Abstract
Reviewed by: Da Vinci’s Cat by Catherine Gilbert Murdock Elizabeth Bush Murdock, Catherine Gilbert Da Vinci’s Cat; illus. by Paul O. Zelinsky. Greenwillow, 2021 [288p] Trade ed. ISBN 9780063015258 $17.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9780063015272 $9.99 Reviewed from digital galleys Ad Gr. 4-6 Polite company refers to him as the guest of Pope Julius II, but it’s more honest to say that eleven-year-old Federico Gonzaga is the pope’s pampered hostage, held as security for his father’s loyalty as head of the Pope’s army. The sixteenth century is an interesting time to be captive at the Vatican, with artists Raphael and Michelangelo embellishing Pope Julius’ palace and sparring with and spying on each other in a most unprofessional manner. Federico is even more diverted, though, by the appearance of a cat named Juno and a 1928 New Jersey time traveler named Herbert Bother, both of whom pop out of a wardrobe in the palace. Juno and the wardrobe trace their provenance to a failed experiment of Leonardo da Vinci, which was later discovered by Herbert and exploited to build his career as an art dealer, swiping Renaissance masterpieces and selling them in the twentieth century. Enter Bee—also through the wardrobe—on her own mission to restore the fortune of a Herbert Bother descendant by securing Raphael’s signature on a drawing of Bee that will bring big bucks at an auction run by her two art historian moms. Many lively hijinks and much time travel ensue, as unfortunately does a great deal of confusion that will likely distract both fans of historical fiction (who will undoubtedly prefer more details about the child hostage) or time travel (who will find the mechanics foggy and the family relationships annoyingly tangled). An author’s note supplies more information on historical figures and will hopefully send some readers on a quest to dig up more gossip on sneaky Raphael and seedy Michelangelo. Reviewed from an unillustrated galley. Copyright © 2021 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
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