Star: The Bird Who Inspired Mozart

By Mireille Messier
Illustrated by Matte Stephens

“[A]n endearing piece of historical fiction, and perhaps an early entry point into Mozart’s oeuvre.” —School Library Journal

“Messier’s Vienna burbles with German-language sounds, including a cat’s “miau” and a townsperson’s “Guten morgen,” providing opportunities for readers to imitate along with the starling. Stephens renders high-contrast illustrations using unlined shapes to create simple, blocky figures portrayed with fanciful skin tones in whimsically off-kilter cityscapes.” —Publishers Weekly

A chance encounter with a starling inspires Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in this picture book based on a true story.

Star: The Bird Who Inspired Mozart is based on the true story of how Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the world’s most remarkable musicians, was inspired by one of the world’s most unremarkable birds: a starling.
 
In this charming picture book, author Mireille Messier tells the story of a very special relationship and how it began: with a chance musical encounter. And Matte Stephens’s playful art captures both the grandeur of 18th century Vienna and the budding unlikely friendship between a famous musician and a humble starling. 

Hardcover
36 pages
Age range: 4-8 years
Tundra Books, 2022
8.75 x 0.4 x 12.31 inches
ISBN 9780735266896
Historical Fiction