Renato and the Lion

by Barbara DiLorenzo, Barbara DiLorenzo (Illustrator)

Overview

The touching, magical story of a boy in a war-torn country and the stone lion that rescues him. 

Renato loves his home in Florence, Italy. He loves playing with his friends in the Piazza della Signoria. He loves walking home by the beautiful buildings and fountains with his father in the evenings. And he especially loves the stone lion who seems to smile at him from a pedestal in the piazza. The lion makes him feel safe.

But one day his father tells him that their family must leave. Their country is at war, and they will be safer in America. Renato can only think of his lion. Who will keep him safe?

With luminous watercolor paintings, Barbara DiLorenzo captures the beauty of Florence in this heartwarming and ultimately magical picture book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780698405080
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	06/20/2017
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	44
Sales rank:	887,613
File size:	59 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	5 - 7 Years

About the Author

Barbara DiLorenzo fell in love with Florence, Italy, when she first visited as a student at Rhode Island School of Design. Since then, she has returned to visit with her son, who is half Italian, and more recently by herself to paint and do research for this book. An award-winning watercolor painter, she now lives in New Jersey and teaches at the Arts Council of Princeton.

Editorial Reviews

04/17/2017
DiLorenzo’s debut follows a Florentine boy who has to leave behind a beloved statue when war breaks out. Renato’s father cleans the statues of Florence; Renato’s favorite is the life-size lion in the Piazza della Signoria. When soldiers march into the city, Renato runs to protect the lion, but he doesn’t have the time or ability to make a brick enclosure for it like the ones being made for other statuary. In a sequence that forms the story’s emotional heart, Renato dreams that the lion carries him home under starry midnight skies: “They walked by the fountain of Neptune, across the Vasari Corridor, over the Ponte Vecchio.” DiLorenzo lavishes attention on Florence’s architectural treasures, and her buildings glow with warmth. Renato and his family sail to the U.S. and settle in New York City; only when Renato becomes a grandfather is he able to return to Florence and see his lion again. DiLorenzo’s story is simultaneously a historical account of a family’s emigration and a dream story about the power of great art. Ages 5–7. (June)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Renato and the Lion:

* “This love letter to Florence should spur diverse conversations, from art to history to the plight of refugees.”—Booklist, starred review
 
“Driven by the notion of safeguarding art during military conflict, this debut portrays a wartime reality that is not commonly addressed. A special book and additional purchase that is best-shared one-on-one.”—School Library Journal
 
“DiLorenzo's often lovely watercolors are best when capturing nature. The endpapers' sun-washed Florence and Renato's dream-ride over the moonlit Ponte Vecchio are lovely...DiLorenzo's careful research yields a touching tale about art's ability to deeply affect both adults and children.”—Kirkus Reviews
 
“Barbara DiLorenzo’s tale was inspired by a true story and shows how a child’s connection to art lasts a lifetime.”—St. Louis Post-Dispatch
 
“DiLorenzo lavishes attention on Florence’s architectural treasures, and her buildings glow with warmth…DiLorenzo’s story is simultaneously a historical account of a family’s emigration and a dream story about the power of great art.”—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

05/01/2017
PreS-Gr 2—Renato's father repairs sculptures during World War II, so it is not surprising that the boy has a favorite piece in his Florentine neighborhood: the Medici lion in the Piazza della Signoria. When the two pass the exterior version of Michelangelo's David—and the child sees an enormous brick dome instead—his father points to soldiers, explaining the need for protective measures. Concerned about his stone lion, Renato hastens to build his own brick enclosure. He falls asleep on the beast, dreaming that they explore the city together. Eventually, Renato and his family board a boat for America and a new life. As a grandfather, Renato is prompted to relay his story to his granddaughter while passing the New York Public Library lions; the two visit Florence to view his old friend. DiLorenzo clearly has a passion for Italy. Acknowledgements and an author's note explain the extent of her vetting and research. The writing is peppered with awkwardness and repetition: "He loved the people there. And the food there. But he especially loved the art there." Many of the soft-focus watercolors are lovely—the ride across the Ponte Vecchio and various perspectives of the Duomo—but some of the lion's expressions and postures are less successful. Driven by the notion of safeguarding art during military conflict, this debut portrays a wartime reality that is not commonly addressed. VERDICT A special book and additional purchase that is best shared one-on-one.—Wendy Lukehart, District of Columbia Public Library

School Library Journal

2017-03-29
A white Italian boy emigrates from Florence to New York during World War II, leaving a beloved stone lion behind in the Piazza della Signoria.Growing up with art "around every corner, and in every piazza, and in the museum where his father worked," Renato greets his leonine favorite each morning before school, saying "buona sera" as he and his father walk home each night. Tense signs of war appear, with occupying soldiers speaking "a language Renato didn't understand." When Renato's father reveals that precious sculptures such as Michelangelo's David are being encased in protective brick enclosures, the boy dashes away, trying to use bricks to shield his lion. In a poignant dream sequence, Renato rides the lion throughout the city. Just before their family's departure, Renato's father shows him that the lion has indeed been protected with bricks. Years later, white-haired Renato observes his granddaughter's connection with a marble lion at the New York Public Library, which engenders a full-circle trip back to Florence. DiLorenzo's often lovely watercolors are best when capturing nature. The endpapers' sun-washed Florence and Renato's dream-ride over the moonlit Ponte Vecchio are lovely. Figural depictions are less successful: Renato and his dad lack visual continuity from spread to spread, and the lion, when viewed from above, is awkwardly foreshortened. DiLorenzo's careful research yields a touching tale about art's ability to deeply affect both adults and children. (author's note) (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews