Steal Back the Mona Lisa!

by Meghan Mccarthy

While our hero, Jack,* sleeps in New York, a couple of crooked crooks are stealing the Mona Lisa from the Louvre in Paris. Their intentions are dark--they plan to deface the famous painting with a mustache! Can brave Jack come to the rescue . . . before it's too late?           With bold cartoony illustrations and action-packed text, the talented Meghan McCarthy has created a whirlwind spy tale filled with speeding cars, daring escapes, and astounding heroism. *Names may have been changed to protect secret-agent identities.
Includes an author's note with information about the actual theft of the Mona Lisa in 1911.

Genres: Picture Books, Historical Fiction, Childrens, Realistic Fiction, Historical, Art

40 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2006

About the author

Children's book author of many wonderful fiction and nonfiction books for young readers, including the below following. Meghan's books have won the IRA-CBC Children's Choice, ALA Notable, Kirkus Reviews Reviewer's Choice, Booklist Best Books, NYPL 100 Best Books, SLJ Best Books, and so on. Blah blah blah, what Meghan really wants to do is drive really fast and jump in really long grass until she gets grass stains. She'd prefer to remain child-like because children don't have to pay bills.

The Wall Street Journal described Meghan’s art as “goofy yet somehow dignified.” Meghan is much the same way. By the age of 40 she plans to wear a boa at all times and on all occasions.

Reviews

[Nathan Albright · Rating 4 out of 5]

The other books I have read by this author are historical books and this one is clearly not, although it should be noted that the author at least based the adventure on a historical incident where the Mona Lisa was stolen by someone who was hoping to return it back to its home in Italy.  As usual, though, the author manages to combine some really cute animation (this one dealing with a brave kid whose adventures have a blithe disregard for logistical realities) with a compelling story that young readers should enjoy.  Even as someone who is at best young at heart I found a great deal to enjoy about this book.  It was certainly a fun read, and if it is not a deep sort of book it is one that many readers will be able to appreciate if they are the kind of reader who wants to insert themselves into a caper involving art theft.  The Mona Lisa is a famous enough painting that it it draws the attention of even casual art lovers, and casual art lovers (and those more serious about art) will likely enjoy the author's drawings as well.

The story of the book itself is a straightforward one.  The author imagines some thieves have stolen the Mona Lisa, and a brave boy is informed in his sleep, travels in a car that he can't drive (perhaps it can drive itself, or he is being too modest about his skills), flies to Europe, is waylaid by poison, has a bunch of gadgets, and escapes certain death with sharks before surprising the criminals who want to deface the Mona Lisa drawing.  The end result is a humorous ending where the hero, Jack, ends up back in his bed, albeit with some small alterations to his look that may require explanation.  The story is lighthearted, painted mostly in grayscale to allow for the darkness of the plot to carry the drawings, and makes light of some of the aspects of stereotypical European culture.  Whether we are looking at the spycraft of Russia or funny mustaches, there is a lot to appreciate here in the artwork, and it is comical that the Mona Lisa would even be threatened with such a treatment even by the most lunkheaded of art thieves given the fact that there is little value to be found in defacing famous artwork unless one's motives are destructive in nature.

This is the sort of book that works best the less you think about it.  The author clearly doesn't want the reader to dwell on the logistics of a child getting out of bed, driving some distance, catching a flight across the ocean, parachuting into Moscow, getting poisoned, kidnapped and nearly fed to sharks, disarming a group of art thieves and returning a stolen painting into the Louvre and returning home quickly enough to avoid detection.  Clearly, if someone could do all of these things they would be a superhero at any age, much less childhood.  That said, this is a story that is easy to enjoy if you take it with a sense of lightheartedness as a silly but fun caper that has its inspiration in actual history.  Children have a love of adventures, and this sort of adventure, which pokes fun of the cliches of entertainment that children are likely to be familiar with, is just the sort of fun that many people would like to have in their imagination, and without being so realistic that people would actually try to do these things.  The author even manages to make some subtle points about the limitations of gadgets to the proper situations.

