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Leonardo: Beautiful Dreamer by Robert Byrd. New York, NY: Dutton Children's Books, 2003. ISBN 978-0-52-547033-5

 

Annotation: Author-illustrator Robert Byrd’s picture book for older readers on the life of Renaissance man Leonardo da Vinci is as richly layered in creativity, curiosity, and information as the man himself.

 

Media: Ink and watercolor.

 

Rating:5Q/4P.

 

Curricular connections: History/Social Studies, Biographies/Autobiographies, Visual/Performing Arts, Science/Health.

 

School level: Middle school or junior high, High school.

 

Sophisticated language: Byrd uses higher-level, descriptive language as well as many quotations in this text-heavy picture book to convey the advanced ideas and inventions of da Vinci. Vocabulary is defined, such as "a maginificent cathedral called the duomo", or left for the reader to infer from the context of the text such as "maestro".

 

NP 07/04/09

 

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 Byrd, R (2003). Leonardo, Beautiful Dreamer. New York, N Y: Dutton Children's Books. ISBN:  0-525-47033-6.

 

 

 

Even today Leonardo da Vinci remains of a man of many talents.  He is famous for his artwork especially the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. He contributed his architectural designs for churches and buildings.  He studied anatomy and nature and his drawings of the anatomy are still used today to teach about the body. He had an insatiable curiously about how things worked and he was a man whose many ideas were before his time.

 

 

 

The end flaps are quotes by Leonardo da Vinci; the quotes on the front and back of the book are all different.  The illustrations are detailed ink and watercolor.  Each two page spread discusses a different topic with a large illustration and additional text boxes providing background information on da Vinci or quotes from him.

 

 

 

Rating:  5Q/4P

 

 

 

Sophisticated Language

 

 

The book, Leonardo, Beautiful Dreamer by Robert Byrd, is not for someone who wants to read an easy biography of Leonardo da Vinci.  Rich with history and depth into his life in Italy and France, the reader will learn not only about some of his accomplishments, but will read things Leonardo wrote on certain topics. Because da Vinci was so diverse and curious, this book provides the reader a glimpse of this complicated man.

 

 

 

Quote from Leonardo da Vinci while studying bones and shells:

“I ventured among the gloomy rocks.  And after I had remained there awhile, suddenly two emotions arose in me, fear and desire; fear of the threatening and dark cavern, desire to see whether there were any marvelous things within.”  Page 9

 

 

 

Quote from the book in describing the painting of The Last Supper:

 

 

 

“With skill and imagination, Leonardo used his mastery of perspective to make it almost seem as if the painting---fourteen feet high and thirty feet wide---is an extension of the dining room.  The table, dishes, and glasses look like those the monks used.  But in fact, the space created in the painting is on a higher, grander scale than the real space of the room.  Leonardo’s perspective also frames the figures in such a way that the eye of the viewer focuses directly on Christ, and the light through the window seems like his halo.”  Page 18

 

 

 

The illustrations in the book are detailed pen and watercolor drawings; the figures of people and animals are not large as in most books this size.  The drawings are small and the illustrator did not waste any space on his pages in providing the most information possible both in text and illustrations.

MWood