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Geronimo Stilton - Original Italian Pub. Order #10
The Mona Mousa Code
Do you like art? I do! So when Thea heard that there was a secret map hidden beneath Mouse Island's most famous painting, the Monamouse, I knew we had to get the scoop! Together we began to investigate, and soon we discovered secret clues that led us to the most fabumouse secret. And it all lay beneath the streets of New Mouse City!
128 pages, Turtleback
First published January 1, 1997
195 people are currently reading
2120 people want to read
About the author
Geronimo Stilton
2,125 books3,114 followersA pseudonym of Elisabetta Dami, see also Tea Stilton.
Elisabetta Dami is an Italian author that currently resides in Italy. She is the author of the Geronimo Stilton series, a bestselling childrens book. She enjoys traveling the world seeking ideas for her series. She writes under a pseudonym of Geronimo Stilton. She is also a co-owner of Italian based publishing company Edizioni Piemme.
Elisabetta Dami is an Italian author that currently resides in Italy. She is the author of the Geronimo Stilton series, a bestselling childrens book. She enjoys traveling the world seeking ideas for her series. She writes under a pseudonym of Geronimo Stilton. She is also a co-owner of Italian based publishing company Edizioni Piemme.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 122 reviews
July 3, 2012
This story is definitely a bit "cheesy." However, it was interesting to read more about Leonardo da Vinci and his patron. Summer 2012 #bookaday
April 4, 2025
Gostei muito deste livro a não ser a parte final porque afinal o quadro estava no labirinto da cidade e não deu tanto suspense.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 17, 2009
I liked this book very much. It was cute that everything is mouse-like. Like the mona mousa instead of the mona lisa. It gave some accusations of there being another picture under her smile. LOL they were also saying "Why was she smiling was it because that she knew what was underneath the painting." They also had a labyrinth in the story. But to make a long story short it was creative, funny and a good story over all.
November 15, 2023
I think this is a spin-off of The Da Vinci Code (which, by the way, DO NOT READ, since it's basically a bunch of blasphemy and evil thrown together), but it was wayyyy better than that book. The plot wasn't too interesting, though.
Content warnings: None.
Content warnings: None.
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January 23, 2025Hehe, was een goede Franse afwisseling van L'étranger.
August 15, 2025
just remembered this book and how it was my favorite as a kid. Thinking I will give it a reread sometime soon🫶
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December 12, 2024started it for the nostalgia then remembered theres a whole bunch of girlyppp books for thea stilton so now imma read those instead LOL
April 28, 2013
We borrowed an audio CD with two Geronimo Stilton chapter books on it from our local library. It was narrated by Bill Lobley and I thought the different voices he used were very entertaining.
We listened to it during our long drive back home from our weekend trip to Williamsburg. My husband was not amused, so I didn't even try to listen to the other story.
This story was filled with drama and intrigue and I think it was patterned on Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. I thought it was pretty entertaining, even if it was quite corny, and I was glad that I didn't have to read it aloud. Our girls are always a fan of good old Geronimo, so it was a nice way to pass the time during our drive.
We listened to it during our long drive back home from our weekend trip to Williamsburg. My husband was not amused, so I didn't even try to listen to the other story.
This story was filled with drama and intrigue and I think it was patterned on Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code. I thought it was pretty entertaining, even if it was quite corny, and I was glad that I didn't have to read it aloud. Our girls are always a fan of good old Geronimo, so it was a nice way to pass the time during our drive.
September 11, 2020
The Mona Mousa code the first thing that came to my mind is MONA LISA the painting the best part of the book being mystery, u know how much I like mystery books, Geronimo had to crack the code behind the Mona mousa for which they had to crack the clues.my favourite in this book was trap because he was the person who climbed to the top. my favourite part of the book is when they found out that someone else was there in the building.it was kinda gross that they made thea have a lot of boyfriends and think they shouldn't have. but other than that it was actually a pretty great book.
