The Adventures of Leonardo the Drone: Book 1: Photos from the Sky

by John A Purdy, Cindy Rodella-Purdy (Illustrator)

Overview

Leah loves to take pictures. Every month, she submits her photos to the library's photo contest. So far she hasn't won. The limited subjects and ground-based view of her neighborhood are frustrating. Until... Leonardo the Drone comes into her life! Leah practices flying Leonardo, and by way of several anxious moments, learns how to be a good drone pilot. Together Leonardo and Leah take amazing photos and videos that view the world from a whole new angle. She gets excited again about her pictures and knows her next photo contest entry will be quite unique!

Leonardo the Drone, Photos from the Sky is an illustrated children's book that includes actual drone photos as well as live links to the "Leonardo the Drone" website. As a bonus option, the reader or their parent can point their phone or tablet camera at the embedded QR graphic and a web browser will launch to show Leonardo’s actual drone photos and videos seen in the book. Several pages of back matter are included that cover drone safety, regulations, and photography tips.

The Adventures of Leonardo the Drone is a series of children's books about the positive and safe uses of drones. Real world drone information will be combined with entertaining stories and fun illustrations to make a memorable book series that can be enjoyed by children and adults alike. Future books in the series will focus on “How Drones Work” and “Using Drones for Good.”

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780999684245
Publisher:	Creative Cat Media, Inc.
Publication date:	10/29/2019
Series:	The Adventures of Leonardo the Drone , #1
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.25(d)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

John A. Purdy's experience with and passion about both photography and drones has driven him to write this children's book series. John has been a professional photographer since the 1970's. Like Leah, the main character of his first drone book, he got into taking photos at an early age - for him, in his teens. For almost 50 years he's always loved taking pictures, especially ones that see things differently. John has been a commercial drone pilot since 2017. When cameras on drones became better and he saw the high quality photos and videos created by drones, he was hooked! He knew right away that he wanted to take his talent and skills as a photographer into the sky so he could share the view of the world from a whole new perspective. In addition to these skills and interests, John is a web developer and Vice President of the digital media company, Creative Cat Media. Oh...and husband of the super-talented illustrator of the "Leonardo" series, Cindy Rodella-Purdy.

Illustrator Cindy Rodella-Purdy delights in bringing books to life. Her whimsical style fits her own enchanting stories and those of other authors. She's an author as well, having penned the currently published "The Bed Ate My Sock!" and several other books that are in the queue. With a BFA in fine arts, she has worn many hats over the years, from working as a designer, programmer, and project manager in digital media to picture book illustration and writing. Her artistic passion energizes her company, Creative Cat Media. She lives in her own imagination but resides in Dallas with her husband John and favorite felines, Hubble and Tess.

Table of Contents

Main Story

Back Matter - Page 1

• About Drones
• Flying Safely
• Learning To Fly

Back Matter - Page 2

• Drone Photo Tips
• Drone Video Tips
• The Right Drone for You
• A Drone By Any Other Name
• Drone Flying Rules / National Airspace

Editorial Reviews

2019-12-12
A young girl discovers how a drone can enhance her photography skills in this series-starting picture book by debut author Purdy and illustrator Rodella-Purdy (The Little Gray Squirrel, 2019, etc.).

Leah is frustrated that she can't seem to win the monthly photo contest at her local library. She loves finding new and different angles to capture images. Inspired by flying birds, she attempts to take pictures of things from above, using a number of tools with underwhelming results, before she buys a drone. She names it "Leonardo," after Leonardo da Vinci, and experiments with flying it until she becomes confident in her skills. She then selects her favorite new drone-assisted photo for the contest. Readers will be unsurprised by Leah's victory, but parents are more likely to appreciate how Leah devotes herself to practicing her craft. Purdy's present-tense narration lends immediacy to Leah's experiments, and the straightforward vocabulary and sentence structure will encourage independent reading. Rodella-Purdy's cartoonlike digital images effectively capture Leah's inventive problem-solving paired with her successful and failed photos. QR codes (not tested) offer readers a chance to see more drone photos online. A text introduction to drone technology is included at the end of the book.

An engaging, well-illustrated invitation to look at the world from a different—and higher—angle.

Kirkus Reviews