For the Love of Music

Recommended grades 2-5.  Much is known about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the child prodigy who has given the world much of our most beloved classical symphonies, but little is known about his sister, Maria, also considered a virtuoso in her time, and a great influence on Mozart's own composition.  Elizabeth Rusch brings the oft untold story of Maria in For the Love of Music: The Remarkable Story of Maria Anna Mozart (Tricycle Press, 2011).  Each movement in Maria's life is accompanied by a piece of the sonata structure - her childhood is labeled "The First Movement," her tour with Mozart called "Allegro" for it's fast pace.  Rusch's descriptions of the children are lively, many young readers may see some of their brothers and sisters in the text.  The characters and setting come to life with paintings and collages by Steve Johnson and Lou Fancher.  Figures are painted in paint so thick that you can see the texture of the brushstrokes, and the clothes they wear as well as the walls in their rooms are overlaid with period fabric.  Pianos and doors are made of handwritten musical notes on pages browned with age.  These techniques express the richness of the culture Maria Mozart inhabited.  This book would be a fabulous way to introduce young readers to classical music and musical composition.  Highly Recommended, ****.

A River of Words

Recommended Grades 3-5.  Jen Bryant narrates the biography of poet William Carlos Williams in her picture book A River of Words (Eerdman's Books, 2008).  The reader follows young William as he explores the scenic country in his childhood home of Rutherford, New Jersey, goes to medical school in Pennsylvania with famous friends Ezra Pound, Hilda Doolittle, and Charles Demuth, and opens a his own office back in Rutherford.  All the while, Williams shapes the world and words around him into poetry.  The illustrations by Melissa Sweet are a high point of the book.  Sweet draws simple figures primarily in earth tones-- rough sketches so that you can still see her pencil line.  Each illustration is worked into a collage style that includes books from Williams' school days, torn pages from his notebooks with his most famous poems scribbled in different drafts and other artifacts from his developing life.  The pictures themselves show the compulsion of Williams' poetical outbursts- that although he was the "busiest man in the county" with his medical practice he could not quiet his mind against the poetic phrases coming in.  The illustrations also demonstrate how Williams broke out of the standard rules of poetry to produce his own free form style that has influenced generations of poets after him.  Both the author and illustrator express their deep love for Williams, and confess that they are members of those influenced by his work.  A River of Words is a Caldecott Honor Book for good reason.  The illustrations will inspire young readers and have the potential to inspire future artistic endeavors, just as William Carlos Williams was the inspiration for this book.  Highly Recommended, *****