Da Vinci's Cat

by Catherine Gilbert Murdock (Author)

Da Vinci's Cat
Reading Level: 4th − 5th Grade

Two unlikely friends--Federico, in sixteenth-century Rome, and Bee, in present-day New Jersey--are linked through an amiable cat, Leonardo Da Vinci's mysterious wardrobe, and an eerily perfect sketch of Bee. Federico doesn't mind being a political hostage in the Pope's palace, especially now that he has a cat as a friend. But he must admit that a kitten walking into a wardrobe and returning full-grown a moment later is quite odd. Even stranger is Herbert, apparently an art collector from the future, who emerges from the wardrobe the next night. Herbert barters with Federico to get a sketch signed by the famous painter Raphael, but his plans take a dangerous turn when he hurries back to his era, desperate to save a dying girl.

Bee never wanted to move to New Jersey. When a neighbor shows Bee a sketch that perfectly resembles her, Bee, freaked out, solidifies her resolve to keep to herself. But then she meets a friendly cat and discovers a mysterious cabinet in her neighbor's attic--a cabinet that leads her to Renaissance Rome. Bee, who has learned about Raphael and Michelangelo in school, never expected she'd get to meet them and see them paint their masterpieces.

Newbery Honor author Catherine Gilbert Murdock's Da Vinci's Cat is a thrilling, time-slip fantasy about rewriting history to save the present. This inventive novel will engross anyone who loved When You Reach Me and A Wrinkle in Time.

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Kirkus Reviews

Starred Review

This is an appealing read that will likely leave many readers eager to learn more about the art and artists of the Renaissance. Thoroughly charming. 

Publishers Weekly

As a political hostage of Pope Julius II, 11-year-old Federico Gonzaga is witness to the historic rivalry between artists Raphael and Michelangelo as the latter works on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Federico's pampered life is opulent but lonely, until he discovers a cat in an enigmatic closet designed by Leonardo da Vinci. The cat's mysterious movements link him to only child Bee, an intrepid 21st-century Brooklynite who discovers a drawing of herself--purportedly by Raphael--in the home of elderly neighbor Miss Bother, who's struggling to pay her bills. Using the wardrobe to travel to 16th-century Rome, Bee seeks a variation on the sketch's creation, this time with a signature, to ensure that its sale in the present day can provide for Miss Bother. Though the plot holds few surprises, Murdock (The Book of Boy) crafts an arresting blend of speculative time travel and art mystery with a sumptuously imagined Renaissance Italy setting filled with evocative sensory details. The unlikely pairing of cosseted Federico and bold Bee, both cued as white, provides comedic moments, and historical figures, such as the volatile Michelangelo and the suave Raphael, are vividly rendered. Ages 8-12. Agent: Jill Grinberg, Jill Grinberg Literary. (May)

Copyright 2021 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes



Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780063015258
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Greenwillow Books
Publication date
May 20, 2021
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV037000 - Juvenile Fiction | Fantasy & Magic
JUV064000 - Juvenile Fiction | Time Travel
JUV016100 - Juvenile Fiction | Historical | Renaissance
Library of Congress categories
Time travel
Michelangelo Buonarroti
Raphael

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