February 6, 2021
Muy entretenido, de pequeña me encantaban y me ha hecho mucha ilusión volver a leer éste. Obviamente para un adulto es una lectura de 30min y súper sencilla. Pero para un niño es ideal, ameno, fácil de leer y divertido. Lo recomiendo para los que tengáis peques y queráis adentrarlos en la lectura.
June 28, 2010
it was good. His writing is kind-of babyish but the plot is pretty cool.
October 18, 2015
Cute story with a take on the Da Vinci Code.
January 22, 2019
I enjoyed this one very much. I really liked the mystery of it. The quest was very intriguing. I thought the clues was very unique and well done. However, the "sneaky man" was pretty obvious.
June 21, 2017
This one was (no pun intended) cheesy.
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August 6, 2022i used to binge all of these
July 21, 2024
This book was about the mystery of MONA MOUSA
I LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!!
I LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!!
April 26, 2021
The Mona Mousa Code (Geronimo Stilton, #15) was published in the year 1997, by Elisabetta Dami. The book is part of the Geronimo Stilton series wherein it revolves around the vast adventures of journalist and editor Geronimo Stilton who runs the fictional Mouse Island's newspaper called 'The Rodent Gazette'. Geronimo Stilton, who is the main character, actively seeks new discoveries along with his sister Thea Stilton, to serve as content for their newspaper. Joining him is his cousin Trap Stilton and his favorite little nephew Benjamin Stilton.
The journey starts as Geronimo's cousin, Trap, barges over to his house to tell Geronimo about the secret of Mousardo da Munchie's painting the Mona Mousa. They met Thea's boyfriend Frick Tapioca at the mouseum where he revealed 11 different locations behind the painting and each location contains a letter forming a word to solve the mystery. Eventually, they were able to gather all of the different letters and formed a word. The squad went to the spot needed and began to look for clues. As they were about to give up, Trap climbed to the top of a statue and began to shout the word as the ground went upside down revealing the secret. A labyrinth hidden for centuries appeared. In the end, They were awarded for their achievement at the mouseum.
The book allowed me to realize a lot of things. Aside from it being a book meant for children to read, adults can realize different aspects especially personal growth and development. First, passion is what really drives you to the things you really want to accomplish. Like Geronimo, a well-accomplished journalist himself would not have reached his goals without his drive to endlessly seek new content for his newspaper. It is written and described in the series how Geronimo's passion would lead him to new discoveries and pushes him to never give up as it is his dream to become an excellent journalist. He does not like to settle not because he is not content with what he has but he continues to seek what lacks in him and strives to become better. Second, the book and the series tackle the importance of family. Thea, Trap, and Benjamin were always there to support their relative in order to achieve his dream and I think that with this book, it actually teaches children to be more appreciative especially with their family. Families are the people we have since rock bottom and will never let go until the very end. Third, the book and the series teach its readers to have camaraderie and teamwork. It is proven how many things can be accomplished if we divide and conquer rather than doing it in solidarity. Overall, the book tackles many positive influences that I hope the readers will realize and hopefully adapt to their mentality.
In conclusion, the book has an interesting storyline. It has a proper flow and the plot is definitely unique. The author did a great job in maintaining the consistency of the book's story and background. Again, this book and the series bring many good influences like being passionate, value family, working together, and many more. I highly recommend others to not only read a book but if possible, read the entire series as not only is it for entertainment but actually uphold proper ideals that will hopefully engage the youth to be good citizens in the family as well as in the community.
The journey starts as Geronimo's cousin, Trap, barges over to his house to tell Geronimo about the secret of Mousardo da Munchie's painting the Mona Mousa. They met Thea's boyfriend Frick Tapioca at the mouseum where he revealed 11 different locations behind the painting and each location contains a letter forming a word to solve the mystery. Eventually, they were able to gather all of the different letters and formed a word. The squad went to the spot needed and began to look for clues. As they were about to give up, Trap climbed to the top of a statue and began to shout the word as the ground went upside down revealing the secret. A labyrinth hidden for centuries appeared. In the end, They were awarded for their achievement at the mouseum.
