Stephen Foster and His Little Dog Tray

Great Musicians

by Opal Wheeler

Behind the gentle sadness of such songs as Old Black Joe, My Old Kentucky Home and Old Folks At Home, lies the dreaming, home-loving spirit of the man who wrote them-Stephen Collins Foster. Behind the rollicking tunes with which these were interspersed lies all the fun-loving gayety which so richly colored and warmed young Stephy's happy companionship with his devoted older brother, Mit, throughout their happy boyhood... Here in this story of a typical American boyhood are quick, intimate glimpses of young Stephen as he trotted off to the Negro church beside Lieve, the Negro bound girl; as he played with his beloved dog; and raced along beside a minstrel band. Here is the young boy, growing up with music in his heart and a warm, out-reaching friendliness for everyone with whom he came in contact, a boy who becomes vividly alive in the pages of a most delightful book... There is much more in this book than the engaging story of the young Stephen Foster, and his never-to-be-forgotten music. In this appealing, sensitive biography of the composer whose folk songs are our common heritage, is told one of the real stories of our own America.

Genres: Music, Childrens, Biography, Chapter Books

Paperback

First published January 1, 1941

Reviews

[Luisa Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

Opal Wheeler writes delightful biographies for the child transitioning from listening to picture books to family read-alouds!

Wheeler’s style flows nicely, is engaging and is easy to understand. The book focuses primarily on the early, childhood and young adult years of the composer. Almost every single page spread has a picture which helps with attention and imagination. Included are excerpts from the composer’s works that can be played or sung for additional learning and for familiarization with the classics.

Definitely a good series of books to add to your home library!

Ages: 5 - 10

Cleanliness: a couple of instances of bad behavior (they are not addressed). The words “colored” and “Negro” are used.

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[Marta Irvine · Rating 4 out of 5]

My kids (3, 6, 8) loved hearing this story! We read it before going to see the Stephen Foster Story musical, and it was the perfect accompaniment!

The language regarding the enslaved people was antiquated, and therefore took some creative revising, as well as discussion about hurtful and offensive language about race...but that’s a discussion that we need to be having anyway, so I’m glad I didn’t put down the book for fear of that.

[Rebekah Morris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an easy story to read, but long enough to be full of interesting things about the life of Stephen Foster. It was told in story form instead of just facts, so that was good. It also includes the words and music to quite a number of his songs and a few Negro songs.

I enjoyed it even if it was written for younger readers, and I would recommend it.

[Carrie]

I don't know how to rate this. I'm reading through a 2017 lens, and it was written in the 40s. I'm going to try another one of her books.