Product Description
How did Leonardo da Vinci become interested in flight? What are some of his most famous paintings? Do his scientific ideas measure up to what we know today? Find out the answers to these questions and more in Magic Tree House Research Guide: Leonardo da Vinci, Jack and Annie’s guide to the mad genius himself. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

AWESOME BOOK!!!!
What a delightful experience you get with the Magic Tree House Books.
Go on a magic adventure with your kids and there imaginations.
Hands down winning by an easy victory for our Family!!!!!!!

Excellent book.
This is an excellent book about the life of Leonardo da Vinci.It gave information about his early years that was unknown to most people and it was an up lifting book.

Can be a stand-alone guide
//Leonardo da Vinci// is the non-fiction companion guide to //Monday with a Mad Genius//--an adventure by Jack and Annie involving Leonardo da Vinci, one of the greatest Renaissance men. This guide contains the facts behind the events in the //Monday with a Mad Genius//, including the explanation of why Leonardo freed birds from their cages, what really happened with the fresco in Palazzo Vecchio, and why his writings are inverted.

As a guide, this volume is very useful to a learner who is just starting to learn about things by himself. The information is well-organized (the table of contents can always help get one back on track, and the index is a wonderful memory jogger), the language is easy to understand and the illustrations and pictures do an effective job of making the text come alive. If the reader wants more, the guide is also very good in suggesting other things to do, or other books to read to get more information.

Our son has now taught us about da Vinci and Italy
These companion books are very well written.This one was his favorite, I think because it has a more personal and biographical side to it.They don't create the same excitement level as the fiction stories but the history lessons are encompassing enough that our son has been able to teach us a few things about Italy, da Vinci, and life in his time.Now our son wants to visit Venice to see where he lived, this raising of curiosity is enough for me to recommend the book.He also read through cover to cover, which can be tough for six year olds when it comes to non-fiction (fiction tends to flow better, so he always reads those straight through).The author has really hit on a winning formula for making book-learning fun for younger children. ... Read more

Product Description
"Leonardo," wrote an English critic as far back as 1721, "was a Man so happy in his genius, so consummate in his Profession, so accomplished in the Arts, so knowing in the Sciences, and withal, so much esteemed by the Age wherein he lived, his Works soighly applauded by the Ages which have succeeded, and his Name and Memory still preserved with so much Veneration by the present Age—that, if anything could equal the Merit of the Man, it must be the Success he met with. Moreover, 'tis not in Painting alone, but in Philosophy, too, that Leonardo surpassed all his brethren of the 'Pencil.'"

Contents of this E-book include:

His Birth
His Early Training
His Early Works
First Visit to Milan
In the East
Back in Milan
The Virgin of the Rocks
The Last Supper
The Court of Milan
Leonardo Leaves Milan
Mona Lisa
Battle of Anghiari
Again in Milan
In Rome
In France
His Death
His Art
His Mind
His Maxims
His Spell
His Descendants ... Read more

Product Description
The quintessential "Renaissance man," Leonardo da Vinci (1452–1519) is still recognized today for his accomplishments in science, architecture, and philosophy, as well as his artistic masterworks. Full-color reproductions and thorough text provide a quick yet solid introduction to this master. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

El personaje más fascinante del Renacimiento.
La serie Basic Art de la Editorial Taschen funciona como introduccion al tema, es una peque?a guia muy ilustrada y condensada para todos aquellos que viven sin tiempo para leer un trabajo mas profundo o solo desea comensar a entender sobre la vida y obra de su pintor favorito, asi que el libro es peque?o pero vale la pena darle una ojeada.

En esta edicion en ESPA?OL sobre la vida y obra de Leonardo Da Vinci (el personaje m?s fascinante del Renacimiento)la cual esta en el formato de pasta dura(hardcover) nos ense?a las primeras obras del gran maestro del Renacimiento, una cronologia de su vida y muchas ilustraciones de sus pinturas mas conocidas como tambien las que no son parte de un tour y estan en colecciones privadas, es una obra bellisima no es la obra definitiva ya que hay trabajos mucho mas completo sobre su vida e influencia pero si es un buen comienso para entender al famoso y controversial Da Vinci. 96 paginas totalmente ilustrada a color con muchos detalles de pintura y bosetos del pintor asi como sus dotes en otras ramas como la musica la escultura y las ciencias pero esta obra es dedicada por completo a su pintura.Muy recomendado. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (31)

