Ten-year-old Emma has just two weeks over the Christmas holidays to do the impossible: pass her entrance exams for secondary school, or risk losing her best friend forever. But between towering stacks of homework, the heartbreak of losing her beloved rabbit Polo, and a mind that refuses to focus, studying feels utterly hopeless.

Everything changes when her grandmother arrives from Nuremberg with a mysterious drawing set. Inside is an old-fashioned stylus, just like the one once used by the famous Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer. When Emma sketches her lost rabbit with the strange grey stylus, the impossible happens: her drawing springs to life. And with it appears Dürer’s legendary hare, Albrecht.

Soon Emma, her bossy little sister Jenny, and the two talking hares are swept into a breathtaking adventure through medieval Nuremberg. Their mission? To find the mythical Magic Funnel, a device said to pour knowledge straight into a person’s head. If it’s real, it could solve all of Emma’s problems.

But in a city filled with artists, emperors, hidden treasures, and mischievous kobolds, nothing is ever simple. Beneath Karls Hill lies a dangerous secret. Along the way, the sisters befriend a brave baker’s boy named Billie, and cross paths with the fearsome robber baron Eppelein. What begins as a search for an easy shortcut to success soon turns into a race against time.

As danger grows, Emma discovers that true wisdom cannot simply be poured into your mind. It must be earned with courage, curiosity, determination, and heart.

Blending history, art, and fantasy, The Magic Funnel is a richly imagined adventure about grief, sisterhood, and believing in yourself; perfect for readers who love magical journeys with real emotional depth.