Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Finalist: THE MONA LISA VANISHES by Nicholas Day
Introduction by Heavy Medal Award Committee Member Taylor Deushane:
In THE MONA LISA VANISHES, Nicholas Day makes his Kid Lit debut with the mesmerizing tale of the unlikely creation, theft, and recovery of the world’s most iconic painting. Swapping between the 15th, 16th, and 20th centuries, every chapter has at least one revelation that will have readers turning to the closest person and exclaiming, “DID YOU KNOW?” (My husband kindly requested that I read the book in another room.) I read the first chapter to 4th and 5th grade students back in September, and it has not returned to the shelf since.
If you are familiar with the facts of the case, you’d be forgiven for expecting THE MONA LISA VANISHES to drag throughout its 250+ pages. However, the painting’s thief is only a minor character in this book. Instead, we follow detectives Louis Lépine and Alphonse Bertillon as they chase down leads, grapple with the emerging fields of forensic science, and face a public hungry for a great story. This is where the strongest themes of myth versus reality emerge in the text. People at the time were so desperate for a satisfying narrative that the thief evaded capture for much longer than necessary.
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In 1911, art theft was still new. Hollywood wasn’t even an industry. But somehow the story of the brilliant art thief already existed. A half century before Dr. No appeared on screen, Louis Lépine and Alphonse Bertillon were already looking for him.
They weren’t looking for a thief. They were looking for a story. (p 135)
Even after the case was solved, false narratives painting the culprit as a criminal mastermind continued to make headlines.
On the other side of the narrative, the reader follows Leonardo da Vinci from one unfinished project to another, the likelihood of him completing La Joconde growing slimmer and slimmer as he moves across Italy and France, encountering an ever-changing (and often violent) cast of characters. Day does not shy away from da Vinci’s more unsavory habits and hobbies, nor does he mince words about the realities for 15th/16th century women, including the painting’s subject.
In this way, Day develops the setting strongly in both centuries, providing modern readers with the context necessary to understand why the events unfolded as they did. Day also meets the Newbery criteria of presentation of information in a refreshing way. THE MONA LISA VANISHES is incredibly approachable for young readers, full of humorous asides, invitations to imagine, and countless juicy historical tidbits.
THE MONA LISA VANISHES reminds readers of just how great longer narrative nonfiction for children has the potential to be, whether it emerges with a medal or not.
Heavy Medal Award Committee members and others are now invited to discuss this book further in the Comments section below. Let the Mock Newbery discussion begin!
Filed under: Book Discussion, Heavy Medal Mock
About Steven Engelfried
Steven Engelfried retired from full-time library work a couple years ago and now works as a part-time Youth Librarian at the West Linn Public Library in Oregon. He served on the 2010 Newbery committee, chaired the 2013 Newbery Committee, and also served on the 2002 Caldecott committee. You can reach him at sengelfried@yahoo.com.
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I listened to this on audiobook and found it to be such an engaging tale! The way the museum and the historical moment became a setting in and of itself, and the way the Mona Lisa was a character as well as the thief, the detectives, etc. Nonfiction has an uphill battle in the Newbery these days, but I found this one to be very streamlined in its thematic focus and that helped it soar!
Thanks for the intro Tally. I agree with the engaging tale but i do question the reliability of the narrator, there seems to be a lot of narrative voice in there- which I understand is part of the style but seemed to make it stray away from nonfiction for me.
I was impressed with the characterization though, particularly Da Vinci and Lisa del Giocondo (the subject of the paitning). I think it really dove into them in ways I’ve never seen before. And even the detectives and museum staff members, you really got to know people.
Interesting point about the narrative voice, Emily. I do think it’s a style choice, but could see where it makes the book feel less authoritative than something like IMPOSSIBLE ESCAPE or RACE AGAINST DEATH. To me, though, it’s a strength. I felt like the prominence of the narrator’s voice serves to draw in readers to the point where we’re kind of wondering and speculating along with that voice. The narrator obviously knows way more than we do, but reveals it with style and verve:
Sometimes he invites us to wonder with him:
Still, the question lingers. Why is it so famous? Why is it the most famous painting in the world? Why this painting? (p 154)
Other times he reveals what he knows (and we don’t) with dramatic flourishes, like when the London gallery owner passes on the chance to buy the stolen painting:
The Mona Lisa! What nonsense! What next? He turned his back and walked away.
