Star: The Bird Who Inspired Mozart
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
A chance encounter with a starling inspires Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in this picture book based on a true story.
Star: The Bird Who Inspired Mozart is based on the true story of how Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the world's most remarkable musicians, was inspired by one of the world's most unremarkable birds: a starling.
In this charming picture book, author Mireille Messier tells the story of a very special relationship and how it began: with a chance musical encounter. And Matte Stephens's playful art captures both the grandeur of 18th century Vienna and the budding unlikely friendship between a famous musician and a humble starling.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Launching from legends about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's musically precocious starling, Messier imagines an origin story for the pet, a fresh entry point into the life of an icon of Western classical music. Exploring Vienna, a starling chick imitates springtime sounds before perching outside Mozart's window, his music "more beautiful than anything she had ever heard." When a bird-catcher cages her, her chirping of a memorable tune finds the ear of its composer and, an abrupt ending line reveals, inspires a lengthy creative collaboration. Messier's Vienna burbles with German-language sounds, including a cat's "miau" and a townsperson's "Guten morgen," providing opportunities for readers to imitate along with the starling. Stephens renders high-contrast illustrations using unlined shapes to create simple, blocky figures portrayed with fanciful skin tones in whimsically off-kilter cityscapes. An author's note concludes. Ages 4–8.
