How many of the picture book crowd you might hang around with can even pronounce Michelangelo's name, let alone tell you that he was a renowned Renaissance painter and sculptor or identify his sculpture of David? They will after reading this delightful tale of how he came to sculpt David. Personally, I was fairly well acquainted with the artist's work at a fairly young age thanks to my parents' subscription to that Time-Life series on the greatest artists of all time. Unfortunately, I couldn't read much more than the captions as the text was written for adults and I was eight. But I vividly recall poring over those books as they arrived, then, "rereading" them again and again. Luckily, Sutlcliffe's tale is quite readable and Shelley's illustrations beg the reader to pause and pore over the delightful details in illustrations that evoke Tomie dePaola and Trina SchartHyman.
I liked how the author conveyed the idea that Michelangelo saw David within the stone and how the illustrator conveyed the scale of the work. Michelangelo's discipline and perseverance are conveyed nicely as well Florence's history and spirit. An Author's Note and suggestions for further reading are included. Sadly, there is no note from the illustrator. It seems that many of his paintings were imitated the style of Renaissance art.
This is a picture book for all ages. It is an art book however and David is a nude so keep your audience in mind. Let your art teacher know about this one and include it in the pile of books you send down to the social studies teacher when asked for books on the Renaissance.
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