Runaway Rosa

Description

The Benevento cousins return for more adventures in the ancient town that's famous for its witches! The Benevento children are excitedly preparing for the annual Boar Hunt, where the prize of the Golden Tusk is given to the ten-year old who catches the boar. No girl has ever competed, but Rosa is determined to take part -and win! She refuses to stay home and help take care of the new baby and cook and clean. She will just have to run away. Life was very different in Benevento of the 1800s, and John Marciano's clever story and Sophie Blackall's charming illustrations bring the town, its people, and its past to vivid life.

John Marciano is the author of the first four Benevento books. He also wrote and illustrated several books that carry on his grandfather's legacy of the Madeline books- Madeline and the Cats of Rome; Madeline at the White House, Madeline and the Old House in Paris and Madeline Says Merci. He is the author of The Nine Lives of Alexander Baddenfield and of two books for adults, Anonyponoymous and What Ever Happened to the Metric System. Sophie Blackall is originally from Australia. She has illustrated over thirty books for children, which include the Ivy and Bean series as well as Big Red Lollipop, a New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the year. Sophie received the 2016 Caldecott Medal for her illustrations for Finding Winnie. Sophie shares a studio with John Marciano, Sergio Ruzzier, and Brian Floca.

"Trials, tempests, and triumphs in a still-beguiling Italian country setting." --Kirkus Reviews "Winningly blends broad comedy with eerie encounters . . . A droll picture of life yesteryear in a-seemingly-ordinary Italian town" -Kirkus Reviews "Blackall's distinctive drawings are sweet and expressive" -School Library Journal Praise for The Witches of Benevento series: "Blackall's delicate, lovely artwork is bewitching and Marciano's text is, as the title implies, loaded with molto mischief. I can't wait to read what the Janara have in store for the Benevento kids next." -Lane Smith, author of Return to Augie Hobble "Not your run-of-the-mill chapter book. What we have here is a fresh, charming tale about an Italian village afflicted with witches and the brave, quarrelsome band of friends who try to make their acquaintance. A frisky, ingenious introduction to an old world and a new series." -Annie Barrows, author of the Ivy and Bean series "There is a mystery in Benevento-a mystery of witches and spirits and magic. Will you go back in time to this charming town and solve the mystery? And if you do, will you tell me what the solution is? Really! Please tell me! But watch out for the spirits. They are mischievous indeed...The Witches is a charming, intelligent tale, illustrated beautifully and evocatively. -Adam Gidwitz, author of A Tale Dark and Grimm