Mozart: The Wonder Child: A Puppet Play in Three Acts

by Diane Stanley

 Award-winning author and illustrator Diane Stanley engagingly tells the story of a brilliant boy who grew up to be a complex and often troubled young man—a man who composed some of the most beautiful music of all time.  This nonfiction picture book is an excellent choice to share during homeschooling, in particular for children ages 6 to 8. It’s a fun way to learn to read and as a supplement for activity books for children. With stunning and expressive illustrations, she portrays Mozart's turbulent life as a marionette show, inspired by the famous Salzburg Marionette Theatre, using an innovative artistic approach to present the life of a renowned musical genius. In concise and lyrical prose, Stanley presents an honest and sympathetic portrait of the boyhood and tragically short adulthood of a composer whose music has lived on for more than two hundred years.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction, Picture Books, History, Juvenile, Childrens

48 pages, Hardcover

First published January 27, 2009

About the author

Diane Stanley is an American children's author and illustrator, a former medical illustrator, and a former art director for the publisher G.P. Putnam's Sons. Born in 1943 in Abilene, Texas, she was educated at Trinity University (in San Antonio, TX) and at Johns Hopkins University. She is perhaps best known for her many picture-book biographies, some of which were co-authored by her husband, Peter Vennema. (source: Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I actually want to give this 4 stars for the information in the text, but 3 for the illustrations. I appreciate the concept of the puppet play, but the strings were just annoying. What I really liked about this book was what I learned about Mozart that I'd never known before. For example, I didn't know the details of the relationship between Mozart and his father. I thought they were always on good terms, but apparently not. In fact, I also thought that Mozart and his sister Nannerl were always on good terms, but not so. I also didn't know that he taught music. He seems to have been quite the character. I thought the movie "Amadeus" was exaggerating his eccentricity! I found it interesting that, once he was living on his own in Vienna, he had to compose a new concerto for every performance he gave, even at parties, because people didn't like to hear the same thing twice. No wonder he wrote so much! I also didn't know that he and Constanze had 6 children, only 2 of whom lived. It's too bad that he died so young--think of all the more music he'd have left us had he lived longer. Recommended.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Diane Stanley, whose many picture-book biographies include Good Queen Bess: The Story of Elizabeth I of England and Saladin: Noble Prince of Islam , here turns her attention to one of the most famous composers of all time, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Framed as a three-act puppet play, Mozart: The Wonder Child opens when its subject, Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgang Gottlieb Mozart, is three years old, and just discovering the world of music, and follows him through his youth as a "Wunderkind," or child prodigy, touring Europe with his family, to the time when he strikes out on his own, and starts his own family.

This is an informative book, which will give young readers an excellent introduction to Mozart's life and work. It doesn't completely gloss over the unpleasant aspects of the story, like Mozart's estrangement from his father and sister, Nannerl, or his early death, which I appreciated. The artwork, done in egg tempera on gessoed wooden panels, is simply gorgeous, although I think I agree with another reviewer, in finding the puppeteering aspect more of a distraction than anything else. This is a very text-heavy picture-book, so I'd recommend it to more advanced early readers (if that makes sense), particularly if they are interested in music, or enjoy biography.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really love non-fiction picture books. They are a wonderful way to introduce kids to a great variety of topics. Picture book biographies are no exception. I learned quite a bit from this one by Stanley. The writing was very well-done, with footnotes to highlight words or concepts that would be foreign to most children. While I liked that it was split up into three acts, I didn't find the whole notion of the "puppet play" very endearing. Actually, it was quite pointless. I think it was supposed to be an interesting and appealing way to illustrate the story, but it didn't really work for me. The puppet strings were the only part of the illustrations that made this effort obvious, and I found them mostly to be pointless and in the way.

[The Library Lady · Rating 2 out of 5]

There is NO POINT WHATSOEVER to making this into a "puppet play".
(Stanley says she was inspired by the Salzburg Marionettes)
The text is well researched and well written. The illustrations are beautiful.But the damn puppet strings distract the reader.

This is another example of Diane Stanley's skill at creating intelligent, compelling picture book format biographies that can be enjoyed at many levels. Why mess that up with a gimmick?

[Brandi Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

This children's book tells the story of famous composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart starting from his child prodigy days. Story is written in three acts going from his early childhood to his young adulthood and to his adulthood, marriage and ultimately to his death.
The book has quite an interesting illustration style. it is made to look like a puppet play with strings tied to the limbs of each character. the artwork is bright and colorful and does a good job of capturing the time period and the mood of Mozart's music. The illustrations make this biography entertaining for children.
I really enjoyed the way Mozart story was presented. It was very engaging and informative. The story starts when Mozart was only three years old and already showing interest in music. Mozart travels across Europe with his father to perform. This tour included 88 stops and they were gone for 3 1/2 years! how crazy is that?! The book also introduces Mozart's most famous compositions. I think this is a fun biography to introduce children to the eccentric composer and may even spark interest in classical music.
I love the way this biography highlighted vocabulary words by noting them and then defining them on an illustrated scroll. this book is as entertaining as it is educational.

[Anchi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pictures and storytelling are interesting enough and include enough interesting facts to glue kids (age 7 and up) to Mozart’s life.

[K.C. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stanley, Diane. (2009). Mozart: The Wonder Child: a Puppet Play in Three Acts. New York: Harper Collins.

Category: biography

The life of musical prodigy, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, is told as a marionette puppet show, inspired by the marionette theatre in Salzburg, Mozart's home. His life is divided into 3 sections, or acts of the play - Act 1: The Wonder Child, Act 2: Trapped in Salzburg, and Act 3: The Golden Years. The stories bring one of the world's greatest composers to life. The illustrations reinforce the theatre setting with puppet strings added to characters, stage and theatre curtains framing some of the pages.

themes: classical music, musical prodigy, composers, Austria, puppets

Uses:
Storytime
Create a timeline of events.
Locate Austria on a world map.
Listen to Mozart's music as story is read.
In groups, act out one of the stories.

[Charlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stanley's biography in puppet play format is divided into three acts. The first act introduces Mozart as a small child, a prodigy who learned to read music at age 3. The second act is the tragedy of a talented young man whose talents are misused. In the third act, Mozart thrives, marries, and dies.

Stanley's illustrations depict each character as a marionette, complete with strings. Unfamiliar words are explained on the pages on which they are introduced. A timeline of his life is included.

Music students will be impressed by the great talent of this genius who died at a very young age.

[Lynnette · Rating 3 out of 5]

I also would have given this book a higher rating if she hadn't used the puppet concept. The information is really interesting easy for children to understand which makes this great read aloud book, but the pictures were kinda weird.

[Christine Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my favorite, but the format would work well for student assignments.

Subjects


Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus, 1756-1791 -- Juvenile literature


Puppet plays


Composers -- Austria -- Biography -- Juvenile literature

[Barbara Lovejoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book. I learned some new things about Mozart. Also, I really liked the illustrations that were very unusual.

[Cindy Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the text, but the marionettes & strings were very distracting.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why the puppets theatre gimmick? Mozart isn't interesting enough without it?

[Vandy]

pranav (6yrs) read n enjoyed it.