Tibaldo and the Hole in the Calendar

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Summary: A wonderful book for both children and adults
Review: This book is really quite charming. It beautifully blends science, philosophy, history, and fiction into a format that is accessible to children and entertaining for adults. Highly recommended

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Summary: Author's statement about Tibaldo
Review: Tibaldo and the Hole in the Calendar is a fictional story with a historically and scientifically correct setting. In 1582 Pope Gregory XIII proclaimed a reform of the calendar, including the omission of ten days--Oct. 5 through Oct. 14 of 1582-- to correct the inaccuracy of the Julian calendar. Tibaldo Bondi's twelfth birthday, on Oct. 10, 1582, would be omitted, to his distress. He imaginatively and courageously fought to recover his birthday, by asking help from his teachers and the governor of Bologna, and eventually from the Pope himself. The Pope was so amused (laughing for the first time in eight years!) by Tibaldo's daring and clever arguments that he issued a special decree restoring the celebration that would have been lost in 1582. This fictional decree is printed here in authentic papal Latin, but a translation is given. Tibaldo goes on to become a famous physician, pioneering in the use of the microscope and in preventive measures against the spread of infections. He also pioneers in the education of women, marrying a woman astronomer and ensuring that one of his daughters becomes a midwife, one a physician, and one an astronomer. As the background for the story much information is given about astronomy, medicine, midwifery, the history of the calendar, and the religious and political history of Italy. The book is printed in a Renaissance format and the beautiful etchings by Jonathan Shimony are in the style of Renaissance book illustration. The story and the factual background are accessible to children of age ten years or more but are also fascinating reading for adults. It is a particularly instructive and amusing book for a parent to read with a child. Tibaldo has been translated into French, Italian, German, Japanese, Chinese, Polish, and Greek, and is due to be translated into Spanish, Portuguese, and Hebrew. Tentative plans are underway to make a movie of it, to be set in Bologna, Italy.