Books Books: Middle Grade Books: Under 18 & YA

Mona Lisa Vanishes

I’m so excited to bring you The Mona Lisa Vanishes by Nicholas Day book tour hosted by TBR and Beyond Tours

About the Book 

mona lisa vanishes book cover

Book: The Mona Lisa Vanishes 

Author: Nicholas Day

Genre: Middle Grade Non-Fiction

Publishing Date: September 5, 2023

GoodreadsAmazonB&N IndieBound

A propulsive work of narrative nonfiction 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.

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? 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 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.

Review for Mona Lisa Vanishes

I can’t think of a more exciting way to learn about history! Written as a detective mystery, it kept my attention and had me cheering for her recovery. As a reader, a bit older than middle grade, cough – cough, I have always known about the Mona Lisa but really had no clue about her history. I loved the execution of the story and the time travel delivery. The illustrations are brilliant and really helped move the story along. Overall, this is an excellent book that I highly recommend.

About the Author

Nicholas Day is the author of The Mona Lisa Vanishes, a middle-grade book of narrative nonfiction about the theft of the Mona Lisa. For adults, he’s the author of Baby Meets World, a work about the science and history of infancy, which Mary Roach called “a perfect book.” He lives in Western Massachusetts with his family.

WebsiteGoodreads 

mona lisa vanishes book tour and schedule

The Mona Lisa Vanishes Book Tour

Follow along on the book tour and see what everyone is saying!

Join my Newsletter

I know you want more excellent new releases. Find them in my newsletter, only sent twice a month. There’s always a few giveaways going on too. Go on, sign up, what are you waiting for?

Subscribe for FREEBIES!

* indicates required