Too many branches away from the life and accomplishments of da Vinci
While this book pays tribute to the incredible talent of Leonardo da Vinci, the coverage moves into areas of science that have little connection to what da Vinci did. While da Vinci was very modern (for the times) in his model of the universe and that model was the intellectual forerunner of modern science, it is a flimsy connection between what he did and modern physics. Atalay draws a sequential connection between da Vinci, Galileo, Newton, Einstein and the developers of modern quantum mechanics.
The most important fact stated in the book is that most of da Vinci's notebooks have been lost, although there are references to them. This is both sad and exciting; sad in the case that they be permanently lost yet exciting because there is the possibility that additional notebooks may be found. Even though so much is missing, da Vinci still ranks as one of the greatest artists and greatest experimental and theoretical scientists of all time. One can only imagine the wondrous contents of what has been lost.
I consider Leonardo da Vinci to have been the most talented person of all time; he truly was the dictionary entry depicting the Renaissance man. That opinion tends to sour my view of this book because there are so many branches away from the life of da Vinci. To me, nothing could be more interesting than the description of his life and achievements.

Good story, lack of insight
First of all, I think this book presents a good effort to demonstrate the often overlooked relation between art and science. The author jam packed lots of materials to tell the story from both perspectives. It is overall entertaining. I feel however the author laid out many ideas, being fact or speculations. It lacks of insight to answer a very simple question: Why can we expect mathematical or scientific explanation to intuitive subjects such as art.
Man did not create golden ratio. It is physics. In the physical world it represents steady structure; In natural world it is the most efficient configuration. Human simply observe. It is nature tells us what is steady, what is safe, what is efficient, and therefore give our perspective of beauty. So there's no wonder how Leonardo da Vinci who observes the nature to its finest details can present us art work with divine beauty.
I'd like to add though, the later part of the book is actually more interesting than the first part. Although the contents do not contribute to this particular title and can be found in many other science history books.

Science explained... so that even I could understand it
I absolutely love this book. Dr. Atalay has a wonderful way to explain scientific concepts so that even I could understand them. I wish the book would be translated in German though. It is an easy read, even for not-so-fluid-readers-in-English like me, but I would love to be able to give this book as a present to my German speaking family and friends.

Title and content of book did not align
I couldn't wait to read this book because the title grabbed my attention thoroughly.But I think I misunderstood the title.I expected the book to be a look at how math was integrated into the Mona Lisa and DaVinci's other works.That is a small portion of the book.The first half was certainly about "math."But related to architecture of the ancient world and did not connect with DaVinci.(It was about the golden ratio and the golden rectangle and was much a review of content for me so I ended up skimming large portions of it.)The second half of the book was more of an integration of math and the Mona Lisa and was closer to what I was anticipating.I enjoyed that the author brought in samples and details from a variety of artists, but would have liked more mathematical analysis about DaVinci's art specifically.

Densely Packed with Interesting Information
The title of this book is a bit of a misnomer. The main focus of this work is a very comprehensive and interesting history of math and science from Aristarchus to Einstein. Granted, additional emphasis is placed on Leonardo da Vinci and the impact science has upon art, but a reader interested in an in depth treatment of either may be left disappointed. The authors view that Leonardo is a scientist first and artist second is quite intriguing. In the end though, the pace of this book was quite frantic and the author tries to cover too much material.

If you are interested in a more compact and readable history of science, I would recommend Mlodinow's "Euclid's Window".

If you are interested in learning more about Leonardo, no one does it better than his contemporary Giorgio Vasari in the classic "Lives of the Artists".

Finally, if you are interested in learning more about the wonders of the Golden Ratio, then Livio's "Golden Ratio" is the gold standard.
... Read more

Product Description
For thirty years, the whole last half of his life, Leonardo da Vinci was obsessed with unlocking the secrets of nature. His notebooks are the mind-boggling evidence of a fifteenth-century scientist standing at the edge of the modern world, basing his ideas on observation and experimentation. Scrupulously researched, juicily anecdotal, this book will change children’s ideas of who Leonardo was and what it means to be a scientist.

