Leonardo da Vinci

Magic Tree House Fact Tracker #19

by Mary Pope Osborne, Natalie Pope Boyce, Sal Murdocca (Illustrator)

The #1 bestselling chapter book series of all time celebrates 25 years with new covers and a new, easy-to-use numbering system! Getting the facts behind the fiction has never looked better. Track the facts with Jack and Annie!!
 
When Jack and Annie got back from their adventure in  Magic Tree House Merlin Mission #10: Monday with a Mad Genius,  they had lots of questions. Why was Leonardo da Vinci interested in flight? What are some of his most famous painting? Did he really keep noteboooks just like Jack? What do scientists today think of his ideas? Find out the answers to these questions and more as Jack and Annie track the facts.

Filled with up-to-date information, photos, illustrations, and fun tidbits from Jack and Annie, the Magic Tree House Fact Trackers are the perfect way for kids to find out more about the topics they discovered in their favorite Magic Tree House adventures. And teachers can use Fact Trackers alongside their Magic Tree House fiction companions to meet common core text pairing needs.
 
Did you know that there’s a Magic Tree House book for every kid?

Magic Tree Adventures with Jack and Annie, perfect for readers who are just beginning chapter books
Merlin More challenging adventures for the experienced reader
Super A longer and more dangerous adventure
Fact Nonfiction companions to your favorite Magic Tree House adventures

Have more fun with Jack and Annie at MagicTreeHouse.com!
 
      

 
 

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Childrens, Biography, Chapter Books, Art, Science

128 pages, Paperback

Published January 13, 2009

About the author

Mary Pope Osborne is an American author of children's books and audiobook narrator. She is best known as the author of the Magic Tree House series, which as of 2017 sold more than 134 million copies worldwide. Both the series and Osborne have won awards, including for Osborne's charitable efforts at promoting children's literacy. One of four children, Osborne moved around in her childhood before attending the University of North Carolina. Following college, Osborne traveled before moving to New York City. She somewhat spontaneously began to write, and her first book was published in 1982. She went on to write a variety of other children's and young adult books before starting the Magic Tree House series in 1992. Osborne's sister Natalie Pope Boyce has written several compendium books to the Magic Tree House series, sometimes with Osborne's husband Will Osborne.

Reviews

[Bethany Stewart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of information at an easy reading level. Lots of pictures so kids won't get bored.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm preparing for my da Vinci showcase at one of my elementary schools...

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great nonfiction chapter book to read to my kids about one of the most brilliant persons who ever lived. It kept both of my kids interested (ages 4 and 7) but also taught me new things about this artist/scientist/inventor as well! For instance, I never knew Leonardo da Vinci was a vegetarian and wrote backward and in reverse (mirror writing) in all his journals! My kids were introduced to Leonardo in the Peabody and Sherman movie (where they travel back in time) and wanted to learn more about him. Great companion book! Of course, some of the gruesome details of Leonardo DaVinci’s life were altered (like digging up graves to study the human anatomy changed to “observing dissected bodies in a university”) but that can be expected since it was a children’s novel.

[Jenny Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a pretty cool fact tracker, focusing on Leonardo's many different pursuits- Art, Invention, Science, as well as showing some of his inventions sketches. As usual, it has a good list of websites, books, museums and dvds for further research. This is the fact tracker to Monday with a Mad Genius

[Tomi Alger · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this book, the reader learns about Leonardo da Vinci, where he lived, what ideas, questions, and inventions he had, what paintings and sculptures he did, and how he studied plants, animals and the human body. He was so curious!

Important people in his life are also introduced. It is a wonderful resource!

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these books. I always learn so much. In this one I learned why plague doctors in the renaissance wore masks that looked like bird beaks. I’m not going to spoil it for you but it made a lot of sense. So interesting!

[Kristine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well done overview of Da Vinci's life.

Explores the various fields that Da Vinci worked in throughout his life.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another read aloud with my son. He really enjoyed learning all the facts about this great artist and inventor. We are pairing with with the companion Magic Tree House book.

[Katie Stratton · Rating 4 out of 5]

RA with EJ

[LizthePrude · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Talk about living your life to the fullest! What an inspiration!

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Fact Tracker for "Monday With A Mad Genius" - all about Leonardo Da Vinci! Does what it says on the tin . . .

[Bethany Wade · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent overview of da Vinci. Not super indepth if you're interested in his specific designs. My 8-year-old da Vinci obsessed boy enjoyed it.

[blueygurl2016 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was just meh. It wasn’t super interesting to me.