The book allowed me to realize a lot of things. Aside from it being a book meant for children to read, adults can realize different aspects especially personal growth and development. First, passion is what really drives you to the things you really want to accomplish. Like Geronimo, a well-accomplished journalist himself would not have reached his goals without his drive to endlessly seek new content for his newspaper. It is written and described in the series how Geronimo's passion would lead him to new discoveries and pushes him to never give up as it is his dream to become an excellent journalist. He does not like to settle not because he is not content with what he has but he continues to seek what lacks in him and strives to become better. Second, the book and the series tackle the importance of family. Thea, Trap, and Benjamin were always there to support their relative in order to achieve his dream and I think that with this book, it actually teaches children to be more appreciative especially with their family. Families are the people we have since rock bottom and will never let go until the very end. Third, the book and the series teach its readers to have camaraderie and teamwork. It is proven how many things can be accomplished if we divide and conquer rather than doing it in solidarity. Overall, the book tackles many positive influences that I hope the readers will realize and hopefully adapt to their mentality.
In conclusion, the book has an interesting storyline. It has a proper flow and the plot is definitely unique. The author did a great job in maintaining the consistency of the book's story and background. Again, this book and the series bring many good influences like being passionate, value family, working together, and many more. I highly recommend others to not only read a book but if possible, read the entire series as not only is it for entertainment but actually uphold proper ideals that will hopefully engage the youth to be good citizens in the family as well as in the community.
February 7, 2018
Geronimo Stilton is a mouse and the editor of The Rodent Gazette. In this tale he is called upon to investigate the mystery of the Mona Mousa (based on the Mona Lisa)- there is a secret hidden in the painting. He is accompanied by his wily cousin Trap, young nephew Benjamin, and his sister Thea- a special correspondent and collector of boyfriends. They work together to solve the mystery, which involves finding letters hidden in places throughout New Mouse City and using them to spell a word that leads to the final clue. The book ends with Geronimo selling the movie rights to his story to Steven Spielmouse.
It’s easy to see why children love this series. Aside from the humorous storyline, full of puns and other word play, the format is conducive to quick reading. Colorful font changes break up the text, minimizing the intimidating effect of long blocks of text and chapters. The various fonts help express the concepts in the book, for example, on page 20 when the protagonist enters the museum, the font changes in style and color as he refers to different kinds of art and artifacts housed there: hieroglyph-like blue geometric letters for “mummies” and old style italics for “old masters.” These cues can help uncertain readers understand the words. The brightly colored cartoonish illustrations also serve to break up the text, keeping the eye moving along to the next twist in the tale. Reluctant readers will be encouraged to keep reading as they see fun illustrations ahead foreshadowing the events about to occur.
The humor can be appreciated on multiple levels. For example, I doubt many children would understand the significance Mousardo da Munchie being a spoof of Leonardo Da Vinci, but there is also more obvious silliness such as naming the art critic character Artsy Fartsyfur. From a gender equity perspective, I was a little disappointed that the only main female character uses her attractiveness to males manipulate them and gain information. I hope the author added more un-stereotypical female characters later in the series.
It’s easy to see why children love this series. Aside from the humorous storyline, full of puns and other word play, the format is conducive to quick reading. Colorful font changes break up the text, minimizing the intimidating effect of long blocks of text and chapters. The various fonts help express the concepts in the book, for example, on page 20 when the protagonist enters the museum, the font changes in style and color as he refers to different kinds of art and artifacts housed there: hieroglyph-like blue geometric letters for “mummies” and old style italics for “old masters.” These cues can help uncertain readers understand the words. The brightly colored cartoonish illustrations also serve to break up the text, keeping the eye moving along to the next twist in the tale. Reluctant readers will be encouraged to keep reading as they see fun illustrations ahead foreshadowing the events about to occur.
The humor can be appreciated on multiple levels. For example, I doubt many children would understand the significance Mousardo da Munchie being a spoof of Leonardo Da Vinci, but there is also more obvious silliness such as naming the art critic character Artsy Fartsyfur. From a gender equity perspective, I was a little disappointed that the only main female character uses her attractiveness to males manipulate them and gain information. I hope the author added more un-stereotypical female characters later in the series.
July 22, 2017
Genres for this class fulfilled by this book: Easy Reader, Series
Copyright Date: 2000
Estimate of age level of interest: grade 2-4
Estimate of reading level: grade 3
Brief description:
Geronimo Stilton, his sister Thea, cousin Trap and nephew Benjamin go on treasure hunt after finding clues that had been painted under the famous Mona Mousa painting.
Identify at least 2 characteristics of this genre and subgenre and discuss how they appear in your book: Series books are aimed at enjoyment. They want to hook the reader with fast paced plots and familiar characters. Geronime Stilton books are no different. This is the 15th book in the series. As an easy reader this book has more pages and longer sentences than a picture book. More text per page with beginning chapters but still has the natural language of the emergent reader.
In what ways and how well does the book as a whole serve its intended audience? These books are an excellent way to hook young and reluctant readers. The story keeps you wondering with familiar silly characters kids will love. The images are bright and colorful and the font used helps the readers feel the words with bold colorful type that leaps off the page.
Awards if any: N/A
Citations:N/A
Copyright Date: 2000
Estimate of age level of interest: grade 2-4
Estimate of reading level: grade 3
Brief description:
Geronimo Stilton, his sister Thea, cousin Trap and nephew Benjamin go on treasure hunt after finding clues that had been painted under the famous Mona Mousa painting.
Identify at least 2 characteristics of this genre and subgenre and discuss how they appear in your book: Series books are aimed at enjoyment. They want to hook the reader with fast paced plots and familiar characters. Geronime Stilton books are no different. This is the 15th book in the series. As an easy reader this book has more pages and longer sentences than a picture book. More text per page with beginning chapters but still has the natural language of the emergent reader.
In what ways and how well does the book as a whole serve its intended audience? These books are an excellent way to hook young and reluctant readers. The story keeps you wondering with familiar silly characters kids will love. The images are bright and colorful and the font used helps the readers feel the words with bold colorful type that leaps off the page.
Awards if any: N/A
Citations:N/A
November 15, 2021
This book is comedy, mysterious and includes a bit of romance too. I would recommend this book to the children and early teenagers. The language is quiet simple and easy to understand. This book is written by Gerenimo stilton (Elisabeta Dami). This story basically expresses teamwork. This story consists of 4 characters- Gerenimo, Thea, Benjamin and Trap. Gerenimo stilton works in a newspaper publishing company and acts as a detective in this story. His sister Thea, His cousin Trap and his nephew Benjamin work on the secrets of mona mousa painting. They all are behind a code to find the painting. The painting has been stolen. They wander around the whole city finding the letters of the code. Finally they crack the code in the end...
May 21, 2020
Este libro se trataba de una pintura que tenía un secreto, Geronimo y su familia lo quieren saber. Entonces el novio de Tea les dio una pista que iban encontrado que se referia a 11 pistas en 11 lugares que forman la balabra labyrinthus. Los twists son que no se entiende el secreto. Los personajes son Geronimo el principal, Tea su hermana baliente, Trampita el primo chistoso lleno de bromas de Geronimo y Banjamin el sobrino preferido de Geronimo. Creo que este libro me cambio porque aprendi a tener mas cuidado. Le recomendaria este libro a mi prima porque creo que le gustaria.
June 19, 2020
Miss 5 listened to this by audiobook and enjoyed it so much that she asked for another. (After we listened to all of the audiobook Geronimo Stilton's that we could borrow, we started buying and borrowing the physical books; it helped that she was already very familiar with the characters and their quirks).
Miss 5 and I like to explore different books and authors at the library, sometimes around particular topics or themes. We try to get different ones out every week or so; it's fun for both of us to have the variety and to look at a mix of new & favourite authors.
Miss 5 and I like to explore different books and authors at the library, sometimes around particular topics or themes. We try to get different ones out every week or so; it's fun for both of us to have the variety and to look at a mix of new & favourite authors.
February 23, 2025
The Mona Mousa code the first thing that came to my mind is Mona Lisa, the painting the best part of the book being mystery, you know how much.
