Michelangelo : Renaissance Artist

People of Importance

by Diane Cook, Iassen Ghiuselev (Illustrator)

A picture book biography of the famous artist.

Genres: Art, Picture Books

32 pages, Library Binding

First published September 1, 2013

About the author

Diane Cook is the author of the novel, THE NEW WILDERNESS, and the story collection, MAN V. NATURE, which was a finalist for the Guardian First Book Award, the Believer Book Award, and the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction. Her writing has appeared in Harper's, Tin House, Granta, and other publications, and her stories have been included in the anthologies Best American Short Stories and The O. Henry Prize Stories. She is a former producer for the radio program This American Life, and was the recipient of a 2016 fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Reviews

[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

One thing I really appreciate about the Great Names series of picture book biographies is that the illustrations always reflect the artist the book is about. Iassen Ghiuselev did a fantastic job of illustrating Michelangelo : Renaissance Artist in the style of the classical artist.

Like the rest of this series, the English is fairly simple (suitable for elementary grades) and it tells the biography like a story. The artwork really augments the story. I did have one problem with it though, it showed Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel standing up, not laying down. The poem that is translated on the page telling about how gruelling the work on the ceiling was does not make complete sense because reader is not told or shown that he laid on his back to paint most of the ceiling. On the whole, though, I found the book informative and entertaining for the target audience.

I really wish that the books in the Great Names series included bibliographies to let readers know where some of the quotes came from and to assist students or teachers in knowing sources for further research.

[Violet · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely introduction to Michelangelo for kids.