Da Wild, Da Crazy, Da Vinci #14 (Time Warp Trio) [Hardcover]

Jon Scieszka (Author), Adam McCauley (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 27, 2004 | Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 2 and up | Series: Time Warp Trio (Book 14)

You probably know that Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa. Did you know that he also invented an early version of a helicopter and a tank, and that he planned to execute the Time Warp Trio for spying on his inventions? Sam's bright idea to look for the inventor of the Book takes the guys to 15th century Italy to meet up with Leonardo. But it's going to take at least three more bright ideas, two magic tricks, and one great invention to get them out of trouble and safely back home. If not, it could be a lifetime of Italian army toilet-cleaning detail for Joe, Sam, and Fred.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gr. 3-6. In the Time Warp Trio's fourteenth heart-pounding escapade, the three young Brooklyn friends set out to discover who invented the Book, the magic catalyst to their time-travel adventures. Their quest projects them to sixteenth-century Italy, where they meet Leonardo da Vinci, outwit Machiavelli, and learn something about famous inventors and their discoveries (the discussion of Thomas Crapper will be a particular hit). This adventure feels a bit less substantial than some of the others in the series, and a few of the specifics of the team's escapes may leave readers a bit confused. But the encounter with da Vinci, who is portrayed as a goofy practical joker, is thrilling, and as usual, the fast action and spot-on humor carry the plot. Illustrations, including new interpretations of da Vinci's work, were not available in galley. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"Nonstop action and lots of laughs" (School Library Journal).

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 7 and up
  
• Hardcover: 80 pages
• Publisher: Viking Juvenile (September 27, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670059269
• ISBN-13: 978-0670059263
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #960,874 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jon Scieszka was born in Flint, Michigan on September 8th, 1954. He grew up with five brothers, has the same birthday as Peter Sellers and the Virgin Mary, and a sneaking suspicion that the characters in his Dick and Jane reader were not of this world. Those plain facts, plus his elementary school principal dad, Louis, his registered nurse mom, Shirley (who once took Jon's Cub Scout den on a field trip to the prenatal ward), Mad Magazine, four years of pre-med undergrad, "The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show", an M.F.A. in Fiction from Columbia University, Robert Benchley, five years of painting apartments in New York City, his lovely wife Jeri Hansen who introduced him to Molly Leach and Lane Smith, Green Eggs and Ham, his teenage daughter Casey and almost teenage son Jake, ten years of teaching a little bit of everything from first grade to eighth grade, and the last twenty years of living in Brooklyn...are just some of Jon's answers to the questions, "Where do you get your ideas?" and/or "How did you become a writer?" I don't know, just because, none of your beeswax, and flapdoodle poppycock and balderdash are some more of Jon's answers to questions you can imagine on your own. Jon met up with Lane Smith around 1986 or so, and nothing has been the same since. Their first book, the wiseguy fairy tale retelling, The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! was initially rejected by most publishers as "too weird" and "too sophisticated". Published by Viking in 1989, The True Story has now sold over a million copies, been translated into ten languages, and been called a "classic picture book for all ages". Jon and Lane's The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales (1992) took the world of the picture book a few steps further. Goofing with the conventions of fairy tales and even being a book, The Stinky Cheese Man became a household word, sold another mess of copies in multiple languages, offended a few purists, and still managed to win a Caldecott Honor medal. Math Curse (1995) further stretched the notion of what subjects make good picture books, selling more books faster than either 3 Little Pigs or Stinky Cheese, and winning a whole slew of awards --all for a book full of mathematics.More recently, Jon and Lane have resurrected fables (in the smart, funny, and a little bit wicked way Aesop would have wanted them) in their latest collaboration, Squids Will Be Squids (1998). No telling where they might take the picture book next. Someone once wrote, "Jon Scieszka has forever changed the face of children's literature." And while there is still some confusion over exactly who that someone was, and whether children's literature does, in fact, have a face, most would agree-from The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! to Squids Will Be Squids, since Scieszka put pen to paper, children's literature sure has been...different.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars History presented in an interesting way is history learned, December 4, 2008

By 

Charles Ashbacher (Marion, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Da Wild, Da Crazy, Da Vinci #14 (Time Warp Trio) (Hardcover)

Joe, Sam and Fred have a book that when they open it emits a vapor that will serve as a time machine. In this adventure, they go back in time to Italy during the life of Leonardo Da Vinci. Considered by many to be the all-time greatest breadth of talent, Da Vinci had a wild imagination, a sound scientific mind and the skills of the most talented of artists.
When they go back, they have no trouble finding Da Vinci, unfortunately they also meet Lord Borgia, Captain Nassti and Niccolo Machiavelli. The minds of these people are on war and the power to make more effective war, so they have no interest in anything that it not a war machine. Therefore, the Time Warp Trio ends up cleaning the toilets in the army of Lord Borgia. It is only after they come up with some clever ruses that they recover the book that allows them to return to their proper time.
History presented in an accurate and interesting way is history learned and in this case there are some laughs included. Written for the young boy, it will also teach some basic history about one of the greatest personalities of history.

5.0 out of 5 stars Will the Time Warp Trio finally get their answers about "The Book"?, February 17, 2010

By 

Raj "raj_thatsme" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Da Wild, Da Crazy, Da Vinci #14 (Time Warp Trio) (Hardcover)

Synopsis: The story starts off with Joe, Fred and Sam standing on a sandy hill with a wooden flying-saucer tank in front of them, that is ready to be fired at them! Soon, they realize that the tank is an invention of Leonardo Da Vinci. They are happy to meet him because they had time traveled just to see him. Since one of his drawings was in "The Book", they thought he would have some answers as to how the book works.

However, before they have a chance to talk with him, Captain Nassti barges in and tells Leonardo to invent new machinery for the army, confiscates the book from them, and takes the Time Warp Trio as army volunteers. The Time Warp Trio are subjected to cleaning the outhouse toilet with wooden toothbrushes, which they hate doing! Can they seize the book and escape from the clutches of the evil Captain Nassti and Lord Borgia (who he works for), and see Leonardo Da Vinci once again? Will they finally get the solution as to how the Book works?

Review: I thought this was an excellent Time Warp Trio book to read because it had humor, suspense, action, and interesting tidbits that go so well with the series. I found it humorous because of Fred's reaction to Thomas Crapper; suspenseful when the boys try to escape from Captain Nassti; adventurous when the Time Warp Trio and Leonardo help Lord Borgia capture the town of Urbo; and as with other books in the series, was amused by the interesting tidbits on how Joe uses his 'magic' powers to outsmart the Captain. I also enjoyed the educational information that was added about Leonardo Da Vinci's inventions. The illustrations provided by Adam McCauley blend in well with the storyline. Another reason why I thought the story was better than the others in this series was because while most of the other books only deal with the Trio accidentally falling into another time period and searching for the book, this was the first book I read where the Trio intentionally time traveled in order to get more answers about the book.

Overall, this is a good addition to the series, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes the Time Warp Trio.