[Zhuo Zhang · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty decent starting point for a kid to learn more about a great person. A good methodology is introduced.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

We really enjoyed the book, Monday with a Mad Genius as well as Da Wild, Da Crazy, Da Vinci and our girls are fascinated with Leonardo da Vinci - especially our oldest. This book has a unique twist where they printed the pages upside down and backwards (so you turn the book over and start from the back.) It's a bit of a gimmick, but creative, and I suppose it's too help us remember that he wrote backward using mirror writing so that his hand didn't smudge the ink as he wrote. The information in this book is fascinating. I learned a lot about Leonardo, along with our girls and I'm glad that they emphasized that he was so much more than just an artist. We would only read a chapter or less at a time, so it took us quite awhile to read the entire book. We've read all of the books in the Magic Tree House series and we are catching up with the nonfiction companion research guides.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 2009, Mary Pope Osborne and her sister Natalie Pope Boyce published the Magic Tree House Fact Trackers entitled Leonardo da Vinci. This book is a nonfiction research guide to the book entitled Monday with a Mad Genius by Mary Pope Osborne which was published in 2007. The book is an introduction to the life of Leonardo da Vinci for young people. Hopefully, this book allows the reader to do more research into the life of Leonardo da Vinci. I thought this book was a good introduction to the life of da Vinci for young people. The illustrator for this book was Sal Murdocca. Similar to the other books in the Magic Tree House Fact Trackers series, the book has a section on how to do more research for young readers about Leonardo da Vinci. The book also provides a good introduction to the Italian Renaissance for young people. The book has an index and includes photo credits. The book had a scientific consultant, an art history consultant, and an educational consultant. Osborne and Boyce seem to really enjoy researching the life of Leonardo da Vinci. I believe Osborne’s and Boyce’s Leonardo da Vinci is a well-done introduction to the life of da Vinci for young people, that hopefully inspires the reader to do more research into the life of da Vinci.

[Shelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fascinating fact filled edition in the Magic Tree House companion books. I wish we had been reading these wonderful companion books through our entire Magic Tree House ride! Now we read an occasional one here and there when we are covering that topic or person in school. Since we are currently learning about Leonardo da Vinci in art this made for a fantastic addition to our curriculum. We were fortunate enough to attend a traveling Da Vinci exhibit a number of years ago and even though my daughter was rather young the experience is something she has never forgotten and I would highly recommend anyone to patron one if they are ever lucky enough to have one of these hands on mobile museums come nearby.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The juvenile non-fiction aisles at the library have a special thrill for me. There's so much interesting information (colorfully illustrated, too)singing it's siren call for me. Getting it to my children is another matter. That is why I love the idea of the Magic Treehouse research guides. As a companion volume to a series she already loves, my daughter consumed a few of these non-fiction volumes. Just like the others, Leonardo Da Vinci is easily accessible, highly illustrated, and fun-factful information for elementary aged learners. Let 'em soak up the good stuff!

Three cheers for Mary Pope Osborne and three cheers for engaging non-fiction!

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is what I really love about the Magic Tree House books. I think it's fabulous that they encourage young readers to explore nonfiction subjects in depth—not only through the stories themselves, but also in the nonfiction companions that Osborne writes. This particular book, the companion to MONDAY WITH A MAD GENIUS, is filled with interesting (but age-appropriate) details about Renaissance Italy and the great Leonard da Vinci. Despite being an art history major who spent a semester living in Florence, Italy, I still learned some interesting facts about Leonardo.

[Marya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Leonardo is such a real-life superhero that it's almost impossible to write a children's non-fiction book that really brings out his awesomeness. This book certainly doesn't. I'll give it props for laying out the fame relationship between Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael. But I take issue with it not mentioning Donatello. Yes, I know he's not in the same league as the others, but the little ones DON'T CARE. They already know the name from the Ninja Turtles; the least this book could do was give them some background on the real artist.

[Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

A remarkably fun look at Da Vinci in this non-fiction supplement to the Magic Tree House series. Knowing the amount of research and thought that goes into these books by author Mary Pope Osborne (writing here with her sister) makes the whole body of works stand out so much more in my opinion. And my son enjoyed listening to these facts with their smooth narrative presentation almost as much as he listens to fiction books!

[Sarah - All The Book Blog Names Are Taken]

Eleanor says: this book was interesting because I like to learn about stuff from a long time ago. One of my favorite things that was he never gave. Leonardo was a great artist. He had so many ideas.

Momma says: This was a really great introduction to the genius of Leonardo da Vinci. I can’t imagine living in his time period, knowing all that he knew, and not being able to build or create the things that he wanted to.

[Brittany & Kids · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this for the kids to look through while we listened to .Magic Tree House #38-39: Monday With a Mad Genius and Dark Day in the Deep Sea

[Dodo P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each of the fact checker accompaniment books are fun to read and learn the truths about the varied characters in The Magic Tree House Series. Leonardo Da Vinci is no exception and even found facts that, as an adult, I did not know! I recommend the entire series to any child interested in fun adventures, learning a little along the way and rememberable main characters.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I acutually think goodreads should give more stars instead of just five. They are such good books. I really never knew that he was a great artist, but that is what it says in the book.

[Marti · Rating 4 out of 5]

the four boys are loving it

[Tiara · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was about leonardo da vinci and what he is known for. i like this book because i learned more about him.

[Silas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Da Vinci had a lot of great ideas, a great book.

[Theresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leonardo da Vinci (Magic Tree House Research Guide, #19)
Osborne, Mary Pope
how they found the information

[Serena Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this time for the book First,I'll think twice about going to Milan