Stone Giant Michelangelo's David and How He Came to Be

Michelangelo saw something—someone—special in the stone.

No one wanted the “giant.” The hulking block of marble lay in the work yard, rained on, hacked at, and abandoned—until a young Michelangelo saw his David in it.

Night and day, Michelangelo worked in secret, lovingly coaxing statue out of the stone. Its majesty endures even today.

This is the story of how a neglected, discarded stone became a masterpiece for all time. It is also a story of how humans see themselves reflected in art.

Back matter includes further information about David and a selected bibliography

Jane Sutcliffe is the author of Leonardo’s Monster (Pelican) and The Attack on Pearl Harbor (Capstone), as well as nearly two dozen biographies in the History Maker series and the On My Own series from Lerner. Jane holds a BA from the University of Connecticut and a master’s from Penn State University, both in Communication Science. She lives in Tolland, Connecticut.

John Shelley was born in Birmingham, UK and grew up in Sutton Coldfield. He studied at Bournville School of Art, then illustration at Manchester Polytechnic under children's illustrator Tony Ross. Following his first major picture book The Secret in the Matchbox, his children's illustrations have been published in the UK, USA, Europe, and Asia. He has illustrated more than forty children's books, including Outside-In: A Lift-the-Flaps Body Book by Claire Smallman and Family Reminders by Julie Danneberg. John lives in Norwich, England.