# The Mona Lisa Vanishes: A Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity - Hardcover

by **Nicholas Day** (Author), **Brett Helquist** (Illustrator)

**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.

### Author Biography

NICHOLAS DAY is the author of _Baby Meets World,_ 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 _Slate;_ his work has also appeared in the _Atlantic_, the _New York Times,_ and the _Washington Post,_ among other publications. He lives in Western Massachusetts with his family.

BRETT 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 _New York Times_ bestselling _Chasing Vermeer_. Visit him on the Web at bretthelquist.com or on Instagram at @bhelquist.

**Number of Pages:** 288

**Dimensions:** 1.2 x 9.2 x 6.2 IN

**Publication Date:** September 05, 2023

**Award:** Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Award (2024)

## Details

- **Price:** 19.99 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 19.99 USD | In stock |

## Images

- The Mona Lisa Vanishes: A Legendary Painter, a Shocking Heist, and the Birth of a Global Celebrity - Hardcover

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