Copyright
© 2006 by Meghan McCarthy
In Paris, France the famous Mona Lisa is stolen from the
Louvre. Meanwhile, across the ocean a
young boy named Jack is awakened by what appears to be a radio with wings. It commands him to “steal back the Mona Lisa!”
A bewildered Jack discovers that the
closet, instead of containing his clothes, is full of trench coats, fedoras and
brown suits. This ordinary boy has been
transformed into a special agent. While
his parents sleep, he climbs out the window and rappels down the side of his
house. Thus begins Jack’s three step mission:
1. fly across the Atlantic Ocean; 2. seize the Mona Lisa from the thieves and
3. return the painting to its rightful place at the Louvre.
The crooks’ plan is not to sell the painting. No their intentions are much more devious. They
will deface the Mona Lisa by drawing a goofy mustache on her.
The crooks attempt to thwart Jack but Jack foils
them at every turn. When he is being tailed en route to the airport, he uses
his special hat to release slippery oil that causes the pursuing car to swerve
off the road. When Jack boards the private plane, the pilot is a bad guy and Jack
leaps off the plane, using his insta-blimp cord to inflate his jacket and float
to the ground.
Unfortunately, when Jack goes to a restaurant, his beverage is
poisoned. He is kidnapped and tied up. Left to dangle over the crooks’ boat in shark
infested waters, Jack tries all of his gadgets to aide his escape. His insta-blimp
cord, laser light and oily hat button all malfunction.
He then tries his, yet unused, special
- agent watch. A pair of scissors emerge
and allow Jack to free himself at last. Jack arrives where the painting is
being held, not a moment too soon. One of the thieves has a permanent marker,
and his hand is poised to deface the Mona Lisa. Jack uses his handy special- agent watch again,
this time to lasso the culprits.
Under cover of darkness, a very stealthy Jack travels to France
and completes his mission: he returns the Mona Lisa to it’s rightful place!
“Using secret methods too treacherous to
mention,” Jack arrives back home and you assume that it was all a dream, but was
it? Read Steal Back the Mona Lisa! and take a look at Jack and his teddy bear
in bed on the last double page spread and decide for yourself.
Steal Back the Mona
Lisa! is a comical story of adventure and intrigue. The expressions on the
face of the Mona Lisa and the other famous paintings are hilarious. Depending on the scene, the Mona Lisa looks
upset, aghast or relieved. The gadgets in the book are super cool. What kid
does not dream of being a spy and possessing gadgets to help them escape danger
and to save the day. The first time I
borrowed Steal Back the Mona Lisa! from
the library, my son interrupted me halfway through and said, “I don’t ever want
to return this book.” I agreed with him, so I bought it. I hope that
McCarthy writes a sequel. We would
be thrilled to read another adventure with Special Agent Jack.
Art Dog by Thacher Hurd in which the “Mona Woofa” is
stolen, would make a great pairing for a double dose of art adventure at
storytime.
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