Description de l’éditeur
★ “Exceptional…. Rich with facts around goldfinches and music, vivid descriptions, unique characters, and carefully crafted suspense.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
★ “Perfect for readers who, like Mirabelle, are sometimes spellbound by music.” —Booklist, starred review
A musically gifted bird, a piano-playing boy, and a real-life mystery involving three artistic geniuses
Welcome to the world of Mirabelle, a young goldfinch who loves to sing and dreams of becoming a musical star. She lives with her family in the backyard of a piano teacher, and she is quickly intrigued by Mr. Starek's newest pupil. Michael Jin is an eleven-year-old keyboard sensation, but lesson after lesson, he refuses to play. With the prestigious Chopin Festival looming at summer’s end, how will he be ready in time? Mirabelle is responsible for Michael’s breakthrough—to her own astonishment, she sings the Chopin piece he is beginning to play at the piano. It is their first duet.
Thus begins a secret adventure that will take Mirabelle and Michael further than they ever imagined—in music, in friendship, and in solving the mystery of a lost piano that could be worth millions. A house full of treasures holds the clues. There, Mirabelle, Michael, and their friend Emily will make an important discovery that links the great composer Frederic Chopin, the trailblazing author George Sand, and the French Romantic painter Eugene Delacroix.
A fast-paced, history-rich mystery will have young readers hooked as they root for boy and bird in this beautifully told novel, full of emotion and suspense.
A Bank Street College Best Book of the Year
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Narrated by Mirabelle, a goldfinch with an exceptional voice, this soulful story set near Boston offers a bird's-eye view of three friends bound together by their passion for music. Mirabelle loves to listen to her once-famous pianist neighbor Mr. Starek, an emigrant from Poland, play the piano; he, in turn, delights in her singing. But when his sister dies, Mr. Starek grows despondent and ill until he takes on new student Michael Jin, who reads as East Asian, a rising sixth grader preparing for an upcoming Chopin competition that could "open doors." Michael is initially reluctant to play, but when he does, his talent astonishes both Mirabelle and Mr. Starek. Over the next few weeks, Mirabelle attends the lessons, performing duets with Michael, learning the history of Polish composer Frédéric Chopin alongside that of French author George Sand and French painter Eugene Delacroix, and becoming involved in a mystery regarding a very old, very valuable piano. Rich with facts around goldfinches and music, Broach's (the Masterpiece Adventure series) novel employs vivid descriptions ("It comes in a torrent, a rush of silvery notes cascading over one another"), unique characters, and carefully crafted suspense. Occasional b&w illustrations by Chen (Dancing with Daddy) depict the characters. Ages 8–12.
