Description
Everyone says Leonardo da Vinci is one of the greatest artists who ever lived — but why? What makes him so great? Max Tanner answers those questions in What's So Great About Da Vinci?, a fun, friendly guide written just for kids. Born in 1452 in the Italian town of Vinci, Leonardo was a painter, inventor, scientist, and engineer all at once — the original "Renaissance man." Young readers will meet the creator of the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper, discover his notebooks filled with thousands of sketches and mirror writing, and explore his astonishing designs for flying machines, tanks, and parachutes — centuries before they were built.
What children take away from this book is the idea that curiosity itself is a superpower. Leonardo did not keep art and science in separate boxes: the same notebook that held a painting study might hold a design for a flying machine, an anatomy drawing, or a note written backwards from right to left. Tanner tells that story through vivid, concrete details kids remember — the mirror writing, the machines that would not fly for hundreds of years, the paintings everyone recognizes — and explains, in simple language, why one person doing so many things changed how people thought about what a single mind could do. Art terms are introduced as they arise, never as a vocabulary test.
With simple language, exciting stories, and fascinating facts (did you know he wrote backwards, from right to left?), this book makes art history come alive for curious kids. Perfect for independent reading, classrooms, and homeschoolers — and the ideal first stop in the "What's So Great About…" series. Get the ebook edition at a discount from Tellebook.
Leonardo's notebooks are the book's secret lesson: he wrote down questions, sketched what he saw, and returned to ideas over years. Young readers learn that being an inventor starts not with answers, but with paying close attention and keeping a record of what you notice.
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