Jim Henson

The Guy Who Played with Puppets

This post is part of Nonfiction Monday 

hosted today by Tales from the Rushmore Kid

Random House 
(pub. 8.23.2011)  40 pages

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top
  
A uthor: Kathleen Krull

      and Paintings: Steve Johnson and Lou Fancherr

C haracter: Jim Henson

 

O verview from the jacket flap: 

        "What do you want to be when you grow up? A teacher? A poet? The president? Well, Jim Henson wanted to play with puppets.  If you want to make the world a better place, making people happy is a great way to start ..."

 

T antalizing taste:

       "Jim hesitated. The show had a weird name - Sesame Street. Joan [the TV producer] explained that just as the command 'Open Sesame' in the old Arabian tale opened a door to treasure, she wanted her show to open doors in young minds.  Jim wasn't sure he wanted to limit his Muppets to children. But years of watching his own children convinced him... Maybe TV could be a good influence." 

and something more:
Kathleen Krull was awarded the 2011 Children's Book Guild Nonfiction Award, and I liked what the site said about her writing and biographies: "What draws her to writing biographies?  As a self-confessed 'nosy' person, Krull enjoys researching the details that spice a life and offer insight into personality and accomplishments.  But biographies also 'fill a great need,' she says.  'We read them to find out who we are.'  By discovering how we resemble and differ from others, be they ordinary or extraordinary, says Krull, we learn 'something about our own identity, our goals, our possibilities in life.'  She considers it a privilege to help young readers in this search."  I couldn't agree more!

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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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