{"product_id":"the-mona-lisa-vanishes-a-legendary-painter-a-shocking-heist-and-the-birth-of-a-global-celebrity-9780593643846","title":"The Mona Lisa Vanishes: A Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity","description":"\u003cb\u003eA \"witty thriller\" (\u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e) for middle-grade readers about how the \u003ci\u003eMona Lisa\u003c\/i\u003e 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. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSIBERT MEDAL WINNER - BOSTON GLOBE--HORN BOOK AWARD WINNER - ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: \u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eSchool Library Journal\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBooklist, Kirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e, NPR, The New York Public Library, The Chicago Public Library, The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOn 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, \u003ci\u003eLa Joconde, c'est partie\u003c\/i\u003e! The \u003ci\u003eMona Lisa, \u003c\/i\u003e she's gone! \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eNo 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? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTravel 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 \u003ci\u003eMona Lisa, \u003c\/i\u003e through his dazzling, wondrously weird life. Discover the secret at the heart of the \u003ci\u003eMona Lisa\u003c\/i\u003e--the most famous painting in the world should never have existed at all. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHere 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNICHOLAS DAY is the author of \u003ci\u003eBaby Meets World, \u003c\/i\u003e a work of narrative nonfiction for adults about the science and history of infancy, which Mary Roach called \"a perfect book.\" He has written regularly for \u003ci\u003eSlate; \u003c\/i\u003ehis work has also appeared in\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003ethe \u003ci\u003eAtlantic\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times, \u003c\/i\u003eand the \u003ci\u003eWashington Post, \u003c\/i\u003eamong other publications. He lives in Western Massachusetts with his family. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eBRETT HELQUIST is the illustrator of classics such as A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket, The House of Bunnicula by James Howe, and books by Blue Balliet, including the \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestselling \u003ci\u003eChasing Vermeer\u003c\/i\u003e. Visit him on the Web at bretthelquist.com or on Instagram at @bhelquist.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Random House Studio","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50575511847186,"sku":"9780593643846","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_6a07cddc-0638-4dcd-a250-1f6253999abc.jpg?v=1756798055","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/the-mona-lisa-vanishes-a-legendary-painter-a-shocking-heist-and-the-birth-of-a-global-celebrity-9780593643846","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}