A historical fiction graphic novel perfect for junior readers.

Botticelli’s Apprentice follows a young girl named Mella who loves to paint and is determined to eventually become one of Sandro Botticelli’s apprentices.

While Mella and her story are works of fiction, the graphic novel does a great job of really capturing Renaissance Italy and all of the social aspects of the time. From the walls of the Sistine Chapel to the countryside, young readers get a taste for the past life of Italy. Ursula Murray Husted weaves together a nice and engaging tale really rooted in the time and culture of the 1400s. The book covers a variety of themes from lying to the struggles of womanhood to grief; Husted really packs in the lessons in this relatively short graphic novel.

That being said, I found this graphic novel to be rather sad? The characters feel constantly at ends with one another, and even when Mella and Datus start working together, they still constantly snap at each other and take one another for granted. I understand Mella’s frustrations in not being taken seriously, but she seems to take her anger out on those around her rather than railing against the systemic problems causing them. Maybe that’s a bit too much to expect from a book for younger readers, but I’m not sure this imparted any true lessons like it meant to. Overall, I just didn’t like the mood or tone this graphic novel set. The characters themselves were rarely happy, creating an overall dour mood.

Additionally, I found the art style to be rather amateurish. Could I draw even half as well? Absolutely not. But from a polished, ready-for-print graphic novel, I expected more refinement. It’s ironic that sections of the novel talked about perspective while simultaneously not feeling like they were drawn with the same dedication. Maybe I’m missing some context here as someone who generally lives outside of the art scene. That said, I don’t think young readers will necessarily be as put out by the art style as I found myself.

As an introduction into the Renaissance, women’s rights, and the making of art, I think this book does an admirable job. There’s a real focus in the latter half on introducing new art-focused vocabulary that is great for expanding the palate of new readers. However, as far as storytelling goes, I found this graphic novel to be less than inspiring.

oh i love this.

set in Florence, Italy in 1400s, this story follows Mella, a girl whose family works for Botticelli. her job is to tend the aves and clean the brushes. being Botticelli’s apprentice is her dream but the chance is next to impossible. then there’s Datus, Botticelli’s real apprentice who keeps testing her patience and can’t even draw!

They initial interaction wasn’t friendly at all. But eventually Mella agreed to teach him how to draw but in exchange he has to teach her whatever he learned from being Botticelli’s apprentice. So the deal was struck.

This book felt heartwarming, light, but also empowering and insightful. There’s some interesting art process in the past, like how to make glue, canvas panels, tempera paints, how to transfer ketch to canvas, etc.

I love how Ursula put details in the illustrations, and how vibrant and bright the colors are. Tiny thing that annoyed me, tho, was the dog. God she’s problematic. But other than that, no notes!

Botticelli’s Apprentice by Ursula Murray Husted is a beautifully crafted graphic novel that combines stunning artwork with a captivating historical narrative, making it perfect for young readers interested in art and history. Set in Renaissance Florence, the story follows a young apprentice working under the legendary Sandro Botticelli, offering a rich, immersive glimpse into the world of art and creativity. Husted’s illustrations are a visual masterpiece, echoing Botticelli’s style with vibrant colors and intricate details that bring the era to life. The blend of relatable characters, educational content, and breathtaking visuals makes this a must-read for kids and a wonderful way to inspire a love for art and storytelling. Highly recommended!

This was such a cute histroical fiction graphic novel about Renaissance Italy and being an apprentice for Botticelli (or a would-be apprentice, as it were). The character development and peek into a child's life in Florence, Italy were very sweet and it was very informative for anyone interested in art history. The author has a fantastic information section at the end, explaining some of the background and history of Botticelli, the era in which he lived, and what life would be like for girls, especially, in the world at that time.

This was a wonderful story and I recommend this for art teachers, school libraries, and public libraries everywhere!

A young girl whose family works for Boticelli longs to be a painter but she spends her days with the chickens. When Boticell's apprentice "borrows" her drawing and takes credit for it, she blackmails him into teaching her about painting.
Will give young readers a view of how very differently girls and women have been treated throughout history.

Mella spends her days tending chickens and cleaning paintbrushes for famous artist Sandro Botticelli, but secretly she hopes to become one of his apprentices. Too bad girls aren’t allowed join the artists guild or become apprentices. That doesn’t stop her from learning everything that she can. When one of Botticelli’s apprentices steals her work, she makes a deal with him. She’ll teach him out to draw, if he’ll teacher her everything he knows about the process of painting. Together the two enter a contest, and maybe, just maybe, Mella will be able to earn the recognition she deserves.

This delightful graphic novel was such as fun read, and I learned far more than I expected about Renaissance art. While the illustrations weren’t my favorite, they were lush, colorful, and engaging, and even more importantly, my children saw them and were immediately enthusiastic to read the rest of the story.

When I first started Botticelli’s Apprentice, I was worried about how busy the art was. It felt too vibrant, too full, too all encompassing. But this is a book about being an artist, regardless of title or gender or recognition. It is about art being a way of life. The vivid pages started to make sense and I enjoyed Mella’s journey from chicken girl to a fully realized artist. Her struggles and frustrations were no match for her talent and support system. A really lovely graphic novel!

I enjoyed this story with beautiful illustrations and great characters.. I thought this was very informative about the historical time period and women’s roles during this time. I definitely recommend this book to anyone enjoying a good historical fiction and/or graphic novel format.
This is a great look at art history for a younger age group.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.

Historical writings about art that are appealing to the younger audience are hard to come by and this one definitely hits it out of the park. A young girl finds her way to be an apprentice and successfully makes an impact on art as we know it and those around her in the process.