Award-winning biographer Kathleen Krull will focus on five other "giants of science"—Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Marie Curie, Sigmund Freud, and Albert Einstein. Each book presents a compelling portrait of an individual as well as a picture of the world at a particular time and place. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Absolutely Inappropriate for Children!
Please be careful before purchasing this book for elementary or even early middle school children.The first half of the book's topics of being illegitimate and homosexuality are absolutely not necessary for a child to focus on in order to understand and appreciate the art and scientific achievements of Da Vinci!

NOT a children's book
This could have been a great book if chapter 4 had been left out.There was some great and easily accessible information that would make it an enjoyable read for children from ages 9-14.

My daughter chose this book for her biography book report.She was extremely upset when she came upon the adult theme of homosexuality and didn't want to read past page 36, the 1st mention of the allegation.And to the previous reviewer, Colleen, you should have been more honest when reviewing...his alleged homosexuality and the investigation is the theme of chapter 4, not just page 38 as you said.This was very upsetting to my 10 year old daughter who didn't want to read about that kind of stuff.Why must children have to deal with these issues?This book is definitely NOT for middle grade age students! I'm very disappointed in the author's choice to include this in a children's book.

The Other Side of Leo
Reading a boring story is one step short of wasting one's time. Amusing, insightful and an ending that is truly the definition of 20/20 hindsight! Da Vinci himself was a misunderstood genius, waaaaaayyyy ahead of his time. This "biography" is a product of mature speculation and takes a reasonable stab at his life. Who would enjoy this book? Mostly people who enjoy Science and want to know more about the development of the field. Definitely some of Leo's lesser qualities rise to the surface, intertwined with a historical timeframe.

I find that, as a teacher, relating some of the bizarre assumptions in the field of Science (before it was even named), mesmerizes students. This book, however, is not for a student under 7th grade. If you're infinitely curious, it addresses: Homosexuality, menstruation, dead bodies and the study/dissection there of. The details of this subject matter are not too deep, mostly one or two sentences for the first two. The latter would be covered, but not grotesquely. All in all, it is an outstanding book, definitely a worthy read.

Questionable content
My 8 year old read this for a school biography assignment. Told me he was confused about why Leonardo was thrown into prison. The book talks about how he was accused of having homosexual sex and how there was a special group which was formed to round up people accused of sex crimes. Thank you scholastic - I had been wondering how to broach the subject of homosexual sex with a boy who still covers his eyes when people kiss on TV. Don't buy this for your kids unless you want to have this special talk with them.

Leonardo da Vinci
Doing everything from dissecting humans to painting beautiful paintings, Leonardo da Vinci really was a man of wonder. Leonardo da Vinci was born in 1452 in Tuscany, Italy. Throughout his life he had wondered about everything. He always kept everything he saw and observed in notebooks. He worked in art during his childhood and then mostly researched for the rest of his life. He did everything to gain knowledge including dissecting humans, looking at bugs, and staring at water for hours. After a long life, Leonardo da Vinci died in1519 at the age of sixty-seven. I liked this book because it contained many interesting facts, it included artwork, and it told of the many characters in Leonardo's life.

One reasonI liked this book is that it contained many interesting facts. For example, Leonardo used to stare at water for hours until he came up with the theory that everything travels in waves. Another example, is that he dissected forty different human corpses in order to find out more about the body. Lastly, he wrote down everything he discovered in notebooks. At his death there were more than 10,000 pages. Half were lost throughout history.

Another reason I like this book is because it included vast artwork. For example, when the book said that he built a model of the solar system it included an interesting picture. Another example is that when it said that Leonardo used to buy birds just to let them go and study their flight, it included a picture. Lastly, when it said that he dissected bodies it included a picture of him leaning over a body.

One other reason that I liked this book is because it told of many characters in Leonardo's life. For example, the book described the characteristics of his mother and father. Another example is that the people he worked with were described. Lastly, all of his friends were described.

The last and most important reason that I like this book is that it covers Leonardo's life very well. This book has his birth date, his death date, the dates of most of his achievements, his friends, his parents, and his many interesting facts. I liked this book because it contained many neat facts, it included artwork, it told of the many characters in his life, and this book sums up Leonardo da Vinci's life up very well.

