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From School Library Journal --------------------------- Grade 4 Up?A stunningly illustrated, well-written retelling of one of Mozart's most beloved works. This operatic fairy tale is related in an elegant, clear tone in 15 scenes; most have a single page of text and one facing full-page painting. This technique breaks the rather complicated story into easy-to-follow pieces. Malone's soft oil paintings are full of light; stylized but warm, they precisely catch the flavor of Mozart's vision. Story and pictures are lovely, fresh, and rich, but it is the enclosed CD with 16 selections coded to each page of the book that make this a unique and appealing offering. This reading-plus-listening package is almost as good as being in the audience. Libraries may encounter problems circulating a book with a CD tucked in the back, but this a special item and it deserves a place on the music shelves of most libraries. A beautiful treat for the eyes, the ears, and the imagination.?Beth Tegart, Oneida City Schools, NY Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. Read more ( javascript:void(0) ) From Kirkus Reviews ------------------- This retelling of Mozart's wonderful opera works particularly well for two reasons. First is the eye-catching appeal of Malone's illustrations, with their gorgeous theater-set qualities, fresco naturalness, and zesty characterizations. The second is that Gatti keeps tempo of the opera in her text, with pleasingly swift scene changes and quick character portraits. She neither simplifies the story, nor bevels its edges: Papageno might be there for light , Tamino and Pamina feel destined for one another despite their miscues, but good and evil often wear their site qualities, and the mother, disquietingly, is still the most evil of all; consider the scene outside the temple walls (Pamina: ``Oh, Mother, I don't know what to do! Please protect me.'' Queen of the Night: ``Protect you?''). An audio CD is included (with musical cues in the book); if everything pales before the music, readers will still sense how the opera's magic worked on Gatti and Malone, and gain an entry to the magic themselves. (Picture book. 7-11) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. Read more ( javascript:void(0) ) See all Editorial Reviews ( /dp/product-description/0811810038/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books&isInIframe=0 )