Leonardo's Monster

Leonardo da Vinci was one of the greatest artists of all time. He was also a sculptor, architect, engineer, and scientist in 16th century Italy. Not much is known about his childhood, but once, when Leonardo was a young boy, his father received a request to have a shield painted. When his young son fashioned a fire-breathing monster on it, Leonardo's father believed the image to be too terrifying. Rather than returning it to the peasant, he sold it to the Duke of Milan. He then bought another shield decorated with a heart pierced by an arrow and gave that back to the peasant.This picture book retelling of that story examines the imaginative process in art. As the boy tries to create a horrifying monster, he studies a number of repugnant creatures. Only in combining the characteristics of actual living things was he able to develop a realistic monster. And not just any monster, but one so dreadful that it could scare a grown man.