READERS THEATER PLAY

Meggie (Eliza
Bennett) and
Mo (Brendan
Fraser) browse
for books

IN THIS ADVENTURE TALE, READING OUT LOUD

CAN BRING CHARACTERS TO LIFELITERALLY!
SCENE 1
Nl: Book stalls line the streets
outside an old bookshop in a small
town in Europe.
N2: Meggie, 13, and her father,
Mo, browse through stall after stall

Characters

of dusty books.
MEGGIE: Why is every bookstore
we visit a thousand years old? Why
can't we go to one of those bookstores tiiat sells cappuccinos?
MO: What good is a bookbinder
like me in a bookstore that sells
new books? Besides, I love old
books.

N3: Meggie looks bored by

her father's excitement.
MO: When you open books
like these, it's like going to the
theaterthe curtain opens and
the show begins! This is my
kind of place,
MEGGIE: Maybe you'll find it.
MO: Find what?
MEGGIE: That book you're
always looking for. You don't
think I've noticed? We never leave
a bookstore until you've checked
every shelf.

Write your initials next to the character you're going to read. *Starred characters are major roles

NARRATOR 1 (Nl)

MEGGIE,

ELINOR, Meggie's

great-aunt
NARRATOR 2

CAPRICORN,

viilain from Inkheart

13-Year-ol(i girl
FULVIO Black

*KiADDAT0R3(N3)

* M 0 , Meggie's father

Black Jackets leader

Jackets thug

NARRATOR 4 (N4)

DUSTFINGER,

DARIUS, reader

FENOGLIO.

character from Inkheart

6

SCHOLASTIC SCOPE JANUARY 19, 2009

author of Inkheart

Shimming
shelves, Mo
searches for
Inkheart.

N4: Mo hands Meggie a copy

of The Wizard ofOz.
MO: You've always said you
wanted lo read this. Now's
the time.
MEGGIE: Awesome!
MO: I'll be right back. Remember,
no reading out loud.
Nl: When her father goes into
the shop, Meggie opens her hook
eagerly. She's too preoccupied to
notice that a small creature is
staring up at her.

SCENE 2
N2: While Meggie reads outside,
Mo hears strange whispers as he
walks into the store.
N3: Books call out to him, begging
Mo to read their pages by offering
their best quotes.
N4: "My kingdom for a horse!"
"Her name is Heidi." "Wherefore
art thou Romeo?"
Nl: Mo looks unfazed by this.

Then his heart flutters as he hears

one book say, "It's the Shadow.
We have to run, girls!"
MO: Inkhear
N2: He picks up tJie aging book
and stares at an illustration inside.
It depicts a weasel that looks just
like the creature spying on Meggie
outside the store.
DUSTFINGER: Hello, Mo.
N3: Mo spins around and sees a
pale man in odd clothes. Meggie
and the weasel (named Gwin)
stand with him.
MO: Meggie, go sit in the van.
MEGGIE: But Dad
MO: 1 said get in the van!
DUSTFINGER: Let's go for a little
walk, Mo.

SCENE 3
N4: Gwin leaps onto Dustinger's
shoulder as the two men walk outside. They are high in the Alps,
and the mountain air is chilling.

DUSTFINGER: Tm here to warn

you. Capricorn knows where
you're staying. His men are
there now. He wants you to
read for him.
MO: Well, he's out of luck.
I don't read aloud anymore.
DUSTFINGER: Do you really
think you have a choice? I can
hide you from him, but I need
help. I've been here too long.
Send me homeread to me.
Nl: Mo is silent.
DUSTFINGER: It s a pragmatic
trade. I'll save your life if you give
me back mine.
MO: I can't. It's dangerous. I can't
control what happens when I read.
DUSTFINGER: Then give me tbe
book. I'll find someone who will
read it.
N2: Instead, Mo pushes Dustfinger
in the face and makes a run for it.
N3: Gwin screeches while Mo
dashes to the van and drives off
with Meggie.

