A Little Schubert [Paperback]

M. B. Goffstein (Author), Richard Woitach (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: 1984 | Series: A Godine storyteller

Living in a bare room in Vienna, short, fat Franz Schubert wrote music and danced to keep warm.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: D.R. Godine (1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 087923508X
• ISBN-13: 978-0440840749
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,442,778 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Little Schubert, June 14, 2010

By 

Robin Friedman (Washington, D.C. United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Little Schubert (Paperback)

M.B. Goffstein's lovely children's book "A Little Schubert" brings back memories. I thought of the book because I have been listening to CDs of Schubert's music of late and playing his works on the piano.

I bought and read this book repeatedly to my daughter in the 1980s. When my daughter married and had a baby daughter of her own, I gave the book to her in the hope that my daughter would remember it and that my granddaughter would hear the book or read it for herself and with time develop a love for Schubert.

The book is very short, about 40 pages, and consists of a simple story of the basic outlines of Schubert's life. Poor, overweight, clumsy, and dressed in a shabby coat, Schubert lives in an apartment in Vienna where he sings and dances in an effort to keep warm. Little Schubert heard beautiful melodies where the rest of us mere mortals could hear nothing, according to the text. He wrote music which will live forever.

The joy of this book lies less in the text and more in Goffstein's spare and simple black and white illustrations of little Schubert struggling with his bohemian life in Vienna. Goffstein's illustrations to her many children's books have received high praise. According to "Time" magazine, "Goffstein is a minimalist, but her text and pictures carry the same emotional freight as William Blake's admonishment to see the work in a grain of sand and eternity in an hour." And the New York Times Book Review observed that "a book by M.B. Goffstein is a beautifully simple and simply beautiful thing." These observations are amply supported by "A Little Schubert."

The book was first published in the early 1970's and then reissued in a slightly reduced format in 1984. The reduced format, which is the edition I have, included scores for six simplified renditions of Schubert dances on the piano by Metropolitan Opera conductor Richard Woitach.

At the age of 5, my granddaughter is already able to read this book herself. I enjoy thinking of her and of Schubert. Perhaps this book will encourage her to become interested in music and in Schubert. In any event the story is fun and the spare illustrations precious. It would be good to have this book in print again.

Robin Friedman

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A little inspiration, March 31, 2010

By 

David Meharg - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Little Schubert (Paperback)

This very sweet little book is worth the investment of time and money. The simplicity of the illustrations and the addition of six musical pieces at the end of the book make for a delightful contrast. As we mark the 200th anniversary of Schubert's birth this book is a perfect way for young and old to celebrate genius.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A delight, January 18, 2009

By 

Raven Garland "off the page poetry" (Fairfield, Iowa) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Little Schubert (Book & Record) (Hardcover)

My four year old loved this book. It is simple and true. It was the inspiration for my child to run about the house pretending to be Schubert with his shabby coat tails flying.