Brave Donatella and the Jasmine Thief - Hardcover

McAlister, Caroline

4.14

64 ratings by Goodreads

9781570917295: Brave Donatella and the Jasmine Thief

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1570917299 ISBN 13: 9781570917295

Publisher: Charlesbridge, 2010

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Duke Cosimo de’ Medici loved beautiful and exotic things, particularly flowers and plants from far-off lands. So when an explorer delivers the magnificent jasmine plant all the way from India as a present to the duke, Cosimo guards it jealously, forbidding anyone to remove even one leaf for themselves. When the foolish gardener Antonio, determined to prove his love for Donatella, clips a sprig of the forbidden jasmine, he is sent to Volterra prison. Now brave Donatella is his only hope for freedom. The story of Brave Donatella and the Jasmine Thief is based on a legend about Duke Cosimo de’ Medici and the origins of the Italian bridal tradition of wearing a sprig of jasmine on one’s wedding dress. Back matter describes Renaissance Florence and the rise of the Medici family. With links to art, history, and science, this book will please readers of all interests.

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About the Author:

Caroline McAlister is the author of HOLY MOLE (August House/Little Folk). She teaches writing at Guilford College, and lives in Greensboro, North Carolina.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 1-3 Duke Cosimo de'Medici of Florence, collector of exotic plants, jealously guards the jasmine brought from India by Vasco da Gama and is known to torture those who displease him. Antonio, the youngest gardener, is made bold by love and cuts a small sprig for beautiful Donatella. The duke notices, discovers Antonio is the thief, and has him imprisoned in a distant town. When Donatella learns what has happened, she plants the jasmine in a clay pot and walks three days and two nights to Volterra. There she drugs Cosimo's guards with tea infused with poppy petals. She rescues Antonio, and they flee. At her wedding Donatella wears a sprig of jasmine for happiness and good luck. For this memorable love story, McAlister supplies historical background in an author's note. Hendricks uses colored pencils and a black fine-line marker for the illustrations, framing most of them with gold bands and featuring trailing vines and white jasmine blossoms in the borders. Pair this title with Paul O. Zelinsky's Rapunzel (Dutton, 1997), another love story with an unusual plant at its heart and the Italian countryside as its background. Mary Jean Smith, Southside Elementary School, Lebanon, TN
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