much as Leonardo da Vinci did with talent.
Leonardo's sketches and paintings fill the pages,
but so does the story of his relationship with two
of the boys who assisted him in his famous workshop:
helpful, talented Zoro and wild, mischievous Salai.
"One day, Zoro," Leonardo tells his pupil, "people
will sail through the clouds and look down at the
world below."
Zoro dreams of flying, but it is Salai who breaks
into Leonardo's secret room and convinces him to
try out the wondrous flying contraption they find
there. The attempt ends in failure and injury,
but both Zoro and Leonardo know this is just
the beginning of flight.
This is a beautiful book that should appeal to kids with
an interest in flight, machines, and art.
The layout is varied, and might confuse
someone whose visual sense gets overwhelmed
by pages with many pictures. But I found the look
remarkably clean, coherent, and relevant despite
its pictorial variety and ingenuity. The pictures relate
directly to the story, and the story flows well.
My boy thought the flying machine funny, and the
book reminded him of the
Getting to Know the World's Getting to Know the
World's Greatest Artists video we saw about da Vinci.
Anholt's Leonardo is also part of a series that includes
books about Van Gogh, Degas, and Picasso. Each story
centers on a real relationship between the artist and a
child. So if your child enjoys Leonardo, you have more
reading pleasure (and art) ahead.
March is a good time to start with art, as the Northern
hemisphere buds and blooms you can get out the chalk
and the sidewalk paint - the bucket of water, the paint
brush and the packing paper - the newspaper strips and
the flour paste - the tub of clay - anything messy for
a nice outside art day.
-Spectrum Mom
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