Customer Reviews

Strange Mr. Satie (Bccb Blue Ribbon Nonfiction Book Award (Awards))

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This is an excellent book. My son wondered why Mr. Satie was referred to as "strange," and his question was soon answered. M.T. Anderson gives some amusing anecdotes about this composer who was relatively unknown and quite poor during his lifetime. One example is that Mr. Satie did not take baths, but rather rubbed himself with a stone to get clean. How clean we wondered? The book creates an interest to hear Satie's music and is educational.

I read this beautiful book to my daughter (not quite 4 years old) for the first time while listening to Satie's music, and she was entranced. She frequently requests repeated readings, and makes me stop periodically to just listen to the music. The pictures and words are a perfect compliment to this odd man and his enchanting music, without sugar-coating the difficulties that so often accompany genius. I will seek out more books by this writer and artist.