A Bolt from the Blue by Diane A. S. Stuckart

Hello All,

Several months ago, Diane A. S. Stuckart contacted me, and asked if I would read, and possibly review her new book, A Bolt from the Blue. I said yes. What she didn't know about me is that I prefer to read series in order, so I borrowed the first two in this series from the library, The Queen's Gambit and Portrait of a Lady, so that I could "catch up" with the characters. For myself, I'm glad I did, for the story arc and growth of the main character, but the books do not have to be read in order.

This series is subtitled "A Leonardo Da Vinci Mystery", but it is told from the viewpoint of one of his apprentices, Dino. Dino's real name is Delfina and she is a young lady of marriageable age who cuts her hair, borrows her brother's clothes and runs away on the eve of her engagement to a much older man. She wants to learn to paint, and feels she can best learn from a master such as Leonardo Da Vinci, by becoming one of his apprentices.

In A Bolt from the Blue, Dino has helped the Master, as the apprentices call Leonardo, solve several murders in the Milan court where they live. The bolt from the blue of the title is Leonardo's flying machine, and I believe the title also applies to the fact that Leonardo hires Dino's father, an acclaimed cabinetmaker, to help with the project. Just as the three of them are trying out a prototype of the flying machine, one of the apprentices is killed, and he has sketches of the flying machine on him.

The story speeds up a bit from this point on, but not too fast--many exciting and interesting things happen. The flying machine is stolen, Dino's father is kidnapped, Dino and another apprentice travel undercover to search for both, and, and...well, it gets a little complicated, with some excellent twists.

I like the strength of character that Dino/Delfina shows by leaving her family and disguising herself as a boy in order to learn from Leonardo Da Vinci. She gets herself into some dangerous situations, but between her own wits and Da Vinci's back-up, she escapes with her life, and her disguise, intact.

As a young adult librarian, I am also happy that this series can be recommended to teens--it has good historical details, Da Vinci is a name that many teens will know, and young women will enjoy Delfina's strength of character.

Happy Reading!
Patti

Disclaimer: The only compensation this reviewer received was a copy of this book for review.

Top 100 Children's Books of All Time

Hello All,

From my friend's blog, Confessions of a Bibliovore, with thanks:
"It's a rule of the internet - you give us a list, we'll give you a meme. Another rule is that if it exists, there is a fetish community for it, but this post has nothing to do with that.

This one's based on Betsy Bird's top 100 children's books of all time and has been bouncing happily around the kidlitosphere since Betsy announced the number one book on Monday morning. It's very simple, bold the ones you've read."

I've added my own twists (one copied from Bibliovore)--I've starred the ones I read as a child, and italicized ones that are still very important to me:

