Taking an omnium-gatherum approach, Augarde opens with supposed journal entries from an awestruck fictional ten-year-old apprentice of Leonardo’s in the 1490s, then pulls back the point of view to cover in third person the artist’s life before and after, followed by background spreads on European politics, the Renaissance, how artists of the time trained and additional looks at some of Leonardo’s art and inventions. Brown supplements sharp reproductions of several famous paintings by incorporating decent versions of his drawings into watercolor reconstructions of the artist—depicted as a handsome, dapper young man with flowing black hair and a spiky beard—in his studio, in his workshop and in the court of Duke Ludovico Sforza. There’s nothing here that can’t easily be found elsewhere, but both readers who take their history straight and those who prefer facts dished up in a fictional matrix will be equally drawn to appreciate the great artist’s unique multiplicity of talents. (Informational fiction. 11-13)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-7534-6174-7
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Kingfisher
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2009
PLB 0-531-33140-7 Ketcham’s first book is based on an allegedly true story of a childhood incident in the life of Johann Sebastian Bach. It starts with a couple of pages regaling the Bach home and all the Johanns in the family, who made their fame through music. After his father’s death, Johann Sebastian goes to live with his brother, Johann Christoph, where he boasts that he is the best organist in the world. Johann Christoph contradicts him: “Old Adam Reincken is the best.” So Johann Sebastian sets out to hear the master himself. In fact, he is humbled to tears, but there is hope that he will be the world’s best organist one day. Johann Sebastian emerges as little more than a brat, Reincken as more of a suggestion than a character. Bush’s illustrations are most transporting when offering details of the landscape, but his protagonist is too impish to give the story much authority. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-531-30140-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1999
A deeply satisfying story of longing and hard work fulfilled, inspired by an obscure historical photograph. Bee loves the railroad: the sound and color, the sweep past the wide world into the cities, the wonderful engine names, such as True Heart and the Coyote Special. When her parents die, she finds that, with eight siblings to care for, loading freight for the Union Pacific in Cheyenne in 1893 pays far better than taking in wash. She’s strong, and gets hired to load the trains. But what Bee loves most is to pepper Ole Pete, the engineer, with questions; he lets her drive the train a bit, back it up, and couple it to other cars. When Bee gets the chance to drive a train, she takes two of her female crew to stoke the engines, “blowing my whistle for all the sky to hear.” The language is homespun and direct, with Bee’s desire and love for the railroad clear. The text faces the full-page illustrations; occasional double-page spreads float the text on top of the image, as in one dramatic scene where ghostly wagon trains parallel the train on its run. The mixed media paintings have a burnished quality, while the textures are beautifully tactile. The text never mentions Bee’s gender, but Moss provides a note about her inspiration and preserves another tessera from the mosaic of women’s history. A rousing and romantic tale. (Picture book. 5-10)
Pub Date: March 1, 1999
ISBN: 0-15-201344-X
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1999
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