Mary GrandPré

Cleonardo Wren was the daughter of inventor Geonardo, and the grand-daughter of inventor Leonardo. A born tinkerer and inventor herself, she longed to join the family tradition, but her fond father never seemed to take her suggestions seriously. When she decides to impress him by inventing something important for the upcoming annual invention contest, it raises the question: will father and daughter's inventions put them in competition with one another, or will they complement each show more other...?

Author/artist Mary GrandPré, who is probably best known for illustrating the American editions of the Harry Potter books, and who was awarded a Caldecott Honor for The Noisy Paint Box: The Colors and Sounds of Kandinsky's Abstract Art, presents an engaging father-daughter tale in Cleonardo, The Little Inventor. Although the names and concept are clearly inspired by Renaissance artist and inventor Leonardo Da Vinci, otherwise this is a entertaining little fantasy, one featuring an appealing young protagonist and her quest - both to win her father's acceptance and to follow her own passion for invention - as well as beautiful artwork. Recommended to young would-be inventors and art-lovers. show less

What a beautiful book!It talks about Cleonardo, a young girl that comes from a long line of inventors. She admires her father's works and is inspired to create something to make him proud. I think a lot of kids can relate to this book. the book inspires children to be creative. When Cleonardo's father's invention starts to fail at the Invention Contest, it's her fast thinking and creative invention what saves the day.

This book won the Caldecott Award. there's so many great things about the show more ilustrations. The amount of detail from cover to cover is amazing. The more you see each page, the more things you find in it. She (Mary GrandPre) plays with colors and texture in a beautiful way.I personally loved the first page where Geonardo (the father) is in his workshop and in the wall are pictures of his ancestors Neandernardo (a neandethal), Sapphonardo (Sappho, the Greek poet), Magellanardo (Ferdinand Magellan) and Leonardo (Da Vinci). show less

This book walks through a little girl's first day of school! This book is realistic fiction, but it is told in the form of Haikus. Each haiku introduces a new character or aspect about the first day of school. This story tackles the issues many young students are faced with on their first day of school such as going to a new class, trying to make friends, and struggling to fit in. This book celebrates diversity and individuality.

I picked up this book because the illustrations are beautiful and just stuffed full of detail, and I've always liked books about kid inventors, such as The Mad Scientists' Club by Bertrand Brinley, The Toothpaste Millionaire by Jean Merrill, and Franklin Stein by Ellen Raskin.

The story is pretty simple and predictable, which shouldn't bother really young readers too much, although it may not be very exciting to read aloud. The illustrations though are well worth reading the book, and show more thoughtful kids might enjoy just sitting and absorbing all of the colorful beauty on each page. show less