Tibaldo Bondi dovrebbe festeggiare il suo dodicesimo compleanno il 10 ottobre 1582. Papa Gregorio XIII, tuttavia, intende correggere l'impreciso calendario stabilito da Giulio Cesare e per questo decreta una riforma secondo la quale 10 giorni del mese di ottobre vengono eliminati, compreso quello del compleanno di Tibaldo. Determinato a combattere questo terribile cambiamento, l'arguto Tibaldo riesce ad organizzare un'udienza con il Papa e a far valere le proprie ragioni. Questo delizioso romanzo, tradotto da un titolo originale della serie "Copernicus," offre un'insolita ed accattivante visione del Rinascimento, delle convinzioni scientifiche e religiose che lo caratterizzano e affascinerà certamente i lettori di tutte le età.
A great story that I can only call historical fiction subcategory science, since science fiction means an entirely different genre. I would have given this book a higher rating were it not for a few copy edits and for the science-based afterwards that was not nearly as clearly written as the novel itself. An interesting read for all ages.
I found it an interesting book that is suitable for teaching kids how to observe the natural world. Even though I'm not a kid I still found it entertaining and readable, read in french for practice.
Interesting historical fiction about the switch from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar. Pope Gregory has officially declared that 10 days must be dropped from the year 1582 in order to accommodate the new calendar. This concerns Tibaldo, a poor Italian boy, who, with the financial support of his father’s boss, Professor Turisamus, attends the prestigious St. Joseph-in-the-Corner School in Bologna. If the 10 days are dropped, Tibaldo’s birthday will be lost. He is so concerned that he actually wangles an audience with the Pope to discuss it. The avuncular tone of the narrative makes the book a very readable account of the thoughts and beliefs in the Middle Ages regarding astronomy, astrology, and medicine. Italy. “Calendars are only human instruments for keeping track of days.â€