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How is it possible to take the story of one of the world's most astonishingly gifted and celebrated classical composers and turn it into a lifeless tale? This is how it's possible: Wind the history around the template of a three-act puppet play. Which begs the question, why even attempt that? The author is a highly acclaimed writer and illustrator who has produced pieces on everyone from Cleopatra to Michelangelo. She now directs those highly-touted talents at Mozart and produces a children's book that is just not very fun.
Even the cover is rather ominous in its portrayal of the boy genius. Wolfgang sits at a table, quill in hand, his manuscript paper dotted with magic notes. That makes sense. But the look on his young face teeters somewhere between abject sadness and a sentiment that seems to express, "Get me off the cover of this book immediately!" .
The opening copy of Act One: Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgang Gottlieb Mozart was only three years old - not much bigger than his name - on the day his life changed forever.
The words stick to the page; nothing jumps out at you. And the illustrations are all rendered as puppet figures with strings attaching them to an unseen ceiling. What 8-12-year-old will have any idea what the Salzburg Marionettes are? This is the basis for Stanley's puppet approach.
Maybe a more humorous intro might have been written in this fashion: Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgang Gottlieb Mozart was born into this world with an already grown-up name. When he was only three years old - barely able to hold on to such a big name - his little life would change forever.
The only interesting wrinkle here is the author's use of a little music note as a sort of footnote. The larger words are tagged with this little musical asterisk, and then the definition of the word appears on a little piece of paper meant to resemble a sheet of manuscript paper.
There is a seriously austere quality to this children's book. If that was the intent, the author was successful. But it's hard to believe any 10-year-old reading this would ever want to go and listen to Wolfgang's music after having to endure these pages.
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Steven Rosen/2009 for curled up with a good kid's book |
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visit our sister site Curled Up With a Good Book (www.curledup.com)
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Mozart: The Wonder Child (A Puppet Play in Three Acts)