Mozart the Wonder Child: A Pupper Play in Three Acts
Monday, February 2, 2009
When I was a kid I remember fondly watching the movie "Amadeus". It was brilliantly creative and powerfully delivered and has stuck with me to this day. In fact, it's one of the best films I've ever seen. That's why I was drawn to Harper Collins' children's book Mozart: The Wonder Child: A Puppet Play in Three Acts. Even though I cannot introduce my daughters to Mozart through the movie I love so much quite yet, I was thrilled that they can get a real sense of who he was in this fabulous new children's book.The author, Diane Stanley, takes children through three major phases of Mozart's life -- his early childhood, young adulthood and maturity. Using the theme of a play and inspired by Salzburg Marionettes, Stanley creates a world of eighteenth century aristocracy, royalty, music, and tragedy. Despite Mozart: The Wonder Child being a book for children, Stanley isn't afraid to introduce themes of death, poverty, and oppression to young minds, yet she is careful to frame these themes in a way that aren't disturbing to young children, but instead infuses them beautifully into Mozart's authentic story.
Mozart: The Wonder Child is the perfect book to introduce your children to the brilliant composer the world still marvels over. After I read the book to my daughters who are 10 and 8, I went directly to the Internet and pulled up some of Mozart's most recognizable pieces and let them simply listen. Doing that helped to make the story even more vibrant and the illustrations that much more real. As they listened I re-read Stanley's story of Mozart's compelling, yet tragic life and the second time around my daughters got even a better sense of Mozart's contribution to music and art.
As a parent, I love that Stanley sought to educate children about the time in which Mozart lived with facts sprinkled throughout the book about everything from instruments to countries in Europe. Mozart: The Wonder Child is a marvelous book not only because it is written in great detail and on a level that children will surely comprehend, but because it is highly educational and also beautifully illustrated. Stanley's delicate, yet intricate illustrations also help brilliantly weave together Mozart's story.
- Jennifer James, Editor
Labels: anthologies, children
posted by The Mom Salon Editors @ 1:18 AM,
