Leonardo and the Flying Boy (Anholt's Artists Books for Children) Paperback – Picture Book, January 1, 2007

Laurence Anholt has written a delightful historical fiction picture book. Leonardo and the Flying Boy is part of Anholt’s Artists series. Anholt takes known information about two of da Vinci’s students and incorporates them into a story about his flying machine. The book is illustrated with some of da Vinci’s work as well as colorful pictures by Laurence Anholt. The illustrations depict the time period and give readers a view of da Vinci’s world. I would not hesitate to add Leonardo and the Flying Boy to my K-12 Christian school library. It would be a great addition to our picture book section and could be used to highlight the lives of artists. I am considering adding the whole series. I purchased Leonardo and the Flying Boy to use in our Engineering and Inventing day which are part of our summer classes.

I can't say enough good about this series. It is a creative way to introduce kids to these artists. They are written to be kids stories and entertain while throwing in some information about who the artist is, to show the artists' general style and introduce some specific works by the artist. My daughter is 5. She soaks this stuff in. I think she would have been able to be as receptive to the stories at age 4 and maybe just earlier than that but it would have been pushing the envelope. I suspect she will enjoy the stories for another couple years.It has lead us to google some of the actual artists' works. My daughter now wants to find some museums that have some of the pieces that are addressed in the books.

My son (three) already has a great love of reading and history in part due to Anholt's series. Like all Anholt's work, Leonardo and the Flying Boy is an historical, entertaining, and exciting read. Anholt always chooses a specific story about his subject and provides a fuller biographical overview outside of the story's text at the end. This is a wonderful tool that helps keep wandering attention spans focused. The specific story in this case is Zoraste de Peretolo's "flight" from Mount Ceccero in one of Leonardo Da Vinci's many flying devices. Anholt manages to incorporate loads of interesting facts about Da Vinci while keeping the story (and child's focus) flowing. At our house, we are big fans.

I love Laurence Anholt and the way he introduces children to great artists. This book has a nice level of whimsy, and it touches upon Leonardo's genius in both engineering and art. It includes copies of real works, as well as Anholt's renditions of othe rworks. The characters are fun and provide children with something relatable. I used this book with preschoolers, and it was a hit because it was read in an animating voice and with stops for clarification ("Did you know that someone had to invent the airplane?"). You can't just read straight through if the audience is four-year-old. My six-year-old needs clarification, but likes the book even more than younger kids. I imagine it is perfect for 2nd-4th graders.

I love this book. We originally got it from our library, but my 4 years old liked it so much we ended up buying it. It is a charming story, based on real facts: my son can relate well to the main characters, two children working in Leonardo's studio. I liked the fact that we get to know one of the greatest man that ever lived in a fun way. I also loved the illustrations, which incorporate real Leonardo's drawings and original illustrations. Finally, if you want to learn more about Leonardo and the facts the story was based on, there is a full page giving you more info. I would highly recommend this book for any preschool child.

I teach a unit on artists to second-grade students. Leonardo and the Flying Boy help students relate to the artist who lived 500 years ago. This book combines fiction with two real boys who worked with Leonardo in his studio. While my students enjoyed this book, it doesn't have the charm and high interest of the Katie series of books by James Mayhew.

I bought Leonardo and the Flying Boy for our 6 year old daughter. At the same time, I bought Degas and the Little Dancer, as well as The Magical Garden of Claude Monet. Our daughter has thoroughly enjoyed all three of the books and they have been a great introduction to the artists. They have certainly peaked her interest into the world of art. Our 3 year old daughter also likes listening to the stories. I plan on buying the remainder of the books in this series.

Omg this book is amazing. I bought it for my 6 year old but I've learned so much from it as well. He have 2 books from this collection and will be buying all of them. Love it, the images and the story are a delight for my 6 year old and myself.