Before There Was Mozart

The Story of JOSEPH BOULOGNE, 

CHEVALIER de SAINT-GEORGE

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday

hosted today by History With A Twist

 

Schwartz & Wade (Random House)
(pub. 1.25.11)

 40 pages

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor:  Lesa Cline-Ransome

      and Illustrator: James E. Ransome
     
C haracter:  Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-George

               
O verview from publisher: 

      "The musical superstar of 18th-century France was Joseph Boulogne ... After traveling from his native West Indies to study music in Paris, young Joseph is taunted about his skin color. Despite his classmates' cruel words, he continues to devote himself to his violin, eventually becoming conductor of a whole orchestra. Joseph begins composing his own operas which everyone acknowledges to be magnifique.  But will he ever reach his dream of performing for the king and queen of France?"

T antalizing taste: 

       "During one performance, a young man sat among the crowd, enthralled.  The unusual melody at the end of one of Joseph's pieces stayed with him long after the playing had stopped.  Brimming with inspiration, he returned home to Vienna, where he began work on his Sinfonia Concertante in E-flat Major for violin and viola. The young man was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart... But though each enjoyed the other's music and they had mutual acquaintances, the two never met."

and something more: The dedication in this book is for "Jeanette Peterson" who brought "the life of Saint-George into our home." Joseph Saint-George "though ... best known for his violin performances ... is also credited with writing fourteen concertos, nine symphonies, eighteen string quartets and six operas." (Lesa Cline-Ransome's Author's Note includes additional historical background in this interesting picture book biography, Before There Was Mozart).  It's wonderful that more of us will now learn about him!

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The Watcher

Jane Goodall's Life with the Chimps

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday

hosted today by Great Kid Books

 

Schwartz & Wade Books
(pub. 4.5.2011) 
48 pages

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor and illustrator: Jeanette Winter

     
C haracter: Jane Goodall

 
O verview from jacket flap: 

      "Little Jane Goodall loved to watch all the animals in her world - the earthworms and insects, bird and cats. She loved to read about Dr. Doolittle, who could talk to animals.
       When she grew up, Jane followed her dream and traveled to Africa to study chimpanzees. She watched them, she listened to them, and, in time, she became their friend."

T antalizing taste: 

       "And when she went back to civilization to speak out for the chimps, Jane carried with her the peace of the forest -- the forest in Gombe where she talked to the animals like Dr. Doolittle, and walked unafraid like Tarzan, and watched and wrote, and opened a window for us to the world of the chimpanzees."

and something more:  Jeanette Winter, the author of this wonderful picture book biography, The Watcher, writes in A Note About This Story, "I wish that when I was a little girl, I could have read about someone like Jane Goodall -- a brave woman who wasn't afraid to do something that had never been done before. So now I've made this book for that little girl, who still speaks to me."  So nicely said.  And isn't that what we, as writers for children hope to do -- connect to the child within all of us.

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For the Love of Music

The Remarkable Story of
MARIA ANNA MOZART

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday

hosted today by Shelf-employed

 

Random House
(pub. 2.8.2011)

32 pages

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Elizabeth Rusch

      and Paintings by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher
     
C haracter:  Maria Anna Mozart

 
O verview from publisher: 

      "By the time she was 12, she was considered one of the finest pianists in Europe, but today few people know her name.  Maria Mozart, like her famous brother Wolfgang, was a musical prodigy.  The talented siblings toured Europe, playing before kings and empresses ... They were best friends, collaborators, and confidantes.  As they grew older, Wolfgang was encouraged to pursue his musical ambitions, while Maria was told she must stop performing and, ultimately, marry.  But she was determined to continue playing the piano every day, for the love of music."

T antalizing taste: 

       "The house was silent, but Maria and Wolfgang imagined a symphony that sounded like laughter, like whispering secrets in three languages, like children at a court dance."

and something more:  Elizabeth Rusch, the author of this fascinating picture book biography, For the Love of Music, writes in her author's note (called the "Encore" in keeping with telling the story in sonata form): "When she was in her seventies, Maria [Anna Mozart] went blind and lost the use of her left hand.  But she continued to play her piano, the very instrument she and Wolfgang had played together as children... Found on the piano were scores from her brother's operas Don Giovanni and The Magic Flute, probably the last music she every played."  One wonders what pieces of her own might have been found resting on her piano if Maria had been given the same opportunities as her brother to pursue her musical talent.

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You Can't Do That, Amelia!

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday

hosted today by Jean Little Library

 

Calkins Creek Books (Boyds Mills Press imprint)

(pub. 9.1.2008)  

32 pages

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Kimberly Wagner Klier
     Illustrator:  Kathleen Kemly
     
C haracter:  the young Amelia Earhart 

 
O verview from book flap: 

      "Young Amelia is a dreamer.  She dreams of building her own roller coaster, learning to fly her own airplane, and even exploring the skies as one of the world's first female pilots. But girls in the early twentieth century do not do such things. When Amelia tells her friends and family of her adventurous plans, they only shake their heads and say, 'You can't do that, Amelia!'
       Amelia is not discouraged.  With every dream, she takes a chance and dares ...
       Whimsically illsutrated by Kathleen Kemly, You Can't Do That, Amelia! captures the spirit of a young Amelia Earhart... and will leave young readers inspired to follow their dreams and reach for the skies."

T antalizing taste:
      "Amelia was a dreamer.  She dreamed from the first light of the morning sun to the last lights of the night's stars." 

and something more:  Kimberly Wagner Klier, the author of this inspiring picture book biography, You Can't Do That, Amelia, and the Editor of Calkins Creek Books, Carolyn P. Yoder, include a wealth of information and research sources in the back matter.  The About Amelia section includes this "can do" quote by Amelia (from one of her final notes in her book Last Flight, published after her disappearance): "'Women must try to do things as men have tried.  When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others."

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