Morrison (Antonio's Apprenticeship, 1996) painlessly imparts an enormous amount of information, delineating step-by-step the creation of a Renaissance sculpture; attractive illustrations echoing period color, line, and composition accompany this tale of a fictional 17th-century apprentice and his master. Young Marco goes to the studio of the greatest sculptor in Rome, Luigi Borghini, with a wax figure he has made, and a request to be apprenticed. Borghini accepts him, and is alternately prickly and kind. Cutting stone is the very last of the tasks Marco learns: There are hours and days of sketching cadavers and ancient sculptures; copying drawings; molding in wax and mud and horsehair; measuring and planning. Marco visits the quarry that is the source of the fine white marble that will become the ``Neptune Fountain'' and helps to get the marble back to Borghini's studio by boat. Marco's own carving of a grotesque waterspout finds a place in the finished work, and the master reminds him of the necessities of hard work, patience, and the passing down of the art to others. A note recounts Morrison's visit to the studio of a contemporary Italian marble sculptor, and the source of the slightly didactic closing lines. A worthy companion to the previous book. (glossary) (Picture book. 6-10)
Pub Date: March 15, 1997
ISBN: 0-8234-1293-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1997
A smooth retelling of a tale from The Mahabharata, ``India's great national epic,'' first transcribed about 2000 years ago after a long life in the oral tradition; an excellent note suggests that it ``arises from a time when...women [were] far more independent than later Indian culture allowed.'' The wise and beautiful princess Savitra, seeking a husband of her own choice, selects the impoverished son of a conquered king, despite a prophecy that the son will die in just a year. When Yama (death) appears, she outwits him with a series of ingenious bargains in which she not only regains her beloved husband's life but restores her father-in-law's kingdom. Rosenberry's delicately drawn illustrations strike a good balance between bright, stylized scenes that recall Indian art and more realistically expressive characters that will appeal to a contemporary audience. (Folklore/Picture book. 6-10)
Pub Date: March 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-8075-7251-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1992
The elephant thunders out his boast—``No one can bring me down!''—and the monkey's talking drum sends the challenge echoing across the plains. The leopard, the crocodile, even the rhinoceros are easily vanquished, but not the little bat: she bites the elephant's ear until he drops to the ground to rub it. Sierra's retelling of this folktale collected in Cameroon is suitably vigorous; in Pinkney's swirling scratchboard illustrations, the animals (except, of course, the bat) are huge, gnarled, and solid. Colorful and dramatic. (Folklore/Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 1992
ISBN: 0-525-67366-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 1992
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