Lives of the Musicians: Good Times, Bad Times (and What the Neighbors Thought)

Lives of the Musicians: Good Times, Bad Times (and What the Neighbors Thought). Written by Kathleen Krull. Illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Trade & Reference Publishers, 2002. 96 pages. PB $12.00 ISBN 978-0152164362

Summary: Brief two-to-three page biographies are provided on musician-composers from Antonia Vivaldi through Woody Guthrie in this engaging nonfiction book for tweens. Hewitt’s illustrations are laugh-out-loud funny, and Krull’s prose does not disappoint. Did you know that Vivaldi was nicknamed the “Red Priest”, or that Bach had twenty-one children? Even tweens that pick up this book with a distaste for biographies and classical music will become enamored with Hewitt’s whimsical drawings and Krull’s insightful text.

Critical Review: It is unfortunate that a CD is not appended; however, lists of key pieces are cited, and a bibliography of related works is appended. Overall, the biography is a winner. This is a wonderful choice to introduce newcomers to the joys of classical music. After they’ve finished this book they could easily progress to more serious works.

Genre: Biography

Reading/Interest Level: 8-12 years

Reviews: School Library Journal (1993, May 1); Kirkus Reviews (1993, April 15); Booklist (1993, April 1); Publishers Weekly (1993, February 22)

Series: Lives of . . . Series

Similar Materials: Kathleen Krull’s and Kathryn Hewitt’s Lives of the Writers: Comedies, Tragedies (and What the Neighbors Thought; David W. Barber’s Bach, Beethoven and the Boys

Subjects/Themes: musicians; biographies

Author Website: http://www.kathleenkrull.com/

Illustrator Website: http://www.kathrynhewitt.com/

Brief Annotation: Nineteenth brief biographies on musicians between