The man on the other side of his desk had once disappeared into Paris.
Now he exited the Duveen Brothers gallery and disappeared into London.
The Mona Lisa was gone. (139)
He does stick to facts. The source notes (265) mention that the chapter about the gallery owner, which is mostly from his point of view, comes from the gallery owner’s own book. I think the choice to amplify the narrative voice works for this book, and is especially important in the “presentation for a child audience.” But am also interested to hear it works as well for other readers and if it might detract from the factual content.
So I’m not going to lie, when we received this on our list of books to read, I let out a grumble. Nonfiction is not my first go-to by ANY means. It just isn’t. (Then again, if it’s a celebrity memoir I’m all over it.) However, I also remembered that BOMB is one of my favorite juvenile nonfiction texts and one I recommend often to readers who want engaging nonfiction. So I gave MONA LISA VANISHES a fighting chance.
And I am so glad that I did. I was engaged the entire time while reading it. Its strength, and perhaps its weakness, is that it doesn’t feel like a nonfiction text. The narrative voice is truly that. NARRATIVE. Which I need when it comes to nonfiction. I felt immersed in the setting and with the “characters”. Real life names truly popped off the page.
I thought of students and patrons I know. I think they will find this book exciting and humorous, engaging and interesting. That’s a sign of a good book. It’s not my top pick for Newbery…..but it’s definitely one of my top 5 now.
“People will choose the better story every time.” (135)
I think the strong narrative voice is a strength; as Steven said, Day does stick to facts, and as Aryssa and Gabrielle said, the text is wonderfully engaging, so it appeals to those who primarily prefer fiction as well as those who typically prefer nonfiction.
Structurally and with regard to pacing, splitting the story between time periods, places, and historical figures is effective; there’s no time to get bogged down before it’s on to the next thing, and no time to forget what happened before because we’re back to it quickly. Sentences are also short and punchy.
Observation is a theme in both parts of the story, and for all historical figures (characters): Leonardo paints what he sees, the thief sees an opportunity, the guards only see what they expect to see, and the detectives form a theory first and look for evidence to support it, rather than the other way around.
THE MONA LISA VANISHES is a strong contender for this year’s Newbery, despite the historical bias against nonfiction (or preference for fiction, depending how you want to put it).
I have read most of this top 15 (altho a lot were back in the beginning of 2023) and this one still stands out in my mind, just like Scary Stories for Foxes did back a couple years ago when I pushed for it to be a newbery honor on here.
To me, that makes it a great contribution to children’s literature and deserving of an honor (or win).
I was a pre-reader of THE MONA LISA VANISHES book in May. I enjoyed the details even more when I read it in September, but it was in that stack of great books published late in the year after School started.
It was in my top ten, going into the HMAC book ranking in November. After re-reading all 16 books in December, this book rose into my top stack of books. It is in my top 3 for appropriateness of style and presentation of information. The illustrations and text changes are excellent for middle-grade audiences and work with the writing to keep the book moving.
This is a book I would have loved in 3rd-5th grade. It’s a non-fiction full of mystery and interesting real characters. It also puts a lens on how we interpret news and create celebrity.
Jenny posted the quote, “People will choose the better story every time.” (135). It’s great for kids to think about that and read many perspectives when studying history. I like that the seed is planted in THE MONA LISA VANISHES.
Nonfiction is a content designation, not a style convention. Like Steven points out, the facts aren’t any less true just because Day brought a unique perspective to said facts, weaving together both the birth of the painting and its rebirth into global celebrity status by virtue of her theft. That alone would have been compelling but to also use it as a lens to examine police bias, media literacy, disinformation campaigns, museums’ role in colonial cultural theft, and more, all in prose that’s accessible and intriguing for a child audience – wow. And that’s coming from someone who has read *ahem*, a lot of nonfiction for young readers.
