![]() ![]() ![]() Leo is initially crestfallen to realize “he is a nobody, an unknown …” But the small part proves pivotal, showing the old crone’s eventual change of heart towards the storyteller Rumpopo whom she initially mistrusts and misunderstands. Meanwhile at school, Leo is cast as the old crone in Rumpopo’s Porch, a play written by his drama teacher. Buried in Papa’s pages, Leo uncovers “everyone’s favorite” Rosaria, whose name no one even dares mention … which makes Leo that much more determined to solve the mystery of missing Aunt Rosaria. ![]() He discovers a happy, tap-dancing, singing version of his father, so unlike the older, impatient parent he now calls Papa. One rainy day as he seeks quiet refuge in the attic, Leo happens upon a treasure box which contains The Autobiography of Giorgio, Age of Thirteen. As he is also a non-stop dreamer, said large family is not above calling him “ fog boy,” often having to drag him out of his imaginary world filled with starring Broadway roles and Nobel prizes. His name is Leonardo, he’ll answer to Leo, but he’s most often called “ sardine” by his nearest and dearest because several years ago, “Leo got squashed in a corner and cried … said, ‘I’m just a little sardine, squashed in a tin.'” Caught between older sister Contento, and younger brothers Pietro and Nunzio, Leo is always rather sardined in between the members of his boisterous, extended Italian American family. ![]()
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