C. Copeland ... Read more

Product Description
Leonardo da Vinci (1910) remains among the mostfascinating, though speculative, works ofFreud's entire output.A detailedreconstruction of Leonardo's emotional lifefrom his earliest years, it represents Freud'sfirst sustained venture into biography from apsychoanalytic perspective, and also his effortto trace one route that homosexual developmentcan take. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

A POSTHUMOUS "PSYCHOANALYSIS" OF LEONARDO
Freud wrote this short work in 1910, and it was one of the earliest attempts to apply the techniques of psycho-analysis to figures of the past.Here are some representative quotations from the book:

"Observation of men's daily lives shows us that most people succeed in directing very considerable portions of their sexual instinctual forces to their professional activity. The sexual instinct is particularly well fitted to make contributions of this kind since it is endowed with a capacity for sublimation."
"Under the influence of this threat of castration (the boy) now sees the notion he has gained of the female genitals in a new light; henceforth he will tremble for his masculinity, but at the same time he will despise the unhappy creatures on whom the cruel punishment has, as he supposes, already fallen."
"Biologically speaking, religiousness is to be traced to the small human child's long drawn-out helplessness and need of help; and when at a later date he perceives how truly forlorn and weak he is when confronted with the great forces of life, he feels his own condition as he did in childhood, and attempts to deny his own despondency by a regressive revival of the forces which protected his infancy."

A mistake or two, still great
There are a couple of mistakes in this book.Freud translate "nibbio" into vulture instead of kite.He also questions Leonardo's "active" homosexuality, but this was a "well known fact" in Florence.The discussion on repression and sublimation reveals, in my opinion, some limits of his theory as these terms are hard to define.However the discussion on the two paintings, the Monna Lisa and Sant'Anna and the Madonna with the child and on some of the roots of homosexuality is great, and Freud is a great writer.

he did better with Gradiva....
In this small book Freud takes a mistranslated childhood memory of Leonardo's--one in which a kite (Freud thought it a vulture) opens the baby's mouth with its tail feathers--and makes a case for a genius born out of wedlock left alone too much with his mother, and therefore prone to homosexuality.Lame.

As always, though, Freud at least arrives in the ballpark, even if he doesn't understand the game.Initial memories are often strangely prophetic, even when constructed out of fantasy; and so perhaps the fantastic kite--known for its interesting flight configurations--suckled the young Leonardo's latent inventive urges, or even symbolized their later expression.

Note:in this study first appears Freud's use of the term Eros, which he later makes such a fundamental part of his theory.

Sublimation, Eros and Vultures
Freud's attempt to apply the concepts and generalisations of psychoanalysis to the Universal Man, Leonardo da Vinci. The formulations reached in the book have now become "pop-Freudian" cliches: the subject was doted on by his mother, neglected by his father and therefore developed a homosexual streak. What occured exactly, according to Freud, was an inordinate Oedipal development in which the subject took his father's domination of the mother as a "de facto" domination (hence prohibition on the father's part) of *all* women and hence it triggered a shift from heterosexual to homosexual tendencies. Freud applies his doctrine of infantile sexuality to address other topics such as Leonardo's prodigious genius, his scientific pursuits and the fact that he left so many works unfinished. The study is speculative and tendentious and, which is more, it is marred by an egregious error in the translation of one of Leonardo's notebooks. Its major shortcoming is its rather reckless and overconfident attempt to reconstruct the psycholgy of a man dead for centuries. For zealous partisans of psychoanalysis only, or for those who have an academic interest in the subject.

If you're interested in Fine art and psychoanalysis? READ it
I'm a graduate student majoring art history.i'd read this essey at April at seminar on Freud i made.i wanna know the interpretation of art not by classical art historian but by psycho-analysis doctor. it's so curious andfantastic to meet this strange world.In that,Freud would explain ongenius of Leonardo Da Vinci. 'Passion on completeness made him (Leonardo)left his works unfinished. So to speak, if he is unsatisfied with his, heleft them unfinished.And He thoughtthe reason of Leonardo dispositiontoward homosexual was on his infant period accident.He was fed by Onlyhis mother without Father!to be Absentof Father.Andhis OedipusComplex not happen like normal case. He depenedon his mother withoutobstacle-his father.He identified himself with his mom.And when he grewup, he loved boys like him.He took the role of his mom which feed him!His Libido made his investigation on everythins stronger than normal !Sotospeak, His primal desire(il primo motore)is changed not as heterosexual desire but as investigation desire.Frequently, you'd think youmeet dogmatic explanation on Leonardo. It's no bad because there are not'ONLY' truth! ^^And why dont you check your condition out according toFreudian way? ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (11)

I didn't received my book!!
Dear Sir,
I didn't received the book I have bought in Amazon.(Leonardo Da Vinci: 1452-1519: The Complete Paintings and Drawings (Taschen 25th Anniversary) (Purchased on 12/13/2009) by Frank Zöllner. Why it is taken so long???

sincerally
Giovanni Marchi

FANTASTIC
EXCELLENT BOOK IN EXCELLENT PRICE!

