Book Pick--Play, Mozart, Play! by Peter Sís

From SLJ May 2006 (Starred Review)

Kate McClelland, Perrot Memorial Library, Old Greenwich, CT -- School Library Journal, 5/1/2006

SÍS, Peter. Play, Mozart, Play! illus. by author. unpaged. CIP. HarperCollins/Greenwillow. May 2006. Tr $16.99. ISBN 0-06-112181-9; PLB $17.89. ISBN 0-06-112182-7. LC 2005030152.

PreS-Gr 2–Recognizing his son's talent at a very young age, Mozart's stern father resolutely "turned him into a child sensation!" The facts of the musician's childhood are familiar to many, but what sets this biographical picture book apart is its skill in introducing a world master to children in a way that is emotionally resonant, easily understood, and remarkably indelible. Sís unerringly chooses details that will have the most relevance for his audience and then selects the cleverest means of illustrating them. The cover depicts the child Mozart playing the piano by turning handsprings on the keys, simultaneously playing and playing. His father, who dominated his life, is represented in dark silhouette, his authoritarian finger raised, looming over a tiny boy whose feet do not even touch the floor as he plays. Mozart's triumphant childhood concert tours through Europe are presented in trademark Sís fashion, each city painted in miniature within a bubble superimposed on a map; the royalty before whom he played are depicted in small decorative fans. On most spreads, Mozart's shock of red hair and bright red vest give the diminutive prodigy the most visual weight and render him conspicuous. Illustrations give a hint of a unique boy who, despite a childhood of narrow restrictions, was released by the freedom he found in his music and his imagination. The clear, brief, readable text is augmented by a biographical afterword.

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