Synopses & Reviews
For thirty years, the whole last half of his life, Leonardo da Vinci was obsessed with unlocking the secrets of nature. His notebooks are the mind-boggling evidence of a fifteenth-century scientist standing at the edge of the modern world, basing his ideas on observation and experimentation. Scrupulously researched, juicily anecdotal, this book will change children’s ideas of who Leonardo was and what it means to be a scientist.
Award-winning biographer Kathleen Krull will focus on five other "giants of science"— Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Marie Curie, Sigmund Freud, and Albert Einstein. Each book presents a compelling portrait of an individual as well as a picture of the world at a particular time and place.
Review
"With a totally captivating opening and a conversational writing style, Krull offers a vivid description of life in the Middle Ages: no printed books, no bathrooms, and a belief in magic. In a time when pig manure was used to cure nosebleeds, the dawning of the Renaissance would have been quite a contrast indeed. The book moves along at a steady clip and adds details to bring da Vinci and his times to life. The author discusses his lonely childhood, his insatiable curiosity and craving for knowledge, and how his illegitimate status affected his life. Most importantly, she shows the workings of a scientific mind and the close connection between science and art. Kulikov’s stylish and exacting line drawings are engaging and incorporate many of the items and interests found in Leonardo’s notebooks. Readers will come away from this accessible volume with an understanding of who Leonardo was and a desire to know more about this fascinating, brilliant man." -School Library Journal, starred review
Review
“The second title in Krull’s Giants of Science series meets, an
Synopsis
Always cast in a supporting role in the many books about Marco Polo, the great Kubla Khan now takes center stage in a splendid picture-book biography. He is a wonderful subject-a man who liked to live large, building the imperial city of Beijing from scratch, siring a hundred children, throwing birthday bashes for 40,000 guests. He ruled over the greatest empire of the time, one that was lightyears ahead of Western civilization in terms of the arts, sciences, and technology. With astonishingly beautiful and detailed illustrations by Robert Byrd and a clever text by Kathleen Krull, this portrait finally gives Kubla Khan his due.
Synopsis
Kathleen Krull proves Sigmund Freud deserves a place in her much-lauded series, because he essentially created a brand-new branch of medicine: psychoanalysis.
Synopsis
What was Isaac Newton like? Secretive, vindictive, withdrawn, obsessive, and, oh, yes, brilliant. His imagination was so large that, just "by thinking on it," he invented calculus and figured out the scientific explanation of gravity.Yet Newton was so small-minded that he set out to destroy other scientists who dared question his findings. Here is a compelling portrait of Newton, contradictions and all, that places him against the backdrop of 17th-century England, a time of plague, the Great Fire of London, and two revolutions.
Synopsis
On August 28, 1963, more than 200,000 people gathered in Washington, DC, to demand equal rights for all races. It was there that Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his andquot;I Have a Dreamandquot; speech, and it was this peaceful protest that spurred the momentous civil rights laws of the mid-1960s. With black-and-white artwork throughout and sixteen pages of photographs, the March is brought to life!
Synopsis
The history of the feast!and#160;
After their first harvest in 1621, the Pilgrims at Plymouth shared a three-day feast with their Native American neighbors. Of course, the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag didnandrsquo;t know it at the time, but they were making history, celebrating what would become a national holiday.
Synopsis
A terrifying attack!
On December 7, 1941, Japanese war planes appeared out of nowhere to bomb the American base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. It was a highly secretive and devastating attack: four battleships sunk, more than two thousand servicemen died, and the United States was propelled into World War II. In a compelling, easy-to-read narrative, children will learn all about a pivotal moment in American history.
Synopsis
The history of the feast!and#160;
After their first harvest in 1621, the Pilgrims at Plymouth shared a three-day feast with their Native American neighbors. Of course, the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag didnandrsquo;t know it at the time, but they were making history, celebrating what would become a national holiday.
Synopsis
From 1892 to 1954, Ellis Island was the gateway to a new life in the United States for millions of immigrants. In later years, the island was deserted, the buildings decaying. Ellis Island was not restored until the 1980s, when Americans from all over the country donated more than $150 million. It opened to the public once again in 1990 as a museum. Learn more about America's history, and perhaps even your own, through the story of one of the most popular landmarks in the country.
Synopsis
Before 1914, traveling from the East Coast to the West Coast meant going by land across the entire United States. To go by sea involved a long journey around South America and north along the Pacific Coast. But then, in a dangerous and amazing feat of engineering, a 48-mile-long channel was dug through Panama, creating the worldand#8217;s most famous shortcut: the Panama Canal!
Synopsis
On August 28, 1963, more than 200,000 people gathered in Washington, DC, to demand equal rights for all races. It was there that Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his andquot;I Have a Dreamandquot; speech, and it was this peaceful protest that spurred the momentous civil rights laws of the mid-1960s. With black-and-white artwork throughout and sixteen pages of photographs, the March is brought to life!
Synopsis
A terrifying attack!
On December 7, 1941, Japanese war planes appeared out of nowhere to bomb the American base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. It was a highly secretive and devastating attack: four battleships sunk, more than two thousand servicemen died, and the United States was propelled into World War II. In a compelling, easy-to-read narrative, children will learn all about a pivotal moment in American history.
About the Author
Patricia Brennan Demuth is an educator and children's book author. She has authored Who Is Bill Gates? and several titles for young readers, including many books in the leveled reader program for Penguin Young Readers.