by E.L. Konigsburg ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 10, 1975
Around a few entries in Leonardo's notebooks Konigsburg constructs the character of his young apprentice Salai and fabricates an answer to two questions. She begins, "Why, people ask, why did Leonardo da Vinci choose to paint the portrait of the second wife of an unimportant Florentine merchant? . . . Why, they ask, why?" But it's the second question, which surely fewer "people ask," that gets a fuller answer here: "Why, people ask, why did Leonardo da Vinci put up with this liar, this thief, this Salai? Why for so long?. . . Why?" In the words of Beatrice, the plain but inwardly beautiful young duchess who shares the boy's sense of fun and mischief, Salai represents the one wild element—irreverent, unserious—that the too self-conscious Leonardo needs for greatness. And when, at the very end, Mr. Giaconda brings his wife to the absent artist's studio, Salai recognizes her as that same "unimportant, importantly unserious wild thing" whose portrait would not only recall the now dead Beatrice but would also be the perfect insult to Beatrice's shallow, arrogant sister Isabella who was begging to be painted herself. The Mona Lisa then is, at least in part, Salai's revenge on a silly snob; the master himself is remote throughout the story though through his assistant's eyes we are shown a number of his projects. We also see him on occasion throw back his head and laugh at Salai's dismissal of men of learning and station—though the boy's "those guys. . ." and (of the duke) "who does he think he is" seem fresh and spunky only in contrast with the complacently polished speech employed by everyone else including the author. At this civilized midcult level Konigsburg is successful, mixing palatable art history with mildly ingenious conjecture, and she probably should not be faulted for not having a Salai of her own.
Pub Date: Sept. 10, 1975
ISBN: 1416903429
Page Count: 164
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: May 1, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1975
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by Josh Schneider & illustrated by Josh Schneider ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2011
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
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by Josh Schneider ; illustrated by Josh Schneider
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by Josh Schneider ; illustrated by Josh Schneider
BOOK REVIEW
by Josh Schneider ; illustrated by Josh Schneider
by Millie Florence ; illustrated by Astrid Sheckels ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 7, 2025
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.
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In Florence’s middle-grade fantasy novel, a young girl’s heart is tested in the face of an evil, spreading Darkness.
Eleven-year-old Lydia, “freckle-cheeked and round-eyed, with hair the color of pine bark and fair skin,” is struggling with the knowledge that she has reached the age to apprentice as an herbalist. Lydia is reluctant to leave her beloved, magical Mulberry Glen and her cozy Housetree in the woods—she’ll miss Garder, the Glen’s respected philosopher; her fairy guardian Pit; her human friend Livy; and even the mischievous part-elf, part-imp, part-human twins Zale and Zamilla. But the twins go missing after hearing of a soul-sapping Darkness that has swallowed a forest and is creeping into minds and engulfing entire towns. They have secretly left to find a rare fruit that, it is said, will stop the Darkness if thrown into the heart of the mountain that rises out of the lethal forest. Lydia follows, determined to find the twins before they, too, fall victim to the Darkness. During her journey, accompanied by new friends, she gradually realizes that she herself has a dangerous role to play in the quest to stop the Darkness. In this well-crafted fantasy, Florence skillfully equates the physical manifestation of Darkness with the feelings of insecurity and powerlessness that Lydia first struggles with when thinking of leaving the Glen. Such negative thoughts grow more intrusive the closer she and her friends come to the Darkness—and to Lydia’s ultimate, powerfully rendered test of character, which leads to a satisfyingly realistic, not quite happily-ever-after ending. Highlights include a delightfully haunting, reality-shifting library and a deft sprinkling of Latin throughout the text; Pit’s pet name for Lydia is mea flosculus (“my little flower”). Fine-lined ink drawings introducing each chapter add a pleasing visual element to this well-grounded fairy tale.
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781956393095
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Waxwing Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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