A Boy Named LeoBy Trudi Strain Trueit

Table of ContentsChapter One Young Leo 1

Chapter Two An Inventor 5

Chapter Three A Great Artist 10

Glossary 15

Long ago, there was a little boy.

His name was Leo.

He loved things that could fly.

Young Leo

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Then he set them free.

The birds flew away.

That made him happy.

Leo loved birds. One

day, he saw birds in a

cage.That made him sad.

So he bought the birds.

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Leo lived with his uncle. He and his uncle went

on many long walks. They saw many plants and

animals. Leo asked his uncle lots of questions.

Then Leo drew what he saw. He drew and drew

and drew. Because he drew so much he became

very good at it.

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Can you guess one of

the things that Leo drew?

That’s right. Birds. Even

after Leo grew up, he

loved birds. He wanted

to know all about them.

He asked How do birds fly?

He asked How do bats fly? He

looked and looked. Then

he drew and drew and drew.

Here are some pictures Leo

drew of birds.

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Leo lived very long ago. He lived 500 years ago.

Back then, there were no planes at all.

Still, Leo dreamed of flying.

He dreamed of a machine that people could fly in.

He wanted to make one.

An Inventor

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So Leo drew his dream. He drew a flying machine.

He was unable to make it. But much much later

someone did. Can you guess what that machine is?

A helicopter!

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Here is another drawing by Leo.

Can you guess what it is?

A parachute!

It lets someone fall from

the sky and stay safe.

Leo invented the first parachute.

It works!

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Leo made all kinds of things. He made this drawing

in 1502. It is a design for a bridge. Many many

years later people made the bridge.

The bridge was built in 2002. It is based on Leos

design. Do you like it?

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Leo had great ideas. And he knew that. So he kept

notes all the time. That way he would never forget.

Sometimes he even wrote backwards.

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Leo drew all his life. Because he worked so hard, he

became a great artist. He painted this picture. It is

called the Mona Lisa. It is famous.

A Great Artist

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Leo’s first name was Leonardo. He did not have a

last name. He came from a town called Vinci. That

is why people called him Leonardo da Vinci. The

word “da” means “of” in Italian. Here is a picture

of Vinci.

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Look at the things on this page. Leo dreamed

up all of them 500 years ago. All his life, Leo

made things. Are you ready to make one of Leo’s

inventions?

Let’s try!

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Step 1: Get your ruler, pencil, and paper. Trace the triangle. Make four triangles. You can put two on each page.

Step 2: Cut out the triangles.

Step 3: Place the triangles side by side. Their points will meet in the center.

Make your own model of Leonardo’s parachute.

pencil

rulerstring or yarn2 paper clips

scissors

tape

2 sheets of8 1/2 by 11 inch paper

Step 4: Tape together the edges that touch.

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Step 5: Make a crease along each taped seam. Tape the last seam in place. Then crease it.

Step 6: Cut four pieces of string. Each piece must be 12 inches long.

Step 7: Tape one piece of string to each corner of the parachute. Tie the other ends to the paper clips. Find a place high off the ground. Drop your parachute!

Do you still have time to play? Try to make your parachute better. Make it with cloth instead of paper. Change the paper clip to something else. What happens if you use a quarter, a rubber ball, or a little box?

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Glossary

parachute: a piece of cloth that helps people float from the sky to the ground

machine: an object made up of parts that can do some kind of work

Read More About Leo

Leonardo and the Flying Boy by Laurence Anholt

The Ageless Ideas of Leonardo da Vinci by Gene Barretta

Leonardo da Vinci by Sean Connolly

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