I like mystery books, Geronimo had to crack the code behind the Mona mousa for which they had to crack the clues.
My favourite in this book was trap because he was the person who climbed to the top. my favourite part of the book is when they found out that someone else was there in the building. It was kinda gross that they made thea have a lot of boyfriends and think they shouldn't have, but other than that it was actually a pretty great book.
I like mystery books, Geronimo had to crack the code behind the Mona mousa for which they had to crack the clues.
My favourite in this book was trap because he was the person who climbed to the top. my favourite part of the book is when they found out that someone else was there in the building. It was kinda gross that they made thea have a lot of boyfriends and think they shouldn't have, but other than that it was actually a pretty great book.
Read
March 23, 2017I liked this book because he adds suspense in the biging of the story, when he said all his windows and doors where open when he woke up. I liked how he does adventurous and dangerous things. when he went to the other side of the country to find the Mona mouse. I liked when he went to the gym and didn't know how to use the treadmill and lift weights. In the ending of the story he said that he was so scared that the hairs on his back fell out.
January 7, 2018
Le sourire de Mona Sourisa, est le premier tome de Géronimo Stilton, une souris reporter, directeur de l’Echo du rongeur. Un premier jet qui installe, déjà une marque de fabrique, une typographie unique permettant aux jeunes lecteurs une meilleure compréhension, des personnages attachants, et une intrigue palpitante qu’on prend plaisir à suivre.
cf : https://lesptitsloupsmalin.com/le-sou...
cf : https://lesptitsloupsmalin.com/le-sou...
January 10, 2022
I don't have a ton to say, except that it was pretty fun, especially towards the end. Also, that I get to read such brilliant literary thought that is : "Trap told me to talk to his friend Jock Musclemouse, a personal trainer who worked there. When I got to the gym, I was greeted by a rat the size of a cheese delivery truck. He had more muscles than a hunk of Swiss cheese has holes!"
September 30, 2022
Thea sta frequentando un esperto d'arte che ha appena fatto una scoperta incredibile: sotto la celebre Monna Topisa si nasconde altro dipinto di Topaldo da Sguinci. È così pieno di indizi che Geronimo e gli altri partecipano a una caccia al tesoro misteriosa per decifrarli tutti...
Ascoltato in un'andata-e-ritorno dal lavoro un paio di giorni prima delle elezioni, avevo proprio bisogno di rilassarmi!
Ascoltato in un'andata-e-ritorno dal lavoro un paio di giorni prima delle elezioni, avevo proprio bisogno di rilassarmi!
October 12, 2024
One of the books i got from the library this weekend. I didn’t remember trap and Thea, especially trap being THIS annoying aw. Gerry is a real one. This wasn’t set in fall or anything so it isn’t getting me in the fall spirit but it was nice to pick up one of these books again nonetheless. Especially because if how awkward it was picking out these books from the children’s section .. I’m growing up 🥺
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 6, 2020
Letto perché volevo provare a leggere qualcosa in spagnolo.
Il mio primo incontro con Geronimo Stilton mi ha soddisfatto: storia movimentata e divertente.
I disegni semplificano la lettura e si è rivelato un ottimo modo per rompere il ghiaccio con la lingua di Cervantes.
Conclusa la lettura si ha voglia di leggere qualche avventura di Tea Stilton (ovviamente in spagnolo).
Il mio primo incontro con Geronimo Stilton mi ha soddisfatto: storia movimentata e divertente.
I disegni semplificano la lettura e si è rivelato un ottimo modo per rompere il ghiaccio con la lingua di Cervantes.
Conclusa la lettura si ha voglia di leggere qualche avventura di Tea Stilton (ovviamente in spagnolo).
September 21, 2023
A great mystery story that kept me hooked the whole way through. This book is much better than the actual Da Vinci Code, since I could distance this novel form the actual Mona Lisa and Leonardo da Vinci, and because Geronimo Stilton is a much better author than Dan Brown. Being Italian probably helps.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 122 reviews