{"product_id":"stone-giantisbn-9781580892958","title":"Stone Giant","description":"\u003cb\u003eMichelangelo saw something—someone—special in the stone. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNo 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNight and day, Michelangelo worked in secret, lovingly coaxing statue out of the stone. Its majesty endures even today. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Back matter includes further information about David and a selected bibliographySutcliffe makes a big impression with this handsome introduction to one of Western civilization's most iconic sculptures.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e When the young artist was summoned from Rome back to his native  Florence, he was commissioned to take on a work of heroic proportions.  This sculpture of the Old Testament hero David was to symbolize  Florentine strength and civic virtue. Michelangelo requested \"the  giant\"--an immense block of creamy marble that had been languishing for  over 40 years. Sutcliffe limns the lively details of this multiyear  project, and her tale of Michelangelo's talent and industry is  considerably enhanced by the thoughtful pen, ink and watercolor work of  British illustrator Shelley. He makes the finely modeled realism of the  statue the real standout here. (Yes, there are a few views of David in  full frontal splendor.) Shelley wondrously juxtaposes this cool, nuanced  marble hero with a crowded city, brimming with the bright colors and  lively action of Renaissance book illuminations. Backmatter includes an  author's note and a brief bibliography (mostly adult titles, no online  resources). Sadly missing? An artist's note to help curious readers  place all the highly researched imagery and background in more complete  artistic, historic and geographic context.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Still, this is a handsome offering that helps youngsters understand  both an artist's process and how this stunning statue became the  enduring symbol of a city and its people.\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eRenaissance icon and one of the most towering (in more ways than one) of  Western civilization’s artworks gets a humorous but respectful,  down-to-earth, and easy-to-understand treatment. Readers learn that the  city fathers always intended to have a statue of David carved, as a  symbol of the small but powerful city, but that their plan wasn’t so  simple. Many earlier attempts had come to naught, with even Leonardo da  Vinci passing on the idea. Fortunately for Florence–-and  posterity–-Michelangelo was persuaded to return from Rome and began his  painstaking sculpting, bringing forth his giant almost three years  later, in 1504. This well-written, lively account is graced with  excellent illustrations, rendered in pen-and-ink and painted with  watercolors, that truly convey a Renaissance Italian flavor; there’s  even an image of Michelangelo’s sketches for the statue with a poem he  wrote about it. Readers should note that David’s frontal nudity is  discreetly concealed for the most part, but there is one scene in which  the piece is shown from the front, completely uncovered, and another  illustration depicts the statue’s bare backside. A helpful author’s note  and bibliography conclude the book, though the note fails to reveal  that David is now housed in the Accademia Gallery in Florence, and the  bibliography includes mostly outdated resources and none that seem  geared to young readers. Highly recommended for all public and school  libraries and especially recommended for units on the Italian  Renaissance and in art classes in the middle to upper-elementary grades.\u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003eSchool Library Journal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eJane Sutcliffe\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of \u003ci\u003eLeonardo’s Monster \u003c\/i\u003e(Pelican) and \u003ci\u003eThe Attack on Pearl Harbor \u003c\/i\u003e(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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eJohn Shelley\u003c\/b\u003e 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 \u003ci\u003eOutside-In: A Lift-the-Flaps Body Book \u003c\/i\u003eby  Claire Smallman and\u003ci\u003e Family Reminders\u003c\/i\u003e by Julie Danneberg. John lives in Norwich, England.There was a giant in the city of Florence.                        It had been there for nearly forty years.                       And no one knew what to do about it.                 The giant was an enormous block of stone--marble, to be exact. It stood three times as tall as any man in the city. It was the color of cream. And it was a troublemaker.","brand":"Charlesbridge","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46304332611813,"sku":"NP9781580892958","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781580892957_5acc9695-c747-42d5-bdc3-63b8ffa432e7.jpg?v=1730756993","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/stone-giantisbn-9781580892958","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}