SCENE 4
N4: Mo rides through the night.
Groggily, Meggie opens an eye
and looks at her surroundings.
MO: Almost there, sweetheart.
MEGGIE: But where is "there"?
MO: Italy. We're going to your
great aunt Elinor's house.
Nl: They get out of the car and
read a sign on Elinor's front gate
that says: "Don't even think of
wasting my time. Just go away."
Meggie rings the bell.
MEGGIE: So she's friendly, this
great-aunt of mine?
MO: She's a polarizing figure. You
either love her, or you hate her.
N2: The door swings open. A tall
woman stares down at her visitors
with fury.
SCHOLASTIC SCOPE JANUARY 19, 2009

ELINOR: Would you please stop

ringing that bell? Triflers!
MO: Hello, Elinor.
ELiNOR: Well, I'm glad you've
finally found your way back here,
Mo. My books are in terrible
disrepair.
N3: Elinor looks down at Meggie,
seeing her niece for the first time
in years.
N4: Amid the family reunion, they
fail to notice Gwin watching
intently from the shadows.
ELINOR: You're as thin as a soap
bubble, Meggie! She looks so
much like her mother. Speaking
of which, have you . . . ?
MO: No. We haven't heard from
her, if that's what you were going
to ask.
N l : Just then, they hear a window
shatter.
ELINOR: That sounded like it
came from the library. My books!
My precious books!
N2: She runs into the house.
MO: No, Elinor, stay here!
N3: Mo runs after her, with
Meggie close behind.
N4: Elinor's library has the most
impressive collection of books
Meggie has ever seen.
N l : Some whisper out to her:
"But that is a clue, Watson."
"To be or not to be."
N2: Meanwhile, Dustfinger and
his cohorts ravage shelves near
a broken window, searching for
Inkheart.
ELINOR: Mo! Look what they're
doing to my books!
DUSTFINGER: I gave you every
opportunity to help me.
ELINOR: Cretins! These are
masterworks! You're destroying
literary treasures! How dare you!
N3: One of the men laughs and
rips an ancient manuscript in half.
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SCHOLASTIC SCOPE JANUARY 19, Z009

DUSTFINGER: All you had to do

was read me back into Inkheart.
You left me no choice. I turned to
Capricorn's Black Jackets for help.
MO: Stop this, or I swear I'll kill
every last one of youand you
know it will only take a few words.
BASTA: Not if I cut out your
tongue.
N4: Elinor and Meggie gape in
fear at Basta, the redoubtable
leader of the Black Jackets.
DUSTFINGER: No one gets hurt.
Isn't that what we agreed on?
N l : Dustfinger pulls Inkheart out
of Mo's jacket.
DUSTFINGER: Inkheart is close
to my heart too, Mo.
MEGGIE: What is going on here?
When will someone tell me what
is going on?
DUSTFINGER: Has your father
ever read you a bedtime story,
Meggie?
MEGGIE: No.
DUSTFINGER: Maybe you
should ask him why.
BASTA: I'll take that.

O Elinor (Helen
Mirren) and Megie
watch as a Black
Jackets thug (left)
destroys the library

C Kidnapped,
Meggje, Mo,
and Elinor
are hauied
into a castle.

The Black
Jackets hold
Mo before
Capricorn.

N2: Basta grabs the book from

Dustfinger. All hope drains
from DusTfinger's eyes.

SCENE 5
N3: After a long drive, Basta and
his lackey Fulvio push Meggie,
Mo, and Elinor into a grim castle.
N4: Darkened cages line the
hallways. Unicorns, Hobbits,
and many other mythical
creatures from literature sit
imprisoned in their cages.

the cage, and the others follow.

The metal door clinks shut
behind them.
ELINOR: Where did these
monsters come from?
MO: Books. That man Darius
read them out. I've heard of others
being able to do it, but I've never
met one.
ELINOR: What are you talking
about? Be quick Mo, or I swear
I'll disinherit you.
MO: You were away, Elinor, at
a book fair. Meggie, Resa, and
I were housesitting for you.
MEGGIE: Mom?