[Kari Martycz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meghan McCarthy retold the story about the famous Mona Lisa painting being stolen from the Louvre in Paris. This story is very factual in that the painting was stolen, and in the back it explains the real story of what occurred in 1911. This story takes place with Jack who lives in New York, and is put on a mission to steal back the Mona Lisa from the robbers. Jack is dressed as a spy, and travels all the way to Paris to catch the 'crooked crooks'. Jack has many secret techniques to stop the robbers. They are both on to one another and try to stop each other from completing their mission. Jack has his own private plane, sloppy oil and an insta-blimp cord to escape from the crooks. Jack ends up drinking poisoned juice, and is kidnapped by the robbers, who makes him "wear silly mustaches, eat vegetables, and watch chicken videos over and over". Jack uses his special gadgets to escape and steal back the Mona Lisa, and successfully puts it back in the Louvre.

The author provides the factual story in the back of the book. This story would be great for grade K-3rd, it is a funny version of the truth. It would be great to use for a writing activity to teach how to elaborate on a story and incorporate exaggeration, details and elaboration.

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like books that tell a different story. While I love cute animals doing cute things, and books and nighttime book marks, I also like books that follow a totally random story. In this case, a little boy in New York City wakes up and realizes that some crooks are stealing the Mona Lisa. (how he knows this? no idea, just go with it). Then he gets in a plane with a private pilot (how did he find it? no idea, just go with it). Then he gets thrown overboard and survives. (how exactly? no idea, just go with it).

So yes, it's totally fantastical and a bit of a wild ride. It's a fun read aloud book best read with your mysterious voice.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I absolutely love Meghan Mccarthy. I wish this book was more like her other historical picture books. If it told the actual story of the stealing of the Mona Lisa I think it would be a more interesting read. I enjoyed reading the story in the back matter but the story line with the little boy Jack trying to get it back was a little confusing at times especially for younger readers.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jack's special mission is to go to France, and steal back the Mona Lisa from the crooks who plan to use permanent markers to draw a mustache on it. Arm with an arsenal of super spy gadgets, Jack is on his way to complete his mission. This dream world story also reveals facts of the real theft of the painting on 21 Aug 1911.

[Smurf · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so fun to read! The illustrations were fantastic and the story was a cute, fun adventure. I enjoyed reading it, and I know many other children will. The book is about something every child wants: to embark on a heroic adventure and save the day.

[Caliana Berch · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fun and imaginative! The illustrations and plot make you want to keep going! Kids will get excited to read this book!

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars for this adventure of sleeping Jack who is pulled from his bed to steal back the Mona Lisa

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'd rate this a 3.
The boy during the early years always enjoyed this one for some reason so it gets bumped up to 4.

[Starbubbles · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute book about a child spy stealing back the mona lisa from crooked crooks.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is extremely fun, imaginative, and funny to read. It is such a fun concept to write a book like this based on the true event of the Mona Lisa being stolen.

The book is about Secret Agent Jack who is given a mission to retrieve the Mona Lisa back from the crooked crooks who want to draw a mustache on her! So Agent Jack goes on multiple mini adventures to try to get the painting back to only be foiled or misdirected by the crooks. He eventually does get the painting back and his secret agent cover isn't quite blown.

The illustrations in the book are comic-esque and are still beautiful and fun to look at. They will definitely make children want to look more carefully at the pages to catch all the little fun things in each picture.

Makes me want to be a secret agent with super cool gadgets, perhaps it would be fun to play with some kids after reading this delightful book.

[Larissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

McCarthy, Meghan. Steal Back the Mona Lisa! Orlando: Harcourt, 2006. Print. Ages 8-10. Steal Back the Mona Lisa is a very confusing book for students to read. This book is a story of how there are two crooks who have stolen this famous painting and Jack is trying to save it. It tells the story of Jack sneaking out of his room, taking planes, going airborne, and a few other things to try to save the Mona Lisa. Eventually, Jack does get it back in place, but this is something that is serious for Jack and his situation. I don't think that this book was my favorite, because it was so confusing especially for kids. I think I could definitely relate to this book because after watching the movie National Treasure this is exactly where it reminded me of.

