Eoin Colfer's Legend

Recommended Grades 3-5.  Eoin Colfer, best-selling author of the Artemis Fowl series, reaches out to younger readers with his series of transitional chapter books about the "legendary" Woodman brothers.  In The Legend of the Worst Boy in the World (Hyperion, 2007), younger brother, Will Woodman is feeling neglected by his parents.  With four brothers much louder and whinier than himself, Will rarely gets his parents attention.  Will decides that he needs his own adult to complain to, and is lucky to have weekends alone with his grandfather in the lighthouse he takes care of.  Will and his grandfather swap and compare their worst stories.  Colfer gives Will a funny and smart voice that is enjoyable for both kids and adults.  Though his audience may not be as sophisticated as his YA fan base, Colfer does not hold back or dumb down the narration.  The text is high quality, and the characters are fully developed, empathetic even with their personal flaws.  Will's stories are complemented by hilarious black and white illustrations by cartoonist Glenn McCoy.  Colfer and McCoy collaborate to make the reader giggle along with Will and his grandfather, and empathize for all of the trouble his older brother, Marty, gets him in.  Ultimately, this is an enjoyable read with a heart-warming lesson.  Highly recommended, ****.

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, ****.