Journal of Inventions: Leonardo da Vinci

by Jasper Bark

“I have always felt it is my destiny to build a machine that would allow man to fly,” wrote Leonardo da Vinci in his journal alongside a sketch for an impossibly ingenious invention he called his Flying Machine. Though never built, it takes flight here in Journal of Inventions: Leonardo da Vinci. This fascinating book is an exquisite collection of elaborate 3-D pop-ups and detailed illustrations based on the personal notebooks and sketches of the Renaissance’s most influential mind. Discover da Vinci’s Mechanical Man, coil-spring clock mechanisms, hydraulic contraptions, and designs for armored vehicles—the precursor to modern tanks. Each invention is brought to life as a movable 3-D pop-up, with da Vinci’s own words and illustrations to provide further insight. This endlessly fascinating book is sure to inspire young readers and adults alike.

Genres: Science, Art, Nonfiction, Childrens, History

12 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Jasper Bark finds writing author biographies and talking about himself in the third person faintly embarrassing. Telling you that he’s an award winning author of four cult novels including the highly acclaimed ‘Way of the Barefoot Zombie’, just sounds like boasting. Then he has to mention that he’s written 12 children’s books and hundreds of comics and graphic novels and he wants to just curl up. He cringes when he has to reveal that his work has been translated into nine different languages and is used in schools throughout the UK to help improve literacy, or that he was awarded the This Is Horror Award for his last anthology ‘Dead Air’. Maybe he’s too British, or maybe he just needs a good enema, but he’s glad this bio is now over.

Reviews

[Jamala Alkeshi]

This is an amazing book that is created to imitate what Da Vinci's journal would have looked like (excluding the pop ups). I think the overall design of the book is very captivating for children, it was even inspiring for me to look through. The only downside to the book is that I feel like the pages are very overwelming with the popup's and text to accompany them, it made it hard to want to focus and read instead of just flipping through. But that doesnt mean that a teacher cant work with her students to get through all the text and talk about his inventions. Although the popups seem overwelming sometimes I think they help a lot to spark interest in the kids reading this, its a great way that the book can interact with the readers. Over all I think this is a great book of inspiration for children learning about da Vinci I just feel like the teacher really needs to guide the children in understanding it all. I would defidently use this in my classroom.

[Candycloud · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my bf's dad wrote this and its amazing.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative, fun pop-up book showing 3D representation of some of Leonardo Da Vinci’s inventions.

“To all you inventors, don’t boast about your knowledge of the world, celebrate only those things which you yourself devise.” - Leonardo Da Vinci

[dani · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was gifted to me as a kid. I've easily had it for over a decade, I've changed in so many ways, I've had so many life experiences, and it's still one of my most treasured possessions.

I've always admired Leonardo da Vinci, but the older I am, the more I know about him, the more I do. I'm sappy, whatever, this book is beautiful and perfect for the younglings or sneakily introducing someone to Leonardo's life and/or art history.

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book for visually learning about Leonardo's inventions. It looks like it could be one of the notebooks he kept throughout his life. It's a pop-up book, so I suggest helping your little ones.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing popup book with lots of text to read, too.

[P. Ericka Infante · Rating 5 out of 5]

¡Wow! Un libro extraordinario, no solo son las ilustraciones de Leonardo magníficas, sino que en este libro también te ponen algunos de sus diseños ya armados, los cuales puedes manipular. Realmente me fascinó.

[ran y ~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

aaaa, the great book I've ever read! don't believe it I can read the masterpiece journal liked this!

[Meadow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I didn't read it in full, I really enjoyed being able to flips through and see his creations in the 3D format.

[Jeet Patel · Rating 5 out of 5]

very nice