I completely agree with Jenny that the pacing is superb here, with seamless transitions between Florence in 1500 and Paris in 1911. As many others have noted, there’s a sparkling authorial personality on every page – grandiose, curious, dramatic. I knew I was in for a delightful ride from the chapter titles in the table of contents and I was not disappointed.
Part 1 – “A Star is Born”
– The Creation of the Mona Lisa
– The Theft of the Mona Lisa
– The Ludicrous Fame of the Mona Lisa
Day is careful to frame information in a way that makes it clear what we know and what we must speculate. For example, on pages 146 and 147, Day ponders what 15-year-old Lisa Gheradini might be feeling on her marriage to Francesco. “Does she see her ticket out of the convent? Does she see anything at all? Whatever Lisa thinks, it doesn’t matter in Renaissance Florence. Women are powerless. This is not an exaggeration…” Day goes on to detail exactly how limited women’s lives were, even wealthy and reasonably lucky women.
In short, I don’t think Day’s voice diminishes his research or his authority, even as he pushes beyond what some might expect from narrative nonfiction. To be clear, I also don’t think he’s doing anything groundbreaking in terms of writing nonfiction that reads with the fluidity and drama of fiction (see: Sheinkin, Fleming, Heiligman, Levinson, Jarrow et al) but I would strongly assert that he’s doing it magnificently well.
THE MONA LISA VANISHES makes a strong case as a “distinguished contribution to American literature” as an individually distinct title, marked by “excellence in quality”, particularly in the appropriateness of style, development of a plot, presentation of information, and interpretation of theme/concept.
One of my favorite books of the year and the HMAC list!
It’s well-researched but this is another book that I question the age on. The Newbery is given to a book that is for children up to age 14 and I’m just not sure that fits age range. I would say this is more Printz than Newbery.
Thank you, Kyra, for mentioning media literacy. Just as ALL THIRTEEN (what a breathtaking read – I had to put that book across the room so I could breathe for a few minutes) was not only about a cave rescue, MONA LISA VANISHES is not only about the theft of a painting. In ALL THIRTEEN, readers also learn about meditation, Buddhism, teamwork, and leadership. Here, we learn about so much, but the standout is the commentary about media and news literacy. Folks have quoted “People will choose the better story every time.” (135) multiple times here for a reason. The message is timeless and timely. Day’s exposure of flawed thinking and its presence in the newspapers of the time is remarkable. Contrasting da Vinci’s observational perspective with the investigators’ misdirection is such an effective way to end this enthralling story. “There is someone else who might have believed in Vincenzo Perugia. Someone who didn’t assume. Someone who observed. Someone whose life was about seeing clearly, without expectations. Someone who didn’t already know what he was going to find. The person who could have solved the theft of the Mona Lisa is Leonardo da Vinci himself.” ALEBRIJES and GONE WOLF deal with the same subject – the power of lies. Each book weaves this essence in different ways, but Day may have the edge on the other two for its nuanced directness.
Quote from page 239.
I will be honest, the style wasn’t my favorite. I’m usually a fan of humor and irony in books, but the narrator’s style felt repetitive to me. I think, however, that that’s just a “me” problem. This text is great otherwise! I agree with what everyone has been saying about the pacing – toggling between 15th-century Florence and 20th-century Paris ensures that readers won’t feel bogged down. Also, can we give it up for Brett Helquist? His illustrations allow the reader to observe the thief before he is caught, emphasizing Day’s point that the police were too stuck in their assumptions to observe the reality around them.
Of all the books on our list, this is the one that’s stuck with me. I was fascinated from beginning to end, which is saying a lot since nonfiction is not my typical fare. While reading, I constantly shared facts with my 7-year old, who was desperate to hear more and grilled me about what I’d learned after each read. I strongly believe Mona Lisa checks all the Newbery boxes.