Angelo

by David Macaulay

From the creator of The New Way Things Work, Castle, and Black and White, comes a poignant tale of a very curious friendship. Angelo is an old Italian craftsman who restores facades of Roman buildings. Sweeping away feathers and twigs left "by generations of thoughtless pigeons" one day, Angelo comes face to beak with his nemesis. This pigeon isn't looking so good, though, and in spite of himself, Angelo takes her home and brings her back to health, grumpily commenting, "Mamma mia! I restore walls, not pigeons." It's not long before this lonely old man grows attached to the bird, though, and makes a touching, lasting gesture to her in the final hours before his death.

David Macaulay's unusual story is funny and touching, if jarring at times, as when the narrative makes inexplicable leaps with no transition. He uses his familiar illustrative style to greatest effect in depicting the clutter of Roman rooftops and close-ups of crumbling walls and sculpture's toes. Also lovely are the images of twigs and feathers that frame the book, scattered even across the dedication and copyright pages. (Ages 6 to 8) --Emilie Coulter

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Animals, Art, Read For School

48 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 30, 2002

About the author

David Macaulay, born in 1946, was eleven when his parents moved from England to Bloomfield, New Jersey. He found himself having to adjust from an idyllic English childhood to life in a fast paced American city. During this time he began to draw seriously, and after graduating from high school he enrolled in the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). After spending his fifth year at RISD in Rome on the European Honors Program, he received a bachelor’s degree in architecture and vowed never to practice. After working as an interior designer, a junior high school teacher, and a teacher at RISD, Macaulay began to experiment with creating books. He published his first book, Cathedral, in 1973. Following in this tradition, Macaulay created other books—including City, Castle, Pyramid, Mill, Underground, Unbuilding, and Mosque—that have provided the explanations of the how and the why in a way that is both accessible and entertaining. From the pyramids of Egypt to the skyscrapers of New York City, the human race’s great architectural and engineering accomplishments have been demystified through Macaulay's elaborate show-and-tells. Five of these titles have been made into popular PBS television programs.

Reviews

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Angelo restored buildings and took pride in his work. One day when he was cleaning a magnificent church of the debris left by pigeons, he found a wounded bird. He took it home for what he intended to be one day, but a friendship developed. Lovely story beautifully illustrated.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet story.

[Megumi Shavers · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is a picture book and is for the age group of P and above. This author did not win any awards for this book. This book is about a man who finds a wounded bird while doing some construction work and take in the bird to help it get better. The bird and him creates a deep bond that develops into a friendship. I do not like this book for a couple of reasons.One the plot was confusing and two with the illustration it seems like too much was going on. I really wasn't sure what the story was really about until I got half through the book. With the illustrations, as I was flipping the pages, I often turn the page back to see if I missed any page because I wasn't understanding the pictures.I believe the theme was that once you create a deep friendship with someone it can never die.The characters was probably the only thing I understood and that was Angelo, the old man and Sylvia the wounded bird. Overall this book did not capture my attention.I personally wouldn't read this book to my students because I didn't quite understand it, I doubt that some of the will too.

[Annie Combest-friedman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very sentimental story about an old man named Angelo and a bird. The bond that formed between them was sweet and parallels a bond that may typically occur between grandparents and grandchildren. This story gently addressed death and its inevitability while highlighting the importance of time spent together. This would be a book I recommend to students cooping with loss. This would be a great book to include in the class library because it is easy to read but challenging enough for learning. The art in the story was simplistic but detailed enough to support the mixtures of emotions throughout the book. Overall, I would include this book in my recommendation list for many things including as a read aloud tool to bring family together and allow for more open discussion about the various forms of relationships.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderfully illustrated story about a plasterer who befriends a pigeon. Angelo finds an injured pigeon and nurses her back to health. As he ages, the pigeon encourages him through his final days of a church restoration. One of the things that I really like about this book is that it includes and addresses Angelo's death. While this can be a serious and scary subject for children, I believe that it is a topic that educators and parents need to find thoughtful ways to talk about it.

As much as I enjoyed the illustrations and stories, I think that the plot could have flowed a bit more smoothly. Angelo is a thoughtful and kind story that adults will appreciate as well.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sweet and somewhat melancholy story about a man who spends his last years restoring a church and helps a hurt pigeon. The story focuses on the relationship between Angleo and his pigeon Sylvia and how they comfort one another and keep each other company.

The narrative is engaging and the illustrations are terrific. We really enjoyed reading this story together.

interesting quote:

"With wet plaster and a few simple tools, he had spent his whole life making crumbling walls smooth again and bringing even the most weathered pieces of sculpture back to life." (p. 19)

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a lovely book. Macaulay's signature style, his affection for architecture shown in the cityscapes and close-ups of repair work on scaffolding on a large building, drawings within drawings together create a rich environment to enter. What pulls us through the story is Angelo's care for the ailing pigeon Sylvia, her reciprocal care for him as he ages, and finally his tribute to her in the stucco exterior he has spent his final few years working on. Bravo!

