Customer Reviews

A juvenile history of Da Vinci with 21 related activites - By: Lawrance M. Bernabo, 08 Feb 2004
I have been going through some of the books by Janis Herbert & others than combine history with 21 activities, & as interesting as I have found those volumes to be I have to say I like the ones that deal with artists even more. "Leonardo da Vinci for Kids: His Life & Ideas" combines a detailed juvenile biography of the life of the great inventor, military engineer, scientist, botanist, & mathematician who found time to be a great painter & sculptor as well. This was the man who painted the "Mona Lisa" & invented the armored tank, diving suit, bicycle & airplane centuries before they were built. He is also an important figurein what has been the novel that has been at the top of the bestseller list for like the past year.

The biography is divided into four sections, focusing on Leonardo's youthin Vinci, his years as a young apprentice, his period of greatest productivityin Milan, & his final yearsin Venice & France. The volume is illustrated with dozens of pictures of Leonardo's paintings & sketches, & the back of the book includes a Glossary, Biographies of key Renaissance artists (Botticelli, Michelangeo, etc.) & historical figures (Cesare Borgia, Ludovico Sforza, etc.), Web Sites to Explore, places where you can see some of Da Vinci's work, a Bibliography, Credits, & an Index.

The other half of the book are the 21 activities & the art lessons, becausein addition to detailing da Vinci's life Herbert talks about perspective, vanishing points & the like. Some of these are just basic art lessons, such as sketching things by observing nature, painting birds, decorating a jar for holding paintbrushes, & making a small picture frame. Others are specific to the artwork of da Vinci, such as making a life mask, lute, notebook, a parachute kite, & learning to measure human bodies the way Leonardo did. You can even make a minestrone soupin honor of Leonardo the vegetarian or Salai's aniseed sweets. Still others deal with the history of the time, such as making a banner.

The net result is that "Leonardo da Vinci for Kids" does more than tell the story of his life & show examples of his great artwork, but provides young readers with an opportunity to try & do the same things. This book is also of great use to teachers doing units on Leonardo, the Renaissance, or art, who will be able to find both information & activities they can usein class.