Most of Leonardo's masterpieces in one book...

Anatomia, war machines, Art etc...

Best Buy for the Price
A comprehensive presentation, this book offers a full-perspective of daVinci's genius. The conceptual sketches allow insight into his far-sighted vision and untappable thinking process. The finished works demonstrate the highly disciplined deliberation of his messages. A work of art itself with color plates and text, the book is an item that can be enjoyed for everyday display as well as for lifelong reference.

Unbelievable Value
Beautifully bound.A true quality collection of Da Vinci portraits.I purchased this as a gift for a friend and was extremely pleased when I received it--so was the recipient.This is an excellent addition to any library.

Leonardo's Opus is a Taschen Masterpiece
Taschen seems to be forging ahead in the publishing world with their off-beat, sometimes extreme, always interesting and esoteric attractively priced books.Leonardo is one of them.A large book, this is no bedside table read.The print quality is very good, and the larger than life pictures of Leonardo's paintings and drawings give you a real sense of the intricacy that went into his work, and lets you get a lot closer than you could today to his work if you wanted to see it live.The Mona Lisa is behind bullet proof glass, most of his notebooks in temperature controlled libraries far from prying hands and eyes.. so if you really want to get close, to see the brush-strokes and minute scrawls in his ink drawings, then this book is it.
For who is it?Anyone interested in beauty, in art and painting, as well as anyone interested in genius and the multifaceted Renaissance man.You'll need a sturdy coffee table or a large library to house it, but you won't be sorry you bought it.
I only gave it 4 stars because I really dislike the 25th anniversary badge that is going on all Taschen books of late.. Good for you that you've reached that milestone Taschen, but don't expect me to want to advertise it in my bookshelf.The book comes in a slip-case, and just as well because the Amazon.com packaging was really atrocious and the box arrived quite banged around.Their cost-cutting in packaging means that my slip case is totally destroyed on the top, but thankfully the book has managed to survive (mostly) unscathed. Amazon will be getting a stern letter from me about this.. ... Read more

Product Description
Leonardo da Vinci was one of the most outstanding intellectuals of the Renaissance. An entirely self taught intellectual giant, he was endlessly curious about the physical world. His notebooks reveal the breadth of his research into subjects as diverse as anatomy, botany, physics, and engineering, including his extraordinary anticipation of modern technology. The author traces his life from birth through to his apprenticeship in Florence and work in Milan, Rome and Amboise. His skill as an artist is captured in reproductions of pages from his beautifully illustrated notebooks, and masterpieces such as the Mona Lisa. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Excellent primer on the life of a unique genius.
This small, well organized, and beautifully illustrated book is an unexpectedly thorough and complete reference on the life of Leonardo da Vinci, from his birth in Italy to his death in France.
Chronologically organized and succinctly written, but without being a mere biography, this book presents a well-researched portrait of one of the greatest geniuses of the Renaissance. Often citing historical sources and quoting entries from the artist's own notebooks, the author presents an insightful account of Leonardo's views, research and achievements in both art and science, as well as many firmly accepted anecdotes and little-known facts about his character and personal life.
For those interested in a deeper treatment of the subject, the choice bibliographic reference titled Further Reading, located at the back of the book, will be of particular value.
--Reviewed by M. E. Volmar

Compact, comprehensive, with great pictures
I really enjoyed this very good entry-level treatise on L.d.V. In myopinion the emphasis is correctly placed and pictures of great quality(although some are small in size) help the reader grasp the essence ofLeonardo's spirit and become familiar with the best-known parts of hiswork. ... Read more

Product Description
The Leonardo Da Vinci commented drawings of anatomy optimized and commented for kindle!

"Leonardo drew many studies of the human skeleton and its parts, as well as muscles and sinews, the heart and vascular system, the sex organs, and other internal organs. He made one of the first scientific drawings of a fetus in utero."

Each image was processed to be displayed perfectly on your kindle!


... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Yet another success for the most successful man
I have long believed that the most talented person who ever lived is Leonardo Da Vinci. The phrase "Renaissance Man" could have been coined simply as a response to his accomplishments. One of the greatest artists of all time, he also anticipated many products used in both war and peace. However, it is not well-known that he was also a writer of fables for children.
While his fables are not of a caliber that will match his efforts in other areas, they are very good and most have morals along the line of the classics by Aesop. Very few are more than a page and are brilliantly illustrated although not by Da Vinci. I began reading the book and was so captivated by the tales that I completed it in two settings separated only by a required trip to a children's performance.
This is another one of the books that I have placed on the required reading list that I keep for my children. It describes situations that adults face every day in a non-frightening way and in a language that children can relate to. ... Read more

Product Description
Detailed biography of Leonardo da Vinci, translated from the Russian. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (5)

Neo Leo: The Ageless Ideas of Leonardo da Vinci
More often than not, Leonardo da Vinci gets put in a box together with Rembrandt, Monet, Michelangelo, Picasso, and Van Gogh. While all of these artists are to be revered and appreciated, many would agree that Leonardo da Vinci far exceeded all their combined talents. He was a true genius, somewhat in the same category as Nikola Tesla. Da Vinci was a real visionary and way beyond his years with his ideas and contraptions, but there was much more to him than that. In //Neo Leo//, author Gene Barretta presents us with da Vinci's other brilliant abilities that are often overlooked. As a follow up to //Now and Ben//, where past and present events were illustrated and compared in opposite pages, //Neo Leo// cleverly shows how da Vinci's dreams--many of which were inspired by his study of nature--foreshadowed modern inventions, offering a window to the future. //Neo Leo// is a wealth of historical information with which kids will surely love to be familiar. Many of us grew up in an era where there was no Internet, and information such as what Barretta presents here could only be found in the most insipid way--perusing library stacks of thick books with crusty pages and gleaning what we could from microscopic fonts in the footnotes of confusing research books. Today's generation is very fortunate to have resources such as this book, which provides them with colorful, vivid, relatable material that will make them eager to learn. The book will inspire them to research other topics to understand da Vinci's genius better; my own daughter had to look up some of the names that appeared in this book like The Wright Brothers, Otto Lilienthal, Thomas Edison, Thomas Paine, and Jacques Cousteau, to name a few. //Neo Leo// is an educational success because the details presented elicit curiosity and a desire to learn more. The author is to be commended for his ability to pull his desired audience back to opening a book and reading through its pages, which is very hard to do since we are in the age of modern technology when our young often prefer gaining knowledge through audio-visual means rather than from printed media. Even the most computer savvy child will be intrigued and inspired by this book. The illustrations are done in a whimsical, yet detailed manner. Remarkable renderings that only a meticulous artist like Barretta could do (like "Mona Lisa" and the hand drawings of da Vinci) are comically strewn all over the pages of this wonderful read. Pay attention to the tidbits as well, because they provide further enlightenment about da Vinci's idiosyncrasies. Make sure you have a mirror on hand to read some of his inscriptions, which you may mistake initially as typographical errors. If you want to make the Renaissance come alive for your children or students, this book is the way to go... and maybe, just maybe, the world would be a much better place with young aspiring //Neo-Leos// in it.


Reviewed by Kaye Cloutman

Neo Leo is a great book
Just as in his earlier book Now and Ben,the author shows with whimsy how the past and present are connected while teaching a bit of history in a fun way.
Adults may learn something too!

Da Wild, Da Crazy, Da Vinci (to quote one of the greats)
Even if you've never felt the slightest inclination to write a non-fiction picture book a day of your life, it's still possible to take a gander at a book, blink twice, and say to yourself, "Now why didn't I think of that?" Today's example: Gene Barretta's newest. When you're an American child you are inundated with a lot of fancy names of folks, most white, many male, and almost all dead. Dead white men predominate and blend together. It's hardest to remember them if they were simply aligned with concepts rather than things. This is why I think that most kids are taught about historical persons who invented or drew things. Inventors and artists make up the bulk of my library's biography section and rarely do the two occupations intersect. By logical extension, then, Leonardo de Vinci should by rights be the most memorable man kids are taught about in school. And while there are some great Leonardo bios for youngsters out there (Leonardo: Beautiful Dreamer by Robert Byrd, Leonardo da Vinci by Diane Stanley, Leonardo da Vinci by Kathleen Krull, etc.) when it comes to making the man pertinent to kids today I can't think of a smarter book than Neo Leo: The Ageless Ideas of Leonardo da Vinci. Read the concept, page through the book, and take in every last the word. Your conclusion? If you're a kid it might be that Leonardo was one heckuva genius. If you're an adult, it might be, "Now why didn't I think of that?"

