Customer Reviews

Leonardo's Horse

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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!

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

This book is far from the whole truth. It should have been written giving equal credit and justice to Charles Dent (original benefactor), Nina Akamu (sculptor) and Frederik Meijer (benefactor). It was a combination of all three wonderful people to make this a reality for the people of Milan and the people of Grand Rapids, Michigan. To have reduced Mr. Meijer's role in making this a reality for the world to see and experience, on the book's last page under "Author's Note," is not giving the reader of this book the whole story. Without Nina Akamu and Frederik Meijer these beautiful horses (Milan, Italy and Grand Rapids, Michigan) would never have been created and the reader deserves more.

My 2nd grader is crazy about horses and a reluctant reader. This was a mini novel for her. She cried when Leonardo died despairing over his unfinished horse and again, when Charlie died on Christmas before he could finish the horse. Her favorite part was the diagrams showing how they turn a clay horse into a bronze one. She loves the book and shared it with her class. We read it every night and sometimes she reads it to me. We followed up by finding Nina Akamu's website and poured over the pictures (some of which look similar to the ones in the book) and the text. This book has definitely touched my daughter's heart. This is a no brainer Christmas present - and I love the shape of the book!

This is an amazingly written and illustrated book that anyone who is in awe of the tremendous talents of Leonardo Da Vinci will definitely enjoy! This true story is told in a manner that is sure to hold the attention of all ages! As an Art Director of grades ranging from kindergarten to 8th grade, I used this as a teaching tool in all these grade levels....much to the delight of the children and participating adults! A Serious Must Have!!

I should like the opportunity to own a lesser casting by Dent or someone inspired by his rendition.