Nonni in America: Around the World at 80 Years Old! won the Gold Medal in the 2021-2022 Reader Views Literary Awards! Here is its Five Star Review: Jon Svensson begins his story when he was a boy in Iceland and got a world map globe. It was then that Svensson began his lifelong love affair with the idea of traveling. At 12 years old, Jon left home to pursue his education with the Jesuits. During that time, he discovered Jules Verne's book Around the World in 80 Days. He not only loved the book but actually decided to visit Jules Verne (who was living in Amiens where Jon was at school). During his visit, he told Verne that he would become an author like him; and he did! Yet his dream of traveling the world did not happen until he was 80 years old. Jon Svensson became a Jesuit Priest and, later, an author who traveled all over Europe as speaker. He was known and greatly loved for his stories published in his 'Nonni' series. The opportunity to travel the world finally came when he was 80 years old. He took it and recorded the first part of his journey in 'Nonni in America.' In this translation, the author's simple and heartwarming voice comes through intact in this narrative work. The places he visited, the wonderful characters he met, and even the ordeals he went through create a captivating, endearing, and colorful couch adventure for all readers. Having grown up myself reading Vespucci, reading this book took me back to the era of the stories I loved as a child. It was a time of real adventurers, as they traveled knowing so little of the world, knowing only through the accounts of others... so much different from experiencing a place virtually. I loved 'Nonni in America: Around the World at 80 Years Old!' -Susan Violante