Thank you HarperCollins Children's Books, Quill Tree Books, and NetGalley for the advanced electronic review copy of this delightful book. I really enjoyed this wonderful story with beautiful illustrations, great characters, and a fast moving plot. I also liked the information about the historical time period, women’s roles during this time, art styles, and techniques at the end of the book. I definitely recommend this book to anyone enjoying a good historical fiction and/or graphic novel format.

A cute art historical fiction graphic novel about a little girl that just wants to draw and become an apprentice but is overlooked for the boys.

The artwork was fantastic such bright vibrant storytelling. A great addition to a children’s library.

Thanks to netgalley and Harper Collins children’s for an eARC

Historical fiction about the great artists, presented in a clever and eye pleasing way! This is a great read, especially for aspiring artists. It’s also about unexpected friends and how our talents can help others. Perfect for the middle grade reader. Plenty of jumping off points for discussion and research. Would be ideal to introduce students to the art of the Renaissance in Florence. Highly recommended.

Loved this historical fiction graphic novel that follows a girl from her family’s chicken farm to the heights of the art world as a master artist’s apprentice. She’s clever, resourceful, and talented, but still dismissed and must prove herself over and over again until she finally becomes an artist in her own right. It was a truly immersive read – I felt like I was in the Renaissance marketplace and studio – with so much to learn about how paints and painting were made in this time period. Loved the back matter with art notes explaining how the author approached historical fiction for Botticelli where we know so much about his paintings, but less about the actual person who painted them—and the explanation of how women poured their artistic talents into craft movements when they were excluded from the fine arts because of sexism. I think young readers will love it.

3.5/5 Stars

The story of Mella wanting to be an apprentice of Botticelli is a great way to not only entertain but also teach a little bit about renaissance Italy and what went into being a painter at the time.

A very sweet, historical story about a young girl who is truly meant to be an artist and her journey to becoming one. The friendship between Mella and Botticelli's actual apprentice is wonderful, as is Mella and Mona Rossi's relationship. Blue is a great plot device in the shape of a mischievous dog. I love the mini lessons on how canvas were made and painted sprinkled throughout the story.

this was a really cute historical fiction graphic novel. Mella is a great lead and I love Blue so much. I also enjoyed the little history lesson in the back!

This is such a unique graphic book about women artists and old ways to paint. I learned a lot about technical skills but also really enjoyed the drawings themselves. A really cute and cool book if you’re interested in the topic!

Botticelli’s Apprentice is the art history lesson you didn’t know you needed! This is the story of Mella, a girl who works for the Botticelli studio by keeping their chickens. She dreams of being an artist and fills the walls of her house with beautiful drawings. She has to find a way to express her art while being female in the male-only profession.

I loved the story and the illustrations are beautiful. I highly recommend to any graphic novel lovers who also like learning stuff! Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Historical graphic novel with a focus on art history for middle graders! I loved it 😁 Botticelli's Apprentice has really cute illustrations in line with the current middle grade graphic novel style. This worked great for the text. I loved our main character and her new puppy, but most of all, I loved learning bits of art history and technique in this fun format.

Thanks to NetGalley, Ursula Murray Husted, and HarperCollins Children's for the chance to read and review. My opinions are my own!

One of my very favorite thing about having high schoolers is the way that when I take the time to dive into their passions, I find my own expanding. Case in point: graphic novels. I have always generally enjoyed graphic novels, but my oldest daughter’s deep dive into the world of comics and sequential art has led me to a much greater appreciation for this art form (and it has subsequently influenced my own writing). So I found myself a month ago, scrolling through possible books to review on Netgalley, suddenly shouting to my daughter in delight: “Hey, Lucy, guess what? Scott McCloud endorsed this new graphic novel! It must be pretty good, at least from an art standpoint.”

Scott McCloud (I will explain to those of you like the me of two years ago) is basically Yoda of the comics world. He has studied everything about the topic, analyzed it at every level, and stepped up to train all the young comics Jedis in his ways. His books Understanding Comics and Making Comics are the textbooks par excellence of the graphic novel world. Through studying them, my daughter has come to have—and share with me, at some level—a deep understanding of the art form: what makes it work, and what makes it great.

And Boticelli’s Apprentice is definitely one of the good ones—I mean, it already has an endorsement from Yoda, but I’ll throw in my two cents from the storytelling side of things as well.

One interesting thing about this story is that you’d think it would take some considerable suspension of disbelief to buy into a story about a girl who wants to be Botticelli’s apprentice... because most of us know how unlikely that would be—so unlikely that a girl probably wouldn’t even have such a dream in the first place. Ursula Murray Husted took a huge risk in telling such a story, and another huge risk in telling this story in modern dialect. There is no attempt to make her characters sound like Italians from hundreds of years ago; rather, you could imagine overhearing most of the conversations in a local 21st century restaurant or at least art school. The funny thing is, it totally works. And not only does it work, but that choice in dialect succeeded in making her choice of story seem more plausible as well. Or at least easy to suspend disbelief. I found myself saying, “Yeah, I know this isn’t a real historical story, and I don’t care. I want to go along for the ride anyway.”
That’s not to say she didn’t get the historical details right. In fact, her research into art and lifestyles of the Renaissance was thorough and well represented in both narration and art. Being a bit of a nerd about art details like pigments, I really enjoyed all the discussion of various ways artists made different colors, and the difference in quality, durability, etc. Clearly the aforementioned risks were intentional.

I’ll dip my toe into artistic critique just for a moment. The colors are gorgeous. The pictures are interesting to look at but so perfectly paced (if that’s the right word for pictures in sequential art) that I almost forgot they were there unless I stopped to pay attention. They just told the story and pulled me right along. Scott McCloud (or my daughter) could probably tell you exactly why they worked so well. I just know that I loved every minute of the story.