The Stanley family is moving to Italy! David, Janie, and twins Esther and Blair are thrilled. But their moody stepsister Amanda, thwarted from spending time in California with her father, spends the trip alternately moping or boasting about how rich her father is. And precocious Janie translates everything Amanda says to all the neighbors.

But such bragging does not go unnoticed. One terrible night, the children are kidnapped. David tries to make friends with the kidnappers to protect his family. But that's hard to do when Janie lectures them on how to write a ransom note and Esther complains about the terrible food. Can David and Amanda use their siblings' hijinks to outsmart the kidnappers?

This book features in the following series: Stanley, Stanley Family .

This book is aimed at children at US 3rd grade-7th grade.

This book has been graded for interest at 8-12 years.

There are 240 pages in this book. This book was published in 2014 by Simon & Schuster .

Zilpha Keatley Snyder (b. 1927) is a three-time Newbery Honor-winning author of adventure and fantasy novels for children. Her smart, honest, and accessible narrative style has made her books beloved by generations. When not writing, she enjoys reading and traveling. Snyder lives in Mill Valley, California.