"Thoroughly charming."--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Original."--Booklist (starred review)
"A story about selflessness, friendship and the importance of seeking
unity through difference."--Shelf Awareness (starred review)
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.
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.
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.
This compelling time-slip adventure by Newbery Honor author Catherine
Gilbert Murdock is full of action, mystery, history, art, and
friendship--and features one unforgettable cat.
Includes black-and-white spot art throughout of Da Vinci's cat by
Caldecott Medalist Paul O. Zelinsky, as well as an author's note about
the art, artists, and history that inspired the novel .
