Zoe Sophia's Scrapbook: An Adventure in Venice

by Claudia Mauner, Elisa Smalley

Overview

Adventurous Zoe Sophia and her dog, Mickey, embark on a whirlwind trip to Venice to visit her great aunt Dorothy Pomander. During her stay, Zoe Sophia sees the sites, explores the city and bonds with her wonderful, quirky aunt. Featuring fun, vibrant watercolor illustrations, this engaging scrapbook captures the landscape of Venice and the importance of loving relationships.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781452111452
Publisher:	Chronicle Books LLC
Publication date:	12/16/2011
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	NOOK Book
Pages:	40
File size:	12 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Claudia Mauner is an illustrator and graphic designer who has always loved to travel. She grew up in the United States and has lived in Switzerland and France. She currently resides in Pennsylvania with her daughter, Zoe Sophia.
Elisa Smalley has lived all over the world including Rio, Tokyo, and London. She currently lives in New York with her husband and two children.

Editorial Reviews

Zoe Sophia and her beloved pooch head off for a visit to her great aunt in Italy. "Readers may well shout, `Brava!' and wish for the heroine's swift return," said PW's starred review. Ages 6-up. (Apr.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Gr 1-4-Using the popular diary format, this travelogue takes its spunky nine-year-old heroine and her dachshund from Manhattan to visit her great-aunt in Venice. They tour museums, shop for masks, ride a gondola, and observe a glassblower. Double-page watercolor-and-ink illustrations, as well as smaller framed "snapshots," are at once aesthetically pleasing and comical. Suspense is introduced when Zoe's dog disappears, but gondolier Ludovico saves the day in an endearing scene involving concerned faces stained with spaghetti al nero. The book offers bits of information, appealing characters, and a sense of the majesty and grandeur of Italy's palaces and piazzas; it will interest armchair and authentic travelers alike. Removing the dust jacket reveals a labeled map on the cover. Pair this title with Christina Bj rk's Vendela in Venice (R & S, 1999), Candace Fleming's Gabriella's Song (Atheneum, 1997), or the Classical Kids CD Vivaldi's Ring of Mystery for further insights into the city's charms.-Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Nine-year-old Zoe Sophia and her dachshund Mickey visit her great aunt Dorothy Pomander, who lives in Venice. Zoe Sophia writes about her plane ride, Dorothy's apartment with the Chagall, visiting the Accademia, the mask shop, and riding in a gondola with Ludovico, the gondolier. Alert readers will note that the omnipresent Mickey doesn't make it into the gondola. Zoe Sophia panics, but Ludovico retrieves the dog. La Fenice and Murano complete Zoe Sophia's week, and she goes home with Venetian gifts for all. A few Italian words add spice to the text, and the back endpaper is quite a nifty collage of tickets and receipts such as one gets all over Italy. Watercolor-and-ink pictures do better by architecture, both New York and Venetian, than by figures, rendered waggishly with pin-dot eyes, round heads, and pointy features. Zoe is a lively companion, but there's more Venice deliziosa in Christina Bjork's Vendela in Venice (1999) or all of Italy in Carol Weston's The Diary of Melanie Martin or: How I Survived Matt the Brat, Michelangelo, and the Leaning Tower of Pizza (2000). (Picture book. 6-9)

Kirkus Reviews

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