happy
Diane Stanley once again proves her mettle at writing and illustrating compelling biographies for young readers in MOZART, THE WONDER CHILD: A PUPPET PLAY IN THREE ACTS HarperCollins, 2009). Act I traces Mozart's career as a child prodigy; Act II examines his life at Court in Salzburg; Act II, of course, looks at his later works. Illustrations are done in egg tempera on wooden panels, a style often favored in the 1500s. All of the "cast" are shown as puppets. This idea came when Stanley learned about the Marionette Theater of Salzburg.
A biography of Eleanor Roosevelt by Doreen Rappaport (Hyperion, 2009) features a lovely yet strong illustration of Eleanor on the cover with the title and other information on the back of the book (as is the style for MARTIN'S BIG WORDS and other biographies from Hyperion). ELEANOR, QUIET NO MORE tells in spare text of the life of this remarkable woman, one who paved the way for others who would follow decades later. As in the case of her other biographies, Rappaport employs two sets of text. One is the storyline and the other is in Eleanor's own words that serve almost as a summary of what has transpired.
OK, time to head home to see what might be for dinner. I have not been too much of a domestic goddess lately. Something about deadlines......