We all know that Leonardo was a fan of sketching ideas for inventions that were possible, but could not be created during his time for one reason or another. So were they just silly ideas or was there some merit to them? Gene Barretta singles out at least fifteen of Leonardo's ideas and sketches, then pairs them with the inventions that would come later on down the road. The "Neo" of each two page spread is the inventor who created the invention that "Leo" (on the opposite page) surmised long ago. For example, 1891's Otto Lillienthal and his first successful hang glider is paired with Leonardo's thoughts about gliders inspired by watching leaves drift through the air. Everything from the helicopter to the aqualung to the automatic rotisserie are displayed. In the end we see some particularly new and contemporary inventions that are specifically based on Leonardo's calculations. A Bibliography at the conclusion rounds out the text.

It's not as if Barretta didn't do this kind of book before, of course. Prior to publishing Neo Leo he produced the amusing, Now & Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin. But Franklin, cool as he is, isn't Leonardo. He didn't anticipate the helicopter, for crying out loud. And while he was many many MANY things, an artist on par with Leonardo's talents wasn't one of them. Barretta's real skill in both Now & Ben and Neo Leo comes in writing biographies about a great man in simple words that aren't too hard for the child who has grasped the finer points of early reading but hasn't quite yet come to terms with full-length chapter books. I've dealt with such kids before and finding them easy reading interesting books on non-fiction scientific topics is rarely easy.

The illustrations may prove a different kind of lure. The images in this book are watercolors on cold-press paper, but the colors are far more vibrant than your average fluffy bunny fare. The Bibliography, back publication page, and bulk of Leonardo's ideas look to be written on a brilliant golden parchment. Characters are colorful and fun without ever becoming too cartoonish. And while it take a little getting used to, I didn't mind the layout. For example, sometimes Barretta will place a later invention before Leonardo's notes, but on the opposite page. This becomes all the more strange when two later inventions (the 1885 automobile and the 1940 robots) correlate to just one page of information that pertains to both on the opposite page. Once you know how to read the book this doesn't become as much of a problem, but I wouldn't necessarily call it intuitive. And generally Barretta's art fits the pages, though there is one scene that is just the strangest imagining of a full-frontal dolphin I have ever seen.

Barretta's art looks simple, but he's a cheeky one. The opening two-page spread of Leonardo looking about and sketching may strike you as just a way of setting Leo within the context of his times. Closer inspection yields a treasure trove of rewards, though. I first noticed the fact that a woman in one of the windows bore no small resemblance to the Mona Lisa. And that cross hatched insert on the building above a window... isn't that a rough approximation of his Vitruvian Man? Suddenly I realized that the whole spread consisted of hidden odes to Leonardo's artistic work. A woman leaning of with a bird upon her back could easily become an angel. There are more too, so for any kid learning about Leonardo it might be fun to have them try and count how many homages they can find on a single spread.

Credit to Barretta, he takes time to also include moments when we're not entirely certain that Leo was the one responsible for one note or another. The bicycle is a good example of this. "While historians agree that it is not his drawing, some think that a pupil drew it after studying a bicycle prototype in Leonardo's workshop. Others say it was drawn as a prank by someone centuries later." I like that the author is honest about this. Some correlations feel more of a stretch than others. Projecting images through a lens does not necessarily beat a straight path to movie projectors, but it's certainly a step in the right direction. Of course, it is a little confusing when the "Neo" section doesn't credit the creator of a particular invention while other "Neo"s do. The cooking rotisserie and the locomotive, for example, appear in a "Neo" section without much in the way of explanation, separating them from other parts of the book.

At the beginning of Neo Leo Barretta writes in his Author's Note that Leonardo wrote backwards and no one really knows why. "Some suggest that he wanted to make it difficult for people to read his ideas and steal them. Another theory is that writing backward prevented smudging his ink." Barretta then proceeds to put mirror writing on each page. Initially I found this tiresome, but eventually I came around to the idea. The book's ultimate goal, aside from wanting to inform, of course, is to amuse and entice the child reader. And if that means coercing them into holding up a biography to a mirror every other page, so be it. After all, when I was a kid I loved those Encyclopedia Brown mysteries where you had to hold an image up to a mirror in order to get the answer to a crime.

