Ciao, Sandro!

by Steven Varni, Luciano Lozano (Illustrator)

Overview

The picture book Ciao, Sandro! follows the adventures of a lovable Venetian dog as he explores the streets and canals of his beloved city on a special mission.

Meet Sandro!

As the loyal first mate to gondolier Nicola, Sandro knows everything about his home, the beautiful city of Venice. Sandro and Nicola go everywhere together. But today, Sandro is venturing out on his own for the first time. He is on a very important secret mission!
What is Sandro up to? And what friends will he meet along the way?

This charming story from author Steven Varni and illustrator Luciano Lozano follows a dog-about-town (based on a real canine!) on a journey to a heartwarming surprise—teaching young readers all about Venice as he goes! The backmatter includes a glossary of Italian words and a pronunciation guide.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419743900
Publisher:	Abrams Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	06/08/2021
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	824,351
Product dimensions:	10.70(w) x 8.70(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Steven Varni was born and raised in California, then spent years in New York City working in bookstores and writing and editing articles and books for adults. Since 2010 he has lived with his family in Venice, Italy, where he meets all kinds of people and animals—including a gondolier’s loyal little dog who really does know how to take vaporetti around the lagoon by himself.

Editorial Reviews

04/26/2021

Sandro is a little dog who wears a jaunty, blue-striped shirt and red bandana like his human Nicola, a white gondolier in Venice. He’s a “loyal first mate, navigator, and guard dog whenever Nic was called away from the boat,” writes Varni, making his picture book debut. Today, however, Sandro is off the gondola and calling on human friends at their distinctly Venetian workplaces, all of whom greet him with a warm “Ciao, Sandro!” Lozano’s (Call Me Max) sunny, slice-of-life drawings—rendered in digitally enhanced watercolor pencils and ink—capture the dog dodging tourists and delivery carts, and passing through back streets and famous sites, including the elaborate mosaic floor at the Basilica di San Marco. But this is no freewheeling doggie adventure: a few pages later, it’s revealed that Sandro has been personally reminding each of the pair’s friends to come to Nic’s surprise birthday party. Tagging along on Sandro’s mission makes for a satisfying outing, and young readers will certainly resonate with a small, cuddly, and much beloved protagonist who is also supremely confident on his own in the busy world. A glossary explains the meaning and pronunciation of Italian terms sprinkled through- out the text. Ages 4–8. Illustrator’s agent: Kirsten Hall, Catbird Agency. (June)

Publishers Weekly

"Varni’s writing lovingly evokes this European capital." —Kirkus Reviews

"Tagging along on Sandro’s mission makes for a satisfying outing, and young readers will certainly resonate with a small, cuddly, and much beloved protagonist who is also supremely confident on his own in the busy world." —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

2021-04-14
Take a tour of Venice from a dog’s-eye view.

Meet Sandro, a small black and tan dog with perky ears and wide cartoon eyes. He and his gondolier owner, Nicola, wear matching blue-and-white striped tops, with a dashing straw hat for Nic and a red neckerchief for Sandro. Together, they spend their days on the canals of Venice, but today Sandro “ha[s] people to see, places to go!” and embarks on a secret mission that takes him, and readers with him, on an uneventful tour of the historic city. This confident little dog marches through small alleys, crosses bridges, and even boards a vaporetto (a Venetian water bus) to ensure everything is shipshape for—surprise!—Nic’s birthday party. Despite a hearty sprinkling of Italian phrases and Venice-specific terms (complete with a glossary at the back), the book really fails to convey the vibrancy of Venice, which, as a major global cultural center and tourist hot spot, is in reality constantly bustling with dense, diverse crowds conspicuously absent from the dull, static illustrations. Everyone depicted, named or otherwise, has one of two skin tones: unvaried peach for White people (including Nicola) or a cadaverous taupe for people of color. While Varni’s writing lovingly evokes this European capital, the visual accompaniment fails to do justice to this heart-stoppingly beautiful city. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

It’s a good thing ciao can mean hello—or goodbye. (Picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews