Leonardo's Horse

Rating:
Summary: Leonardo's Horse trots to top ranking in my book!
Review: If you like learning about Renaissance artists, then Leonardo's Horse is for you. Leonardo is shown as a person interested in many different areas of intelligence. This book focuses most on his painting and sculpture. A duke wanted him to make this gigantic bronze sculpture of a horse. Leonardo studied and studied, and he finally made a clay model of what the bronze horse would look like. He never got around to finishing it because the duke took all of his bronze for war supplies, and Leonardo was working on his famous painting, The Last Supper. As the French invaded Milan, they destroyed the clay horse. Even to his deathbed, Leonardo regretted never being able to finish the horse. The rest of this story relates the two artists that sought to honor Leonardo's legacy by completing the horse and presenting it as a gift of American friendship to Milan. Those artists were Charles Dent and Nina Akamu.

A couple interesting features of the book are its shape and illustrations. The book has a half circle on top of the normal square shape. The illustrator makes good use of the irregularly shaped pages by making the top of the page the inside of a dome, an arched doorway, and more. There's a step-by-step chart to show how a sculpture is casted from clay to plaster to bronze. Overall, Jean Fritz and Hudson Talbott (author/artist) complement each other perfectly in this work.

Rating:
Summary: A Dream Realized
Review: If you thought you knew everything about Leonardo Da Vinci, you may not have known about the horse that he was never able to finish. This disappointment in his life adds a bit of humanity to a man that we often felt attained perfection.

That a man separated by centuries would want to complete Leonardo's dream is very touching. He tried to create the horse with the dignity and care that Da Vinci would have used, but not being an artist, his horse was flawed. In stepped another artist, this time a woman, who was finally able to create a horse to be given to the people of Italy. Unfortunately, the man who started the project, Carlton Dent, did not live to see its completion.

The illustrations are absolutely gorgeous, and fitting of this story that stretches from the renaissance into modern times. The shape of the book is used ingenoiusly to create illustrations that would not have the same impact in a rectangular format. The page that touched me the deepest was the elderly Leonardo lying in bed with ghostly horses dancing in his dreams.

This is an unusual story that may be above some of the very little ones heads, but it is thorougly captivating, and well worth the read for young and old.

Rating:
Summary: The horse is reality based on dreams
Review: In Grand Rapids, MIchigan we have Da Vinci's horse (the only one to be made from the molds used to cast the original in Milan Italy). It is breathtaking. I was excited to find a children's book describing the men who dreamed it and the woman who completed the sculpture. As a story about Leonardo Da Vinci it may fall short, but it is an epic story linking different times, men, and countries in a triumphant project.

Rating:
Summary: A Moving and Evocative Story.....
Review: Leonardo da Vinci had a dream. When he heard that the Duke of Milan was planning to honor his father with the statue of a bronze horse, he knew he had to be the artist for the job. "This would be his mark on history." Unfortunately, because of events often beyond his control, the sculpture was never completed, and it is said that Leonardo died in 1519, grieving for his horse. Hundreds of years later, in 1977, an artist and art lover, Charlie Dent, read a story about Leonardo's horse, and it became his dream too. He decided to complete the project, and give the horse to Italy as a gift from the American people. Charlie studied horses just as Leonardo had, and worked tirelessly on the project, but he too became ill, and died in 1994, before its completion. Friends of Charlie's wanted to see his dream fulfilled, and so they contacted a talented sculptor, Nina Akamu, to finish the project, and soon it became her dream too. On September 10, 1999, Leonardo's and Charlie's dream was finally unveiled in Milan. "At last Leonardo's horse was home."..... Jean Fritz has written a marvelously intriguing story, part history, part biography, and part art book, that captures the imagination and takes the reader on an amazing 500 year journey. Her tender, simple, and easy to read text was obviously a labor of love, and is full of imagery and magic. Ms Fritz's words are beautifully complemented by Hudson Talbott's spectacular, detailed artwork, that uses da Vinci's drawings and notebooks, along with his own expressive illustrations, combining pen and ink, colored pencil, watercolor, and collage. Together they've authored a dramatic masterpiece that's sure to peak the interest of history buffs and art lovers everywhere. Perfect for youngsters 8-12, Leonardo's Horse also makes a wonderful read-aloud story the entire family can share. Definitely one of the very best of 2001, this is a book that shouldn't be missed. Bravo Fritz and Talbott!

Rating:
Summary: Go elswhere to learn anything about Leonardo
Review: This book paints Leonardo as tragic looser who never finished anything and died in despair. The real hero of the story, who occupies more than half the pages, is Charles Dent, an untalented amateur sculptor with a misguided idea to complete one of Leonardos unfinished works. As I read this book to my 5 year old daughter, I felt sabatoged by this ridiculous tale that mangles the story of a great person. And why, in a childrens book, do I need to hear that "Leonardo wore short rose-colored tunics while all the other men wore long white togas"? Stay away.

Rating:
Summary: Leonardo's Dream
Review: This is a unique format for a book. The art work is exquisite! The story is very touching. Leonardo had never finished a bronze statue of a horse; it bothered him the rest of his life. Centuries later an American almost finished it, but he died. Another American did and it was given to the Italian people as a gift to Leonardo.

Rating:
Summary: A WONDERFUL STORY OF HOW A BRILLIANT MIND IMPACTS OTHERS
Review: When my 10 year old found this at the library, I also had an interest and we read it together. What a wonderful story of how the dream of a famous artist on the other side of the world impacted artists here in the U.S. It is a story that everyone should know.
Yes, I had to provide details of Leonardo's accomplishments that the book did not focus on. Yet,I did not mind doing this. It helped my daughter to understand why his brilliant mind set him up so he was not able to accomplish all of his dreams.
The story and illustrations were captivating. This is a book I will be recommending to many people.
A wonderful gift book!