YOUNG MOZART

A concise, anecdotal biography of Mozart's life, emphasizing his youthful years as a child prodigy. When three-year-old Wolfgang hits a sour note, he cries. He composes concertos before he writes words. He teaches himself the violin. He unwittingly proposes marriage to Marie Antoinette before age seven. In period settings evoked in strong watercolors, Isadora (Lili Backstage, p. 463, etc.) cobbles together carefully chosen tidbits to convey the life of this ``wonderchild'' to the picture-book audience. The story is simplified—some will say sanitized—taking broad leaps to high points in the composer's career and omitting complications such as his revolutionary ideas and his family's disapproval of Mozart's wife. The stately wardrobes of the time will amuse children, but they will be awed at the myriad accomplishments of Mozart's short life. (Picture book/biography. 4-8)