[Katrina Dreamer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book at the Scholastic book fair when I was a student teacher. I loved the cover and I loved the story even more. It is about a sweet man and his relationship with a bird. I cry every time I read it and it is dear to my heart.

[Jenny Hartfelder · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 6yo: I liked that he finally became friends with the pigeon, and he left the pigeon a special place so that he could be able to be safe.

Mom: A sweet story about an old plasterer who's understandably not fond of pigeons, but ends up adopting one. Shares a little bit about the process of restoring older buildings. (Content note: the plasterer passes away at the end of the story.)

#passportaroundtheworld #italy

[AD · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stumbled across this book when I was tidying the shelves in my school library, and I was so attracted by the cover illustration that I had to stop and read it. It's a lovely, sweet story about an old man restoring an old church, who finds a sick pigeon. After nursing it back to health (at first reluctantly) he ends up forming a strong friendship. The illustrations throughout are captivating.

[David Shuster · Rating 4 out of 5]

on the fence about four or five stars. The art is an incredible mix of dignified and whimsical. The story and writing is cute and nice. I liked it. Angelo is a great character. Maybe only downside is that the pigeon is not particularly compelling, but then again maybe that's ok. The mood of the book is the sort of deep calm formation, not necessarily exciting. I think tis good for kids.

[Brenda Gonzalez · Rating 5 out of 5]

All time favorite children's book that makes me cry every time. Very sweet, thoughtful story.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very sweet story. My 6 yo son loves it.

[Desi A · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, thankfully JP doesn’t yet recognize my “desperately trying to not cry while reading” voice.

[Kristen Thorp · Rating 2 out of 5]

73/365

Sweet ending but the story dragged.

[Megan]

CURRICULUM: RR/Classics

[EJLJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet and endearing story with beautiful illustrations.

[Gabby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charming story, well told.

[Pamela Rabon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this story.

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book felt so choppy. I literally thought I had somehow skipped whole pages but I looked at the numbering and I hadn't. It did not flow well and was confusing as a result.

[Zoey Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book on friendship and history

[Kathryn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful

[Sojourn & Ransom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sojourn and Ransom thought this was a lovely story.

[Sebastian Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly imaginative, beautifully realised, and very touching

As an illustrator who dreams about one day writing and drawing my own stories, I'm always (if sporadically) collecting such oddments as this. Macauley is a very gifted and prolific creator, and I imagine I'll collect more of his work - this is my first taste of his stuff since watching him on one of those online 'TED talks' videos (check him out; he was incredibly charismatic!).

So many things about this are great, from the basic premise - a friendship between an ageing Italian craftsmen and a female pigeon - to the artwork itself, and of course the touching emotional heart of the story. I won't give that away. I neither know nor care whether this is intended as simply a kids book. Certainly it works for me, as a man now in my fifth decade!

[Breanna Haynes · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book Angelo by David Macaulay is a really touching story about an old man who befriends a bird. The beginning of the story started out pretty funny, but as the story progresses it gets sweeter to read. Angelo really falls in love with his bird friend and would do anything to take care of her. The illustrations in this book are really beautiful and I think that they complement the story so well. The pictures are really detailed and very funny. Overall, this book is definitely one of my new favorite children’s books that I have ever read. I would definitely love to get this book for my future classroom.

[Rodrigo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very sentimental story about an old man named Angelo and a bird. The bond that formed between them was sweet and parallels a bond that may typically occur between grandparents and grandchildren. This story gently addressed death and its inevitability while highlighting the importance of time spent together. This would be a book I recommend to students cooping with loss. This would be a great book to include in the class library because it is easy to read but challenging enough for learning. The art in the story was simplistic but detailed enough to support the mixtures of emotions throughout the book.

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's David Macaulay, so you know to look carefully, study all the pictures for those lovely details he's famous for.

On the surface, this is the story of a man, Angelo, who cleans and restores church facades, stuccoing and restoring. He finds an injured pigeon and his life takes a turn...he nurses the bird, takes her to work with him (she is at home in the belfries of the churches), feeds her..and names her! We know their relationship is permanent when that happens.

We watch Angelo find a relationship in his life that is as important as his mission to restore churches.

A warm story of missions and friendships and what we leave behind.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this to my summer reading program, Kids were aged 4 to 3rd graders. There is an opportunity to show kids how to infer the possible location of this story (Rome). The relationship between Angelo and the pigeon is touching. The ending is sweet(no spoilers) with none of the kids seeing it coming. All were quite satisfied. Another opportunity - to discuss death without the weight of terrible sadness. Angelo lives a full life. A great opportunity for discussion. Awesome pictures.

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a wonderfully written story of a grumpy building restorer and the little pigeon he rescues and nurses back to health. You'll want to share this book and discuss the themes of friendship, devotion, rewarding work and life itself. It's also great to see a humble, looked-down upon creature such as a pigeon celebrated and cared for.

[Amanda Hlava · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a story about an old man that repairs stucco on old buildings. He befriends a bird while working on a building and they care for each other. Before the man dies he creates a next of stucco for the bird so that she always has a place to live.