Leonardo da Vinci in 30 Seconds

This is a pretty cool book with little sound bites of everything that we know about Leonardo da Vinci, from what he understood about science, how he was a cartographer (which I didn't know), and how he never really felt a work was done, which is why the Mona Lisa is in France, rather than Italy, because he had it with him when he died, and he died in France.

Whew. So much to learn, and in only 90 pages. Each double page spread have a three second sum up, plus three paragraphs that are supposed to take 30 seconds to read, which talk about some aspect of Leonardo De Vinci's life.

Very cool way to introduce young audiences to an amazing man.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

This is a lot of fun. I like the 3-way structuring of the information.

Having seen several other books in this ... in 30 Seconds series in my reviewing career, it was no surprise to me to find a book heavy on pictorial element as well as serious, educational matter. The concept of the time limit for every page is obviously spurious, but the depth of detail, and educational value of these books, are really quite high, making them easy to recommend - and this entrant, even if it only looks at one man is no exception - but then, da Vinci was a lot more than just one man. I've yet to meet with one of these books that isn't firmly appropriate for a school library, or for the shelves of the young enthusiast, and this is one of the best.

I actually really loved this book, enough so that I showed my husband and even he was intrigued and said we needed to go buy it.

This is such a clever way to teach children about people in history, not only are the pages quick to read there are fun things to try. I loved the glossary provided before each section so that definitions to keywords are provided. Highly recommend!

Great for tweens who are just learning how to use the non-fiction and biography sections. It gives easy, fun and straightforward information. It is set up in a way that is easy to use and the captions are full of useful information.

I thought this was a very well written book and it definitely deserves a place in my classroom library. I enjoyed the graphics that went along with the text and thought that kids would enjoy them too. I also like that they included a section with the vocabulary that might not be familiar to kids.

I will say that I timed myself reading one of the pages and it took me about 40 sec to read it. I'm a pretty fast reader so I don't think that kids, who this book is intended for, could read it in 30 sec.

Leonardo Da Vinci in 30 Seconds is an informative children’s book that not only introduces them to the great artist who painted the Mona Lisa, but also Leonardo the inventor, mathematician, sculpture, etc.

The book is split into sections regarding different eras of Leonardo’s life. Each section begins with a glossary of words to help children fully understand the information. Starting with his early life, the book explains how he was born in a place called Vinci, near Florence and was an illegitimate child, so he wasn’t allowed to attend university, nor work in certain professions. His father found him work as an apprentice for the artist Andrea Del Verrocchio. This is where he discovered he was a talented artist.

Throughout the book children get to learn not only about Leonardo’s life, but also his work in the different fields. They will also get to learn about how historians know so much about him, even though there isn’t much left of his work. This book truly is a fascinating read.

Children will be amazed that a man who lived so long ago (1452-1519) had some ideas for inventions that were built many years later, such as the helicopter, tank, parachute.

This is a great book that’s not only informative, but each page is surrounded by superb illustrations. Some of the pages also provide small tasks for the children to do, such as Make a Self-Powered Vehicle.

The only tiny little issue I had with the book is with the title. It takes longer than 30 seconds to read each page – I know, I timed myself (yes, I’m that sad). My fastest page read was 39 seconds. For a child to truly take the information in they need to read slowly, to help them absorb the information and for their brains to process it. I do understand about the title being catchy, but in my personal opinion it isn’t strictly accurate. Apart from the title, the book is superb and definitely worth a read.

Bright and colourfully presented, this "in 30 seconds" book about the brilliant man, Leonardo Da Vinci is targeted at middle-grade readers but accessible by older students as well. It is well laid out and leaves information easily found. Illustrations are meaningful and show the works of the great man.
Overall, this is a pleasant read, that adds to information and one I would happily put in my youngster's library.

This is a marvelous book that students and families will enjoy. The "bite size" format is great for sharing fun and interesting bits of history with fellow students or with parents/siblings/friends. I highly recommend this book and this series!