A Certain Music Celeste Walters by Celeste Walters 9781741663334, 1741663334 instant download after payment.

It is 1821 and a lonely child spends her days hiding in the Vienna Woods until she spies an old man, a music maker. The man is composing a revolutionary new work, but he fears it will be ridiculed and that people will think he's gone mad. The child sits for hours watching and listening as he revises and plays, and slowly she develops a deep understanding of both the music and the man. Together they give each other the courage to face their critics and dare to be different.

A nine-year-old girl lives in Vienna in the early 1800s. Her mother works in a factory, while her father joins the army in an effort to stop drinking away his meager earnings. Taunted by other children as the daughter of a “drunkee,” the girl enjoys listening to the music coming from the house of a gruff composer, and eventually she becomes his friend. A few years later, she learns that he has honored her in an unexpected way. Major characters are referred to as “the child,” “the woman,” and “the man,” an unusual device with a purpose that becomes apparent as the story progresses. Writing in an understated manner, Walters lets readers draw their own inferences about the girl’s challenges as well as her name, which is revealed in the end. Occasional ink drawings with gray washes will help readers visualize the period setting. First published in Australia, this rewarding paperback can be paired with Beethoven Lives Upstairs (1994) for a memorable, musical duo. Grades 4-6. --Carolyn Phelan

Celeste Walters is the author of several works for young readers, including Deception, The Killing of Mud-Eye, and The Last Race. Anne Spudvilas is a painter and has illustrated numerous children's books, including The Millstone and The Peasant Prince.