Customer Reviews

Red Sails to Capri (Puffin Newbery library)

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Red Sails to Capri is about a fourteen-year-old boy named Michele Pagano who lives on the island of Capri with his parents, who run a small mountainside inn. His best friends are Angelo, a fisherman, and a goat herder named Pietro. One day, three rich visitors-Lord Derby, Monsieur Jacques, and Herre Nordstrom-arrive on the island on a boat with red sails. Though each has come for different reasons-one for adventure, one for beauty, and the third for peace and quiet-all three become obsessed with the mystery behind a cove that the islanders fear so much they will not even speak of it. Despite the fears of Michele's mother, the three visitors, her husband, Michele, Pietro, and Angelo eventually visit the cove and discover, not monsters or cutthroat pirates, but a beautiful blue grotto.

I am so glad I read this book. I finally took a look at it because of the Newbery Honor award-and because the cover asks, "Can three strangers, each on a separate quest, solve the mystery of the island?" I'm always hooked by the word "mystery," and Red Sails to Capri proved to be an unusual one. Weil had me dying to know what the mystery of the cove really was, but the book is short and I found myself wondering if it would actually be revealed as the number of pages left to be read grew smaller. She brings the book to a satisfying conclusion as the cove is discovered to be the site of a beautifully tinted grotto made by the light passing through the blue waters outside the cave's entrance.

Weil does a lovely job of bringing her characters to life, but her most successful has to be Signora Pagano, Michele's "Mamma." She is excitable; she looks upon Angelo the fisherman with disdain because he likes to spin tales; but her trademark is the way she cooks-by talking to the food: "There, there," she says to some fish, "cook slowly now. Do not hurry yourselves." As Michele's father best explains it, "Does she cook by recipe? No. Does she cook by taste? No. Does she cook by smell? No . . . [She] takes a few fish, and she talks to them, and argues with them, and scolds them, and flatters them, until finally she talks them into cooking the way she wants them." Mamma Pagano is known as the best cook on Capri, and her characterization is charming. She "cooed to the fish, spoke harshly to the soup when it boiled over, and begged the figs to keep themselves juicy." Her cooking skills are illustrated in this way throughout the text, including her "soft-boiled-egg song." The song, performed correctly, yields perfect eggs. This is important, because one of the three guests has eaten two soft-boiled eggs every morning for nearly fifty years, and Signora Pagano makes perfect eggs for him. Later, when the men decide to discover the secret of the cove, Mamma wages the most powerful protest she can think of: she refuses to cook for them. This leads to a crisis at the inn, as Michele and his father attempt to duplicate her unusual cooking methods but only achieve disastrous results. Signora Pagano is a truly unforgettable character in a story dominated by male figures, and she ends up playing a pivotal role at the end when she manages to convince the angry, superstitious islanders of the truth about the cove.

The Blue Grotto really exists, and Weil apparently based her novel on the real people who discovered the cave in 1826: fisherman Angelo Ferraro, notary Giuseppe Pagano, and two German travelers. I was unprepared for this outcome, having expected a simple mystery when I began reading and ending with an almost magical geological wonder known to the ancient Romans, rediscovered a millennium later, and used as the basis for a compelling narrative.

I just loved this book. I haven't read it to the kids - it is too advanced for most 1-2nd graders to read themselves - and I'm not quite sure if they will enjoy the story or understand its humor and characterizations until they are 1 or 2 years older.

The setting is a mountainside village in Capri, and it is wonderfully depicted. The book contains an easy-going adventure story and mystery - a supposedly haunted cove that three visitors to the island want to explore to the horror and dismay of the island residents.

But the real strength of the book is in the warm and lively characterizations of the islanders, particularly the main protagonist, 14 year old Miguel, and the three visitors.

Worth searching for this book.

update 2009 -- I did read this to my children last year, and they LOVED it. I really played up accents (I"m sure I did a horrible job, but it was fun :) as I read it aloud, and the kids completely grasped the relationships and warmth and humor of this gem of a book. I do think in general kids of this generation prefer books with a stronger, more exciting plot line and might struggle to read this independently, but as a read-aloud, it really shines.

Red Sails to Capri is a story about a boy Michele, living on the island of Capri whose parents' inn is visited by three travelers. In their exploration of the island, they discover a small cove, which all the locals supersticiously avoid and refuse to speak about. Of course this draws the curiosity of the travelers, much to the consternation of Michele's parents.
The story has charming dialog, and is a fine show of how curiosity and the search for truth triumph over irrational fear of the unknown.