N l : A thin man passes the

group in a corridor, trying to
avoid their faces.
BASTA: Darius, don't forget to
teed Grendel's mother!
DARIUS (sorf/y): Yes. sir.
N2: The Black Jackets drag
them into a cage. Inside sits the
Minotaur, half-man, half-bull.
ELINOR: For the love of Theseus!
FULVIO: It's the Minotaur. He
can barely walk thanks to Darius
and his bad reading. Look what he
did to us! I came out with half my
book tattooed on my face.
ELINOR: I will not share a stable
with that steed.
N3: Basta shoves Elinor into

MO: Yes, Meggie. We brought

some books along, and one of
them was Inkheart. It was a good
bookaction, adventure, magic,
and a lot of villains. But when I
read it, Dustfmger and Capricorn
were released, and your mother
took their place in the novel.
ELINOR: Your voice brought
them out ofthe book, and Resa
went in?
MO: That's how it works.
MEGGiE: How it works'^. Is this
something you do all the time?
MO: The first and last time it
happened I was your age, reading
The Jungle Book aloud. Suddenly,
a mongoose appeared and ran
out my window.
ELINOR: Rikki-tikki-tavi!
MO: After that, I never read aloud
againuntil you were three,
Meggie. I figured the mongoose
was my childhood imagination,
so I opened Inkheart. That was
the night we lost your mother.
N4: Understanding dawns on
Meggie's face.
MEGGIE: You want to read
Mom out ofthe book. That's why
you've searched for Inkheart all
these years.

N l : They hear clanking at

the gate. Black Jacket guards
push Meggie, Mo, and Elinor
through more dark hallways
viith dark secrets.

SCENE 6
N2: The group is led to a chamber
lit by fire, deep inside the castle.
N3: Capricorn's terrifying figure
is lit by candlelight.
MO [whispering): Meggie. pretend
we're in a book. Kids always
escape in books.
MEGGIE: ^emembex Little Match
GirU They found her in an alley
frozen to death. Dad.
CAPRICORN: Come in. Mo.
Lovely to see you again.
ELINOR: You barbaric piece of
pulp fiction! I don't know what
things are like in that third-rate
novel of yours, but destroying
libraries is sacrilegious where I
come from!
CAPRICORN: Silence. Mo, do
as I say, or I'll kill tlie old lady and
lock your daughter in the dungeon
for all eternity. Is that clear?
MO: Yes.
CAPRICORN: Then let's get
started.
N4: Capricorn offers Mo a book.
MO (reading the title): 1001
Arabian Nights'? You want me
to read out treasure?
CAPRICORN: For now.
MO: "Kasim gazed upon the
treasures within the cave. Mounds
of gold and silver were heaped
from fioor to ceiling. Piles of silks,
and sacks of jewels"
N l : As he reads, jewels appear on
the ground.
N2: The Black Jackets are astonished. Even Mo is surprised by
his own power.
MO: "then came the sound of
SCHOLASTIC SCOPE JANUARY 19, 2009

approaching hooves"
FULVIO: Look, sand!
N3: A faint stream of sand begins
to slowly encircle them, failing
from the air. The other Black
Jackets are too intent on their
new treasure to notice.
MO: "Kasim ran to hide but
tripped, sending coins spilling
in every direction."
N4: Gold coins rain
down in waterfalls
from the ceiling.
N l : Then, the character
Kasim lands on the
mountain of coins.
Mo stops reading.
CAPRICORN: Feed
the boy to the Minotaur.
MEGGIE: But if he came
out of the book . . . who
went in?
BASTA: Fulvio! Where's
Fulvio?
N2: Capricorn chuckles an unconcerned laugh of such lurpitude
that even Basta iooks asbamed.
MO: I'm sorry, Basta. I will not
bring him back.
OUSTFINGER: Capricorn, let
Mo send me home. That was
our agreement.
CAPRICORN: No. None of us wiU
return thereI am closing Inkiieart from this world. I'm going
to do what I've always done when
someone digs up a copy of this
tedious book.
N3: He throws the ragged volume
into the fire.
N4: Tears stream down Dustfinger's face, and Meggie realizes he's
a prisoner of Capricorn, just like
her familv-

