  30. condescending
    characteristic of those who treat others with arrogance
    “Sensible child," said Elinor, so condescendingly that Meggie almost went back on her decision.
  31. surreptitiously
    in a secretive manner
    Beside her, Dustfinger surreptitiously slipped a slice of ham into his backpack for Gwin's supper.
  32. delicacy
    something considered choice to eat
    Meggie saw a round nose emerge from the pack, snuffling in the hope of more delicacies.
  33. intently
    with strained or eager attention
    "Meggie, listen to me!" Dustfinger looked at her intently.
  34. rend
    tear or be torn violently
    For him that stealeth, or borroweth and returneth not, this book from its owner, let it change into a serpent in his hand and rend him.
  35. languish
    become feeble
    Let him languish in pain, crying aloud for mercy, and let there be no surcease to this agony till he sing in dissolution.
  36. surcease
    a stopping
    Let him languish in pain, crying aloud for mercy, and let there be no surcease to this agony till he sing in dissolution.
  37. dissolution
    separation into component parts
    Let him languish in pain, crying aloud for mercy, and let there be no surcease to this agony till he sing in dissolution.
  38. entrails
    internal organs collectively
    Let bookworms gnaw his entrails...and when at last he goeth to his last punishment, let the flames of hell consume him for ever.
  39. evasive
    deliberately vague or ambiguous
    “Oh, she has some very good hiding places for such things,” replied Mo evasively.
  40. proboscis
    a long flexible snout as of an elephant
    It contained pictures of the strangest of insects: beetles with horns, beetles with proboscises—one even had a proper nose.
Created on Tue May 29 16:47:21 EDT 2018 (updated Tue Jun 05 10:38:00 EDT 2018)

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