We homeschool and used this book as a read aloud to a 2nd and 3rd grader. The first chapter was slow to them but then it really picked up with the mystery of the cove. The kids loved this book in the end and were so surprised to find out that Capri is real! Highly recommend. More for an upper elem. if read to one's self.

Michele sees the boat with the red sails and finds a way to lead the passengers to stay at his parents' inn. The three men on this boat will forever change Capri.

There is a mystery. There is action. There is adventure.

There is the exotic atmosphere of faraway Capri.

This book is a FANTASTIC read-a-loud! The writing is so colorful and with all the accents from the different characters, it's really fun. The characters all come to life in this book with their personalities shining through. It is a must read book!! Do not miss this one!!

The book has a wonderful story !!! I I did not see the book that I purchased from you, as I sent it off
as a gift.

It's a Caldacott Award Book, I recommend it for reading to first, second, and third graders, fourth and fifth
is good too, it's actually for any age. I recently read it, it's quite amusing.

Good Story Content, I have purchased four copies as gifts. it's a great story.

Lydia D'Ambro

What is the mystery of Capri ? The people who live there never talk about the mystery. They think it is bad luck. Then, three men come in search of three things. In the process, they end up solving the mystery of Capri. Find out what happens in the historical fiction by Ann Weil.

Michele's life changes forever when three men come to the little island of Capri. The men are each searching for different things, one for beauty , another for adventure, and one for something difficult to explain. The men want to figure out the mystery of Capri.

The story takes place takes place in the winter of 1826 on the little island of Capri. Capri is off the coast of Naples, Italy. The innkeepers of the island were not expecting visitors in the winter time. Most of the people that live on Capri are poor fishermen.

Michele is the main character in the story. He is tall, brown haired, brown eyed, and is fourteen years old. He helps his parents run an inn in Capri. He is also friendly to the guests that come. He is loyal to his friends on the island. I think his character is believable. He likes to play, run, and help his parents.

Out of all of the characters, I thought Signor Pagano was the most interesting of all. He is interesting to me because he thinks of what he could give to Michele. He cannot send Michele to school or to medical school. However, he gives Michele an adventure he will not forget. Mrs. Pagano opposes the idea. However, will Mrs. Pagano agree? Find out when you read this book.

Ann Weil is the author of this book. She was born on August 31, 1908. She was part of Planned Parenthood. She wrote many books. She wrote The Silver Fawn and many other books like The Very First Day. Her book Red Sails to Capri won the Newberry Honor in 1953. She died in 1969.

Do you like mystery stories? Do you like adventure stories? If you do, you will like the book Red Sails to Capri. It is funny, full of suspense, and will keep you guessing. I hope you will read this book and enjoy it as much as I have.

What is the mystery of the cove of Capri? People think it is filled with monsters and man-eating fish. Except, when three men come to Capri, they want to go to the cove. Will they survive? Will anyone take them? Find out in this entertaining historical fiction!

Michele's adventures start when the three strange men come to the inn of Michele's parents on Capri. There is a cove on the island that nobody wants to go to. The men want to go. Legends say that if you go in the cove you will never come out. What happens will change Michele and all of Capri forever!

The story takes place in the winter of 1826 on the beautiful little island of Capri. Capri is off the coast of Naples, Italy. Capri has many poor fishermen, two inns, and a cove that all of the people of Capri think is bad luck. I like the attractive setting of this story.

Of all the characters, I like Michele best of all. He is a tall, brown haired, fourteen year old boy and is best friend of Pietro and Angelo. Michele is loyal, smart, helpful, and curious. He is loyal because when he and Pietro play they always share secrets. Pietro is also loyal because when Michele could not go to Naples he did not go. Michele is helpful and he helps his parents at his inn. He sounds like he can be a real person.

The author of this book is Anne Weil. She was born on Aug 31 1908 in Harrisburg, Illinois. She has written The Silver Fawn, the Very First Day, Animal Families, and several other books. She passed away in 1969

Red Sails to Capri deserved to win the 1953 Newberry honor award. It contains wonderful suspense and I think you will not want to put down the book when you start reading it! A great adventure will want to make you desire to go to the cove!

Other reviews gave the basic story so I will not go through the story.It is an excellent book and has something for everyone. It is well written and you feel like you are in the midst of the story. It was a little slow in the beginning, but the more we read the more we just could not put it down. It is an awesome book. My 9 year old son who does not much like reading or being read to was begging for more.