SCENE 7
N l : Later that night, Dustfinger
unlocks their cell.
1 0

SCHOLASTIC SCOPE JANUARV 19, 2009

O A copy 01
Inkheart
is burnt
to ash.

N4: Behind them,

a tornado rushes past
a mountain ridge.
Noticeably, a barking
Fenoglio (Jim
dog and a witch on
Broadbent)
and Dustfinger
a bicycle spin in the
(Paul Bettanv).
tornado's fury.
ELINOR: Mo! Give
me some warning the next time
OUSTFINGER: Without your
you stick us in the middie of a
help, I'll never get home. Promise
mythical tornado.
to help return me to Inkheart, Mo,
OUSTFINGER: Look! That's him.
and I'll help you find your wife.
MO: We need to find another copy
I can feei it.
of the book.
N l : They see Fenogiio, author of
Inkheart. Dustfinger approaches
DUSTFINGER: But where will we
the old man.
find it? Capricorn's henchmen
N2: Astonished, Fenoglio iooks
have destroyed every last one.
up from his laptop.
MEGGIE: The author!
FENOGLIO: Dustfinger?
ELINOR: Meggie's right! The
DUSTFINGER: Yes.
author must have a copy.
FENOGLIO: How can tliis be?
OUSTFINGER: AU right. Let's go
N3: Mo explains their story.
find him.
Seeing his character living and
SCENE 8
breathing, Fenogiio cannot deny
what Mo says.
N: Meggie pulls out Tlie Wizard
FENOGLIO: I will help you.
ofOz from her bag and hands it
The original manuscript is at
to her father.
my house.
N3: Sometime iater, in a town
N4: As soon as Mo gets tbe
in northern Italy, Mo slams The
manuscript in his hands, he fiips
Wizard ofOz shut. Dustfinger,
through the book's illustrations.
Elinor, and Meggie lie panting
MO: Where is she? Resa isn't here.
on the ground.
FENOGLIO: Perhaps your wife is
MO: That should do it!

not in Inkheart.
Nl: Sighing, Meggie takes out a
photo of her mother.
DUSTFINGER: Her? That's your
mother?
MEGGIE: Yes.

DUSTFINGER: She is one of Capricorn's maids! Before he burned

all the world's copies of Inkheart,
he forced Darius to read out his
loyal henchmen. But there were
some unintended transportations.
Other characters were read out of

She holds the Inkheart manuscript

in her hands.
CAPRICORN: Mo refuses to read
for me. Very well. But like many
talents, your father's power runs
in the family. You can read just as
well as he does. Read the Shadow
out o Inkheart.
MEGGIE: I can't do that. I won't
read that killer out!
CAPRICORN: Oh, no? Look up.
N4: Meggie looks up. A woman
hangs from the high ceiling in
a cage.
Meggie uses

Inkheart by accident, only to

become Capricorn's servants.
MO: You're saying she's here?
ELINOR: Resa!
MEGGIE: We must go back! We

must find my mother!

N2: The Black Jackets step out
from the shadows.
BASTA: You'll go back all right.

SCENE 9
N3: Back at the castle, Meggie is
forced to stand before Capricorn.