[Ariane Morrissette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so clever! I would read this to any child. I thought it did a very good job of capturing a child's imagination. The boy jack and all of his adventures and gadgets is just so fun! I mean what kid doesn't want to be a spy at one point or another. The art is fun too. I love the mustaches! Historically speaking, it was fun to see a twist on the original theft using some fun original facts. It was an exciting story to read aloud.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a slightly silly story about thieves stealing the Mona Lisa in order to deface it and the secret agent, Jack, who pursues them. Jack has to overcome repeated attempts to thwart him in the most nonsensical, Inspector Gadget and James Bond style hi-jinks. At the end, there is a page about the time that the Mona Lisa was actually stolen, which bears little to no comparison to the story that precedes it. All in all, it's not my favorite book by Meghan McCarthy, but it's still good.

[Jostalady]

The Da Vinci exhibit at OMSI didn't grab my two year old's attention, but she recognized the Mona Lisa so I was looking for a fun book to make the exhibit more interesting and lasting for her. This one is cute, short with one large print zany font sentence per page. She wanted to read it herself over and over again. I also didn't know that the Mona Lisa had actually been stolen in 1911! Fun book.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever book about a young boy who goes on a secret agent adventure to rescue the Mona Lisa from some dastardly robbers who want to deface her.

Grandsons and I liked the illustrations and gadgets Jack used in his quest.

Also includes actual history about the theft of the Mona Lisa in 1911.

A fun book that also teaches. Yay!

Featured at Story Hour at the Huntsville Public Library.

[Morgan Sommers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! I really enjoyed the questions throughout the book to make you like about what was going to happen next! It made me want to keep reading it. The pictures were great! They were very detailed and fun to look at. The faces Mona Lisa had were hilarious! It was a great way to make a historical event interesting for children and myself!

[Taylor Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this picture book. Meghan Mccarthy knows how to entertain children and how to keep their attention. I think she did a great job of creating a book that tells of an actual historical event and making it really exciting and fun for children. This would be a really great book to read to a young classroom that is having a lesson on classic art. Great book!

[Lisa Lathrop · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun mystery book of a young boy, Jack, who hunts down the thieves who stole the Mona Lisa from the Louve. Based on the fact that the painting really was stolen. Delightful illustrations of maps, Jack's travles, and the thieves in disguise. Highly recommend. I often use it to teach DaVinci and after this story, young children have a definite awareness of this famous painting.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is great mystery about someone stealing the Mona Lisa and a young man feeling the need to save it with all of the spy gear that shows up. I am now worried about mustaches being painted on all of the art in my house. Ages 3+

[Kathy Ellen Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was really fun!
What kid doesn't want to be a spy?

I love the tie-in with the Mona Lisa.
And how things really get bad for Jack.
Will he escape almost certain peril?
Will he stop the crooks from defacing the Mona Lisa?

you'll just have to read to find out :)

[Abby · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wasn't a fan of the writing because it didn't really leave much room to ask any type of questions. I think this book would be better to read by yourself rather then with a classroom of children. I do think the pictures and the idea were cute but I didn't like the way Meghan Mccarthy wrote it.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has fun stylized images. A number of detective cliches are addressed with exaggeration and humor. -The outfits of good and bad guys, for example.
I wonder how my nephew and niece would react to the book. Probably with cuteness.

[Julianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super funny books, very clever and silly, and based on a true event. Now a lot of the story is made up, but the fact that the Mona Lisa was stolen and mysteriously returned is true. Be sure to read the newspaper at the end of the book to learn about what really happened.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a blast reading this book! It was clever, fun, and silly. Not only was it entertaining, but the illustrations were descriptive and unique! I loved that this story took a historical event and made it interesting for kids.

[Luann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This could be called a modern version of "Big Max," one of my childhood favorites! Loved the pictures, and the story was just improbable enough to be really fun.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading at the end about the time when the Mona Lisa was really stolen in 1911 and how it was recovered.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

A traveling caper with a kid as narrator. I laughed out loud once. Illustrations are good.

[Carson Marie]

Another graphic novel that tells about a boy name Jack living in New York City that must embark on special mission to steal back the Mona Lisa from the crooks in France. But will he make it in time?

[Breanne Driesel · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I liked about this book was the illustration. I loved how it started out in a completely different setting and then settled in to where they stayed the rest of the time.