Before There Was Mozart : The Story of Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-George

from marcheisler

This is the story of Joseph Boulogne, the son of a white West Indies plantation owner and a black slave. It is a great book to use to explore the issue of slavery and the many facets of it. An extremely unique story and nicely illustrated, though nothing innovative- the focus is the story.

from marabie

This biography includes a lot of vocabulary that might be hard for an elementary student to undrstand. It also uses plenty of musical terms that are unfamilar to most readers. The book contains plenty of information and flows well in chronological order. The lack of author note does not help read...

from Sullywriter

A handsomely illustrated introduction to the son of a white plantation owner and black slave who goes from the West Indies to France to become one of the most admired classical musicians and composers of his time. Although he was a contemporary of Mozart and lived a life of amazing achievements (...

from TaraKennedy

This was a lovely biography of a French musician of color. Born the son of a French noble and a slave in the Caribbean, he became a famous musician who inspired Mozart and performed for the King and Queen of France. Good, engaging, text. Beautiful illustrations. I would use this for a biography s...

from kzrobin

I really enjoyed reading this biography. I have never heard of Joseph Boulogne until now, and I believe he is someone you would want to teach about in wither a history or music class.