CAPRICORN:

happens to
those who
disobey me.
This maid is
always trying
to escape, and
now she will be
the Shadow's
first victim. Try
for me and for
your sake to
enunciate
each word
as clearly as
possible.
Nl: Meggie
recognizes the
woman as her
mother, Resa!
N2: Using a pencil tucked into
his jeans, Fenoglio scribbles on
a scrap of paper.
CAPRICORN: Start reading.
MEGGIE: "Of all Capricorn's
cruel men, the one most feared
was the Shadow."
N3: The group is so entranced
by Meggie's voice that they don't
notice when Fenoglio throws a
crumpled wad of paper at her feet.
N4: As Meggie reads, the Shadow
rises from the ground, a huge

beast made of fire and ash.

Nl: Meggie picks up the piece of
paper and reads Fenoglio's words.
MEGGIE: "Then the Shadow
heard the voice of a girl. When she
called his name, he remembered
all the people he had tortured and
killed. He decided to punish those
who had made him do it."
CAPRICORN: What are you
saying? Stop!
MEGGIE: "So the Shadow went
to his master, and reached out to
him with ashen hands."
N2: The Shadow turns to
Capricorn.
MEGGIE: "Capricorn began to
crackle and fade like a page of
an old book."
N3: Capricorn starts to disappear.
MEGGIE: "Capricorn turned to
dust, and all those summoned
from Inkheart with ill intentions
returned to their homes."
N4: Capricorn and his thugs
disappear. So does the Shadow.
Nl: Mo frees Resa from the cage,
and the family hugs.
MEGGIE: "After years of wishing,
the girl's dream came true, as
the mother she always knew she
would see again and the father
she cherished came running to
embrace their daughter."
ELINOR: I always cry at happy
endings.

Write Now!
What would vou do if you
had Meggje's powers? What
characters would you "read
out"? Write a short story in
which your favorite villains
and heroes pop off the page!
What do they do? Where do
they go? Do you meet them?

SCHOLASTIC SCOPE JANUARY 19, Z009

11

 Mo is very convincing.
(D Dustfinger wants to
return to Inkheart.
Meggie cuts him a deal.
Dustfinger wants to stay
out of Inkheart.

NOW THAT YOU'VE

READ THE PLAY, IT'S
TIME TO ANSWER
THESE OUESTIONS!

Be careful when you answer

these questions out loud!

d) They're distracted by
all the treasure.
They're scared of Mo's
magical powers.
all of the above

Which of the foilowing

From what book does Mo read

selfish, sad, stubborn

(D bold, talented,
resourceful
crafty, sly, greedy
@ wise, tragic, unfulfilled

3
1 2

Why does no one notice Fulvio

d)

Pride and Prejudice

The Jungle Book
The Wizard of Oz
Twilight

Why did Capricorn kidnap Mo

and his family?

Darius couldn't read well.

(B) Meggie's voice is too low.
Mo had a copy of
Inkheart.
@ Capricorn wants advice
on his love troubles.

disappear?

They're enthralled by
Mo's storytelling voice.
SCHOLASTIC SCOPE JANUARY 19, 2009

books as "cretins"? ontext)

because they're unaware
of the value of books
because of their accents
because they're purple
because they have text
written on their faces

asks, "So she's friendly,

this great-aunt of mine?"

She expects Elinor

to be friendly.
(D She saw Elinor's
"just go away" sign.
She saw Elinor's "Hove
dogs and cats" sign.
@ Meggie isn't friendly.

out a tornado?

adjectives BEST describe

Meggie? ^character analysis)

Why is it ironic when Meggie

Black Jackets who destroy her

(understanding irony)

What happens first?

Fenoglio writes a new

Inkheart ending for
Meggie.
(D Capricorn burns Mo's
copy of Inkheart.
Meggie meets Gwin.
Black Jackets destroy
Elinor's library.

Why does Elinor refer to the

Why does Dustfinger decide to

help Meggie and Mo? imotive)

Short-Answer
Questions
WRITE YOUR ANSWER
TO THE FOLLOWING
OUESTIONS ON ANOTHER
PIECE OF PAPER.

9
10

is Dustfinger a "good
character" or a viilain?

{cnaracier analysis;
In the piay, how is the
idea of destiny conveyed?
(text't'worid)