Mozart: The Wonder Child: A Puppet Play in Three Acts Hardcover – January 27, 2009

I purchased this book for my daughter that is a big fan of Mozart. It is a beautiful book. In fact, I am sure this book is going to be a keepsake. I met Diane Stanley a couple of years ago and she talked about the process of writing this book. She actually went to Vienna to walk in Mozart's footsteps. She went to another country to learn the paint technique she used in the book. The pages of the book are chock full of information and beautiful pictures. This book would make an excellent gift. I was surprised to find out that his parents had thought his sister would be the musician in the family! I think this will be a product you will not regret purchasing.

Our family's homeschool is back in session.Each year we study three composers. (One per twelve-week term.)And this year we kick it off with Mozart.We listen to Mozart and we try to read a handful of books about the composer - if they're available.And it's often pretty hard to locate great kid reading material about dead composers that doesn't read as if it's dead itself.Enter Diane Stanley's Mozart - The Wonder Child: A Puppet Play in Three Acts.I stumbled across this gem at our public library.I was delighted (Yes. Delighted.) when I saw this little book on the shelf written by Diane Stanley.I already love Diane Stanley. We read her Joan of Arc last year. Piled on this year's stack are her books about Shakespeare and DaVinci.She's just good.Her writing is accessible, the right amount of funny, completely factual and delivered in the form of a story that makes a kid (and a grown up) want to listen.And she illustrates her own work as well.And it's terrific. Always adding to the story, never detracting.This Mozart book is written in three stages - like a play in three acts.And the drawings are as if the entire story is a puppet play with marionettes.Imaginative. Beautiful. And the very definition of "gentle learning".London laughed when Mozart climbed into the empress' lap and kissed him. Bergen couldn't believe someone would steal Mozart's music. And I learned that Mozart actually never referred to himself as "Amadeus" despite the fact that we know him with that title now.This book - I love it.I'm sad that I have to return it to the library.Or maybe I don't.