If a children's work of non-fiction highlights a historical figure's work more than their life, that book tends to be written for older kids. I had a child of eight in my library just the other day desperate for any kind of non-fiction with a technical element that would pique his interest and discuss inventions in some manner. He wanted something interesting, easy enough to read, but with some complex ideas at hand. Had it been on my shelf, Neo Leo would have been my first choice for him. It's the rare non-fiction text with an eye to the younger readers. A great idea for a book, and a truly enjoyable end product. Like no other Leonardo da Vinci title for kids out there today.

Discovering stuff I didn't even know
I did not know da Vinci wrote backwards because he was left-handed and didn't want to smudge the ink.I also didn't know he was the first to dream up airplanes, helicopters, hang gliders and even tanks.It affirms my belief that people like da Vinci, Einstein and Ben Franklin were just not of this earth.Either that or they simply used their brains to the best of their abilities.Gene Baretta's talents are that amazing also (he even writes backwards like da Vinci and challenges us to hold a mirror up to the words to figure them out).I also own Now & Ben and I'd love to share them with my kids' school, but these books are too good to give up.~ Terri Jones, Temecula, CA.

Rutgers University Project on Economics and Children
Inventor, artist, mathematician and scientist extraordinaire Leonardo da Vinci may have lived more than five hundred years ago, but his legacy still remains all around us.Leonardo's keen intellect, curiosity, and vision led him to develop the plans for numerous inventions that we regularly use today.A powered air-craft, contact lenses, the movie projector, a single span bridge, the double hull of a ship, a helicopter, and many more useful devices and contraptions are all represented in one form or another in Leonardo's scientific notes and papers.

With its clear text and lively illustrations, Gene Barretta's new book brings Leonardo's ingenious ideas to life for young readers.The format of showing images of each original sketch side-by-side with the modern version works extremely well in communicating the depth of Leonardo's interests and foresight.This book makes an excellent vehicle for teaching children about the enormous contributions to society made possible by innovation and creative thinking.
... Read more

Product Description
Provides a brief illustrated history of Leonardo da Vinci for the teenage market with emphasis on his artistic contributions and his scientific inventions. Includes a frank discussion of the three great challenges that drove his desire to succeed: his illegitimate birth, his left-handness, and his probable homosexuality. Includes a timeline of his life and events occurring elsewhere in the world. ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (1)

Great Visuals, But No Translations
I am giving this product 4 stars because it was well set up and presented. I with-held the 5th star because it did not contain any sort of text about what Da Vinci had written at the sides or any real sort of side notes about the images, which I thought would have made this collection perfect.

I bought this book because of my own study of medicine and the human body, and being an artist at heart I was interested in Da Vinci's own illustrations of the human body. I am happy to say that this book was not lacking in that and I am held amazed by the precise representations illustrated. Until I am able to find a book suiting my own strict criteria, I would say this is a must buy for those interested in anatomy and in art, and would like to hearken back to the Renaissance when this anatomical illustrations would have been considered state of the art, calling back to the genius of men such as Galen. ... Read more

Product Description
The original Renaissance man, Leonardo da Vinci was born in Florence in 1452. A brilliant painter, sculptor, architect, and engineer, da Vinci was also profoundly dedicated to scientific inquiry. As a painter, he is celebrated for a number of technical innovations (for instance the sfumato technique), and, of course, more than a few masterpiece works. Marvel at the genius of Leonardo da Vinci paintings in this remarkable wall calendar. ... Read more

Product Description
The Renaissance is often defined by the genius of Leonardo Da Vinci. His abilities and talents seem limitless. He was a painter, sculptor, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, astronomer, architect, mystic, writer and (often overlooked) teacher. The Diaries of Leonardo Da Vinci give us a look into the complex mind of this genius and also provide us with a sampling of the same education that Da Vinci provided to his students. The diaries were kept by Da Vinci in a number of notebooks where he would write and sketch ideas, thoughts, personal notes and a wide collection of entries.

Leonardo Da Vinci is widely considered as the most diversely talented person ever to have lived. His diaries are not only of immense value to art students, but to anyone with a desire to learn more about the thoughts, ideas and messages from this "Renaissance Man."
... Read more

Product Description
, ... Read more