As part of my Da Vinci Rocks blog, my annotated bibliography will center around all things pertaining to the true Renaissance man, Leonard da Vinici. He was so much more than just an artist! He was an inventor, a draftsman, a scientist and his "day job" was as a weapons designer for the Duke of Sforza, ruler of Milan during the late 1490's. He did everything! While I admire Michaelangelo's genius, my devotion to Leonardo's greatness centers on the fact that he never stopped being a student. He was always learning and experimenting with new ideas. It is my hope that by exposing my students to a variety of literature and websites that they will catch "da Vinci" fever and see him as a role model for knowledge. We are never to old to stop learning and the master, Leonardo, is perfect proof of this.
Bibliography post #1
Grey, Christopher.
Leonardo’s Shadow.
New York: Antheum Books for Young Readers, Simon and Schuster, 2008.
810L
- IRA Children’s & Young Book Awards
Nominated for 2008
ALA Best Book for Young Adults Award: Top Ten Division
This is relatively easy to read although at 394 pages, it may seem a bit overwhelming to the young adult reader, but once the average reader gets into it, it reads like an adventure novel! It is full of twists and turns. The narrative is clearly written and should be easily handled by the average reader. I think that it would be especially appealing to boys because the story is told through the eyes of a young teenage boy and it focuses on more than just Leonardo's art. There is enough adventure to hold the average reader's interest and this text supplements the historical context of life in the city-state of Milan during the Renaissance. This text would be used as a supplement to classroom instruction. Students would be able to choose from a variety of projects based on this book such as performing a scene from the book, writing alternative endings to the book or illustrating a scene from it to demonstrate overall comprhension of the text.
It gives an overview of the whole Renaissance period in general but it really gives us a glimpse of life as an apprentice during this amazing time of artistic rebirth and discovery. In
Leonardo’s Shadow, we meet Giacomo, apprentice to the great master, Leonardo da Vinci during 1497 in
Milan, Italy. Leonardo is working on one of his greatest commissions, ‘
The Last Supper.” The problem is that Leonardo can't quite seem to finish it and he must pick up the pace before the Duke of Milan goes to war. The Duke wants two things- his painting finished before Pope Alexander comes to town (they need his support in the war against France) and Leonardo's latest invention, a flying machine which Duke Sforza see as the weapon to end all weapon. As Giacomo, the central character, faces question about his past and his future, which will be forever linked to Leonardo da Vinci he realizes it is up to him to come up with a plan that will satisfy everyone from the Duke right on down to all the town's merchants to whom Leonardo is in debt up to his eyeballs or else his fate and that of his master, both hang in the balance. This book has action, mystery, danger and intrigue and all the while exposes the reader to what life was like in Renaissance Italy.
Stanley, Diane.
Leonardo da Vinci.
New York, Harper Collins 1996.
ALA Notable Children’s Book 1996
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40129.Leonardo_da_Vinci
This easy to follow biography of Leonardo da Vinci doesn’t just spit out facts, but takes the reader on a journey into his life. Some passages are based on first hand accounts from journal entries and gives us a glimpse of what it must have been like to be an artist during the Renaissance. Stanley continues her tradition of award winning illustarations and prose as she has with her previous books.
Cole, Allison.
Renaissance.
London, Dorling Kindersley 2000.
This is a great book from the
UK “
Eyewitness” book series that provide both young and adult readers with interesting tidbits and glimpses into Renaissance life. It would be used as a classroom resouce book that students could pick up and read after they have finished with the day's assignment. Rather than being a single narrative,
Eyewitness Renaissance offers lots of information on all things on Renaissance- from the major players, to the scientific advances and right on down to life at court during the time period. The way it is set up, the average reader can delve into the short text passages and gain helpful insight and the slightly lower-level reader could go straight to the captions underneath the marvelous illustrations and still get a good idea of what was life during this time.
Eyewitness Renaissance gives us the context in which to put our artist Leonardo da Vinci. The book presents historical facts and events of the period and creates a rich background in which the reader can easily place Leonardo. Kids love the way Eyewitness books are setup. They provide just enough information on a whole smattering of subjects related to the Renaissance that will serve to invite the reader to explore and investigate further the subjects covered in the books. The pages on Leonardo provide insight into his genius as a painter as well as being an inventor.
