Marco’s family brings him from Venice to Florence, where he is to be apprenticed to the great young master, Michelangelo Buonarroti. A second apprentice, Ridolfo, sneers at him and stymies Marco’s attempts to learn what he should be about. The young Michelangelo is fierce and volatile, rejecting the scarlet paint Marco makes from a secret family recipe, but adopting the glimmering green. Marco refuses to tell the artist the secrets of the recipe, and Michelangelo rewards his loyalty to his family by taking the boy to Rome where he will face Leonardo da Vinci in a competition. Jacobson definitely aims his story at older readers, but doesn’t tell a lot about the artist or about Renaissance art. An author’s note helps to fill in some detail, perhaps leading readers to want to learn more. Jacobson and Fernandez’s images are striking—the full-face close-up of Michelangelo wearing a hat, the brim of which is covered with candles so he could paint at night, is particularly riveting. A fascinating little tidbit that could be true, but is unsourced. (author’s note) (Picture book. 8-11)
Pub Date: March 11, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-88776-783-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Tundra Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2008
BOOK REVIEW
From Kroll (Lewis and Clark, 1994, etc.), a handsomely illustrated biography that introduces a fascinating historical figure and will make readers yearn for more information. The facts are covered, including Fulton’s stints as sign painter, air-gun inventor, and apprentice jeweler; Kroll states clearly which details cannot be pinned down, and the probable order of events and incidents. The text is informative and lively, although in places the transitions are abrupt, e.g., one of the only references to Fulton’s personal life—“Meanwhile, on January 7, 1808, Fulton had married Harriet Livingston. She bore him four children”—quickly reverts to details on the building of boats. Warm gold-toned paintings convey a sense of times past and complement the text. Especially appealing are the depictions of the steamships. A welcome volume. (chronology) (Picture book/biography. 6-10)
Pub Date: March 15, 1999
ISBN: 0-8234-1433-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1999
In what has, for no discernable reason, become a rush to publish biographies of Bell, this emerges as the least formal, most approachable of the pack. MacLeod (I Heard a Little Baa, 1998) takes the great inventor, familiarly dubbed “AGB,” from Edinburgh to Ontario, on to Boston, and finally to his estate in Nova Scotia, giving his public and private lives equal attention, capturing his vast range of interest from aeronautics to audiology, and bringing his familiar exploits to life. A stubby caricature of Bell guides readers through full but not overcrowded collages of family photos, manuscript pages, simple diagrams, period advertisements, and newspaper illustrations. This is just a glimpse of the man, of course, and those who want to take a longer look can start with either the web sites listed at the back, or move on to Tom L. Matthews’s Always Inventing (p. 69). (index) (Biography. 8-10)
Pub Date: April 1, 1999
ISBN: 1-55074-456-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kids Can
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2024 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
bookshelf
