The Mona Lisa Vanishes
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 The Mona Lisa Vanishes: A Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity
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World History > Modern Age > Art History
A “witty thriller” (The New York Times) for middle-grade readers about how the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre, how the robbery made the portrait the most famous artwork in the world—and how the painting by Leonardo da Vinci should never have existed at all.
SIBERT MEDAL WINNER • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Publishers Weekly • School Library Journal • Booklist • Kirkus Reviews • NPR • The New York Public Library • The Chicago Public Library • The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
On a hot August day in Paris, just over a century ago, a desperate guard burst into the office of the director of the Louvre and shouted, La Joconde, c’est partie! The Mona Lisa, she’s gone!
No one knew who was behind the heist. Was it an international gang of thieves? Was it an art-hungry American millionaire? Was it the young Spanish painter Pablo Picasso, who was about to remake the very art of painting?
Travel back to an extraordinary period of revolutionary change: turn-of-the-century Paris. Walk its backstreets. Meet the infamous thieves—and detectives—of the era. And then slip back further in time and follow Leonardo da Vinci, painter of the Mona Lisa, through his dazzling, wondrously weird life. Discover the secret at the heart of the Mona Lisa—the most famous painting in the world should never have existed at all.
Here is a middle-grade nonfiction, with black-and-white illustrations by Brett Helquist throughout, written at the pace of a thriller, shot through with stories of crime and celebrity, genius and beauty.
Emily's Review
What a fun way to learn about art history! I knew a bit about da Vinci before reading this, but I had never read anything about the theft of the Mona Lisa, so this was a great introduction to the topic. I decided to read this aloud with my 15-year-old since we were studying the Renaissance, and it was a perfect tie-in! This story has everything - an art heist, a criminal investigation, conspiracy theories galore and our fascination with them, and a fascinating biography of Leonardo da Vinci.
And it is so unique in its approach. I can't think of another middle-grade book quite like it. The way the author hops back and forth in time to explore Leonardo's life and the life of the Mona Lisa painting was very well done. He really does a great job of bringing both subjects to life. We were both enthralled, wondering who stole the Mona Lisa and why, and why da Vinci chose that painting to focus on. He worked on it up to his death, never quite feeling like it was finished.
If you are looking for a fun book to add to your art history or Renaissance studies, this is a great one. It's perfect for kids ages 10+
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