Ludwig van Beethoven (Musical Picture Book) [Hardcover]

Lene Mayer-Skumanz (Author), Winfried Opgenoorth (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up

This picture book for the whole family tells the story of Ludwig van Beethoven who is generally regarded as one of music's greatest composers. His story is especially inspiring since he had completely lost his hearing by age 31. He composed nine symphonies, as well as hundreds of sonatas, concertos, and songs. The illustrations provide a visual reference for the late 18th and early 19th centuries. A chronology makes this especially useful for elementary and middle school music reference collections. The 50-minute CD that is included with this book has excerpts from some of his most beloved works including Moonlight Sonata and his magnificent Ninth Symphony.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Lene Mayer-Skumanz studied German and ancient philosophy. Prior to working as a freelance writer, she was a teacher and editor of a German children's magazine. She lives with her family in Vienna, Austria.

Winfried Opgenoorth studied graphic design at the School of Arts and Crafts in Dusseldorf, Germany. He has worked in a wide range of graphic-design related work, from advertising to fine art and illustration. His first picture book was published in 1979, and his books have won many international prizes. He lives in Vienna with his wife, the author Christine Rettl.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: North-South Books (August 16, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735821232
• ISBN-13: 978-0735821231
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 9.7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,519,697 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #54 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( B ) > Beethoven, Ludwig

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Lovely Illustrations, Poorly Edited, February 6, 2011

By 

IslandMom - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Ludwig van Beethoven (Musical Picture Book) (Hardcover)

I ordered this book to be one of several donated to a local library, on behalf of some dear neighbors that wanted to do something in my mother's memory. My mother was a reading teacher, and loved the music of Beethoven. While she would have liked a couple things about this book, overall, I don't think she would have recommended it because of the editorial errors.

The illustrations in this book are lovely. I also liked the fact that it came with a CD, which you are supposed to play while reading the book. I read this book aloud with my 13 year-old while we played the ~ 50-minute CD. We stopped reading a few times to chat briefly about different parts. The CD ended about the time we finished the book.

I was disappointed that the CD selections did not include a recording of the piano sonata about which the author specifically comments. I can't refer to the page number of those comments because there are no page numbers in this book, which I thought was odd.

From the copyright information, we learned that this book was originally published in German. Maybe some of the errors can be attributed to the translation process. The most glaring was the word "you" that appeared at the end of one line of text. The word was separated, with the "y" on the end of that line, and the remaining "ou" at the beginning of the next line of text. On another page, there was a word omission. In addition, the story suffers from disconnects. Several of the two-page spreads could be read as stand-alone essays, with little transition between them.

I have decided not to include this book in the donation being made to the library. I will be purchasing a different children's book about Beethoven.