Runaway Rosa (Witches of Benevento Series #5)

by John Bemelmans Marciano, Sophie Blackall (Illustrator)

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780425291528
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	08/21/2018
Series:	Witches of Benevento Series , #5
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	96
Lexile:	660L (what's this?)
File size:	49 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

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.

Editorial Reviews

"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

From the Publisher

2018-05-14
Gender expectations get a tweak with the arrival of a new little sibling for twins Emilio and Rosa.Following a loud refusal to join the women who have gathered to help Momma through labor, Rosa's life takes such a turn for the worse—diapers, housework, cooking, ugh—that at last she furiously runs off to live in the trees (till dinnertime). She creates an even bigger stir by insisting on signing up for the formerly boys-only Great Hunt of the Boar, promising her shocked father she'll return to her despised domestic duties if she loses. (She doesn't lose.) Meanwhile, Emilio is thrilled by the new arrival ("Is it a boy or a girl?" "Why don't you look for yourself?"). He just feigns reluctance to take over child care duties after his sister threatens to disclose his secret reading, and he avoids signing up for the hunt himself but coaches Rosa on the best techniques for success. As in earlier episodes, on nearly every page Blackall deftly captures the characters of fiery Rosa, gentle Emilio, and the rest of Benevento's olive-skinned country cast in her two-color sketches. Also as in most of the earlier volumes, the local supernatural residents remain present but just out of sight…though a closing revelation hints that that may not always be the case.Trials, tempests, and triumphs in a still-beguiling Italian country setting. (historical and cultural afterwords) (Fantasy. 8-10)

Kirkus Reviews