Mozart's biography! It is interesting to compare this book with the book about his sister who did not get as much spotlight, but was as talented. Pretty common facts, but told well, and the illustrations are so beautiful!! ( )

This story is quite entertaining as it is told form the perspective of a puppet show. This story explains the life of young Mozart who began to play the piano at the age of 3! Not only that but by the time he was 6 he was the primary bread-winner of his family. This went on for many years until suddenly he was not as popular as he once was. The primary reason was his age, at 17, as he was too old to be a “prodigy” but also too young to be in an important position. After working as the Archbishops servant for a while Mozart was one again recruited to write music, this time at the Munich theatre. Mozart was then able to write music professionally until his passing at the age of 35. I thought this biography was very interesting. It was quite lengthy compared to some of the other picture biography books I’ve read. Aside from that, the illustrations were very colorful, and I think telling the story as a “puppet show” helps engage child readers just a bit more. ( )

Another great lead! A creative take on a non-fiction story, and one that might be fun to modify into reader's theater.

"Mozart: The Wonder Child" is a concise, illustrated biography of Mozart, punctuated with historical information and entertaining anecdotes. ( )

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. ( )