In a sun-drenched hilltop village in Italy, nine-year-old Tessa rushes down narrow cobblestone streets to meet her father returning from Rome, her small feet barely keeping pace with her excitement. When Tessa discovers she's been chosen to model for an artist in the great city, she steps through the pages of this early 20th-century gem into a world where the humblest Italian family pulses with love, laughter, and quiet resilience. Along with her brother Beppo and baby sister Francesca, Tessa navigates the tender drama of everyday village life, the patient old donkey struggling home with empty baskets, the smell of bread baking in a cramped kitchen, the joy of a father's return after days away. The story carries readers from dusty hilltop lanes to the bustling heart of Rome itself, all seen through eyes wide with wonder rather than the tint of nostalgia. Wade captures something precious: the way a child's curiosity transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary, and how even poverty is softened by familial bonds. For young readers who dream of other places and times, this book offers a doorway into a vanished world, rendered with gentle affection and vivid detail.
