Lives of the Musicians

When Kathleen Krull was a child, she played Bach, Joplin, and Satie on the piano with the window open. She transformed her love of music into a fascinating look into the lives of several well-known musicians. In Lives of the Musicians: Good Times, Bad Times (And What the Neighbors Thought), Krull gives us more of an informal, behind the scenes type biography of twenty musicians ranging from Vivaldi to Joplin to Woody Guthrie. Each life story begins with a one-sentence synopsis of the musician’s life and includes one or two of their well-known works. The biographies are short, easy to read, and are written with typical Kathleen Krull humor that will make you giggle while you learn.

All of the biographies are enhanced by Kathryn Hewitt’s clever illustrations. Hewitt uses full-page, portrait-type caricature, each filled with images of important details about the life of each subject. Hewitt uses subdued colors that highlight her ability to capture the personality and temperament of each composer. “Lives of the Musicians will appeal to those who love music, to those who like to hear the story behind a famous name, and to just about everyone else” (from front flap).

I would recommend this book for students in grades 2-4.

Keywords associated with this book: musician, composer, biography, music, picture book