Franz Schubert and His Merry Friends

Great Musicians

by Opal Wheeler, Sybil Deucher, Mary Greenwalt (Illustrator)

This book is about the brilliant young Schubert, his merry friends, and their pranks and escapades, in most of which Franz is the hero. One of the most interesting stories in the book is the new light that is shed on the history of the Unfinished Symphony. It remained unfinished, not because of poverty, illness and discouragement, or because of the composer's early death. The real reason, according to the authors, was that Schubert's merry friends were starting for a picnic just when he was in the middle of it, and he went along. Before he left he stuffed the partly written score in his desk and it was never taken out again! There are many selections from the composer's magnificent music in this volume. We have the March Militaire, the Moment Musicale, the theme of The Erlking, a dance from the opera, Rosamunde, Rondos, Dances, the lovely, lovely waltzes, impromptu pieces, the Cradle Song (a favorite of almost every child) and several of the beautiful songs.

Genres: Music, Biography, Childrens, History

126 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1939

Reviews

[Luisa Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

Opal Wheeler writes delightful biographies for the child transitioning from listening to picture books to family read-alouds!

Wheeler’s style flows nicely, is engaging and is easy to understand. The book focuses primarily on the early, childhood and young adult years of the composer. Almost every single page spread has a picture which helps with attention and imagination. Included are excerpts from the composer’s works that can be played or sung for additional learning and for familiarization with the classics.

Definitely a good series of books to add to your home library!

Ages: 5 - 10

Cleanliness: nothing to note.

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[Catherine Gillespie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book worth owning is Franz Schubert and His Merry Friends. All of the children really enjoyed the stories about how Schubert grew up and the fun times he had. Although it’s not a comprehensive biography, I think for elementary kids it can be good just to know a few good and fun stories to tie to a historical figure, so as to remember him better. Throughout the book, the authors included actual music, which you can play yourself if you have a piano, or you can get an accompanying CD. I was delighted to see that the same authors wrote several books about other great composers, and look forward to checking those out too.

{Read more of my reviews of books for kids on A Spirited Mind}

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice simple introduction to Schubert for children. Has many excerpts from his music, which aren't identified specifically enough (usually) for a layman like me to find on YouTube. However, there is a CD that CBD sells that has the excerpts, which was great! Stresses his great relationships with his friends, and his ability to almost continuously pour forth music. Doesn't deal with his passing.

[Tiffany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this with Cameron for his composer study. Wheeler biographies are a great starting place to get interested in an individual musician. We would pull up YouTube and and listen to various selections when they were mentioned in the story. (There is a companion cd with short selections, but Cam likes to see the performance and hear the whole piece.)

[Lady reading under the Willow · Rating 4 out of 5]

The "Great Musicians" series has grown into a staple in our composer studies and music appreciation. 'Schubert' was our latest, and this little biography introduced us to Franz and his music, as well as his funny friends and some of their mischievous pranks.

With the help of a music app, we have been enjoying getting to know his music introduced in the text (the kids did not like the opera singing encountered in "The Erlking" 😆). There are little bits of sheet music sprinkled throughout the book, so snippets of Schubert's songs could be played by students or teachers.

[Laura Cruz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Es un libro para niños, así que no tiene tanta información. Para los básicos sobre Schubert está bien. También trae partituras de algunas de sus composiciones.

[Benjamin Caudal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved every page.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read aloud during Morning Time. The kids really enjoyed this book for our composer study. I didn’t have the CD that goes with it, so we just listened to similar pieces on YouTube when they came up.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read, the kids loved. Only disappointment is that it's not his whole life, so I don't know how long he lived or if he ever married and had children, etc.

[Jennifer Sahlstrom · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book was an interesting biography of Franz Shubert. It was quite the easy read, written with little ones in mind, and a wonderful book for educating young children in music and the lives of composers.