Synopsis: Be an eyewitness to the story of an extraordinary painter, scientist, sculptor, and inventor, and the remarkable times in which he lived – the age of the renaissance.

Review. The hardback edition of this book was published in 1999 and this paperback was published in 2006. It is part of a large series of books and as such follows the format laid out for all the volumes. The book is full of full colour illustration and photos of artefacts, paintings and all manner of items relating to da Vinci and the period in which he lived. Each chapter consists of a double page spread, which enables great flexibility for the artwork, but which limits the amount of text on any given topic. The general format is to have a core section of information about the topic, written in a larger font, and then smaller paragraphs relating to the illustrations and in a smaller font size. At the back of the book there are several pages giving facts, questions and answers, a timeline, a glossary and where to go for further information. The contents page and index are as detailed as you would imagine. Eyewitness guides are part of the backbone of primary school libraries but they also have a place in KS3 and beyond, for those who want an interesting and easy introduction to a subject.

2008-05-20