100. The Egypt Game - Snyder (1967)
99. The Indian in the Cupboard - Banks (1980)
98. Children of Green Knowe - Boston (1954)
97. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane - DiCamillo (2006)
96. The Witches - Dahl (1983)
95. Pippi Longstocking - Lindgren (1950)
94. Swallows and Amazons - Ransome (1930)
93. Caddie Woodlawn - Brink (1935) *
92. Ella Enchanted - Levine (1997)
91. Sideways Stories from Wayside School - Sachar (1978)
90. Sarah, Plain and Tall - MacLachlan (1985)
89. Ramona and Her Father - Cleary (1977)*
88. The High King - Alexander (1968)
87. The View from Saturday - Konigsburg (1996)
86. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Rowling (1999)
85. On the Banks of Plum Creek - Wilder (1937)*
84. The Little White Horse - Goudge (1946)
83. The Thief - Turner (1997)
82. The Book of Three - Alexander (1964)
81. Where the Mountain Meets the Moon - Lin (2009)
80. The Graveyard Book - Gaiman (2008)
79. All-of-a-Kind-Family - Taylor (1951)*
78. Johnny Tremain - Forbes (1943)*
77. The City of Ember - DuPrau (2003)
76. Out of the Dust - Hesse (1997)
75. Love That Dog - Creech (2001)
74. The Borrowers - Norton (1953)*
73. My Side of the Mountain - George (1959)*
72. My Father's Dragon - Gannett (1948)
71. The Bad Beginning - Snicket (1999)
70. Betsy-Tacy - Lovelace (1940)*
69. The Mysterious Benedict Society - Stewart ( 2007)
68. Walk Two Moons - Creech (1994)
67. Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher - Coville (1991)
66. Henry Huggins - Cleary (1950)*
65. Ballet Shoes - Streatfeild (1936)*
64. A Long Way from Chicago - Peck (1998)
63. Gone-Away Lake - Enright (1957)*
62. The Secret of the Old Clock - Keene (1959)*
61. Stargirl - Spinelli (2000)
60. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle - Avi (1990)
59. Inkheart - Funke (2003)
58. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase - Aiken (1962)
57. Ramona Quimby, Age 8 - Cleary (1981)
56. Number the Stars - Lowry (1989)
55. The Great Gilly Hopkins - Paterson (1978)
54. The BFG - Dahl (1982)
53. Wind in the Willows - Grahame (1908)
52. The Invention of Hugo Cabret (2007)
51. The Saturdays - Enright (1941)*
50. Island of the Blue Dolphins - O'Dell (1960)*
49. Frindle - Clements (1996)
48. The Penderwicks - Birdsall (2005)
47. Bud, Not Buddy - Curtis (1999)
46. Where the Red Fern Grows - Rawls (1961)
45. The Golden Compass - Pullman (1995)
44. Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing - Blume (1972)*
43. Ramona the Pest - Cleary (1968)
42. Little House on the Prairie - Wilder (1935)*
41. The Witch of Blackbird Pond - Speare (1958)*
40. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz - Baum (1900)
39. When You Reach Me - Stead (2009)
38. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Rowling (2003)
37. Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry - Taylor (1976)
36. Are You there, God? It's Me, Margaret - Blume (1970)*
35. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - Rowling (2000)
34. The Watsons Go to Birmingham - Curtis (1995)
33. James and the Giant Peach - Dahl (1961)
32. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH - O'Brian (1971)
31. Half Magic - Eager (1954)
30. Winnie-the-Pooh - Milne (1926)
29. The Dark Is Rising - Cooper (1973)
28. A Little Princess - Burnett (1905)*
27. Alice I and II - Carroll (1865/72)*
26. Hatchet - Paulsen (1989)
25. Little Women - Alcott (1868/9)*
24. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Rowling (2007)
23. Little House in the Big Woods - Wilder (1932)*
22. The Tale of Despereaux - DiCamillo (2003)
21. The Lightning Thief - Riordan (2005)
20. Tuck Everlasting - Babbitt (1975)
19. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Dahl (1964)*
18. Matilda - Dahl (1988)
17. Maniac Magee - Spinelli (1990)
16. Harriet the Spy - Fitzhugh (1964)*
15. Because of Winn-Dixie - DiCamillo (2000)
14. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Rowling (1999)
13. Bridge to Terabithia - Paterson (1977)
12. The Hobbit - Tolkien (1938)
11. The Westing Game - Raskin (1978)
10. The Phantom Tollbooth - Juster (1961)
9. Anne of Green Gables - Montgomery (1908)*
8. The Secret Garden - Burnett (1911)
7. The Giver -Lowry (1993)
6. Holes - Sachar (1998)
5. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler - Koningsburg (1967)*
4. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - Lewis (1950)
3. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone - Rowling (1997)
2. A Wrinkle in Time - L'Engle (1962)*
1. Charlotte's Web - White (1952) *

Interesting. I've only read a little over 1/2, 56 out of 100. I did not include books I'm not sure I read, or ones I started but didn't finish.

Looking forward to a Young Adult/Teen list similar to this.

Happy Reading!
Patti