Our Price: $7.99 Prices subject to change.
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
This item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping.
Binding: Paperback
EAN: 9781416903420
ISBN: 1416903429
Label: Simon Pulse
Manufacturer: Simon Pulse
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 160
Publication Date: May 17, 2005
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Reading Level: Young Adult
Sales Rank: 317850
Studio: Simon Pulse
Related Items:
Editorial Review:
Product Description:
THE GREATEST ARTIST OF HIS TIME
AN APPRENTICE WITH A LARCENOUS HEART AND AN AVERSION TO THE TRUTH
A YOUNG DUTCHESS WHOSE PLAIN FACE BELIES HER BEAUTIFUL SOUL
Could the complex ways these three lives intertwine hold the key to a historical riddle as enigmatic as the Mona Lisa's smile -- why Leonardo da Vinci devoted three years to a painting of the second wife of an unimportant merchant when all the nobles of Europe were begging for a portrait by his hand?
Only a master storyteller like two-time Newberry Medal-winner E.L. Konigsburg could create such an intriguing answer to the puzzle behind the most famous painting of all time.
Average Rating: 
Rating:  -
The Second Mrs. Gioconda grabbed me from the first page and didn't let go. In addition to an intriguing story about Leonardo Da Vinci and his apprentice Salai (there is some good information here, and it's relayed in a very interesting way), this is the story of beauty, both inner beauty and outward (appearance) beauty. I think that's why the story is written as it is, with the discovery of who posed for the Mona Lisa, and why she was chosen, coming at the end ... what we learn from the outward beauty ... Read More
Rating:  -
I had to read this for school. Maybe I would have liked it if I had just read it without worrying about the reading analysis that came after. But no matter. The book started off great. I really liked Salai's character in the beginning. His thievery was very funny and I liked how he threw up on the head of the man he was standing on :D because he ate too many cookies. But after that, it got kind of dull. Salai stopped his funny comments "Those scholars could get peed on by a horse and they wouldn't know ... Read More
Rating: -
This book was a pretty quick read for me. I picked it up because I am a big fan of E.L. Konigsburg, especially The View From Saturday. While I was interested in this story, it did not measure up to some of the author's other books, including The View From Saturday or The Outcasts From 19 Schuyler Place, although those are from a different genre.
The best part of The Second Mrs. Gioconda is the historical details that it incorporates. While it is historical fiction, it does allow the reader ... Read More
Rating:  -
The basic rules of good fiction are to take an interesting character and plop him into some action, then ask "What if..." and then "And then what..." and finally, "So what?" Konigsburg takes the reader into the brain of Leonardo by way of his Puck-like apprentice, but with little about Mona Lisa the painting or the enigma. Perhaps it will lead young readers to more about DaVinci. Thoughtful, entrancing, but not exciting; I wonder how it would read if Konigsburg decided to write the life and time of Donald ... Read More
Rating: -
The Second Mrs.Giaconda, by E. L. Konigsburg, is a book about a poor, dogged, perverse boy living in Italy who stumbles upon Leonardo da Vinci... which changes his life forever. E. L. Konigsburg tells why Leonardo da Vinci painted a portrait of an unimportant merchant's wife when tons of dukes and duchesses wanted their portrait done.
I thought that it was a good book that was thoughtful and well-written, but a bit slow and lacking action. Another book I would recommend by E.L. Konigsburg is ... Read More
Browse for similar items by category:
|
Aries
Taurus
Gemini
Cancer
Leo
Virgo
Libra
Scorpio
Sagittarius
Capricorn
Aquarius
Pisces
