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

Author: Lesa Cline-Ransome Rank: Rating: Original Rating: Pop Rating: Genres/categories: Children, Picture books, Biographies, Music, History, Non Fiction Purchase/reserch links: LibraryThing Goodreads Amazon ISBNs: 9780375836008 9780375936210 0375836004 0375936211

The musical superstar of 18th-century France was Joseph Boulogne--a black man. This inspiring story tells how Joseph, the only child of a black slave and her white master, becomes "the most accomplished man in Europe." After traveling from his native West Indies to study music in Paris, young Joseph is taunted about his skin color. Despite his classmates' cruel words, he continues to devote himself to his violin, eventually becoming conductor of a whole orchestra. Joseph begins composing his own operas, which everyone acknowledges to be magnifique. But will he ever reach his dream of performing for the king and queen of France? This lushly illustrated book by Lesa Cline-Ransome and James E. Ransome introduces us to a talented musician and an overlooked figure in black history. Similar books: When Marian Sang by Pam Munoz Ryan Little Melba and Her Big Trombone by Katheryn Russell-Brown Mahalia Jackson by Nina Nolan Ballet for Martha by Jan Greenberg Strange Fruit by Gary Golio Mama Africa! by Kathryn Erskine The Legendary Miss Lena Horne by Carole Boston Weatherford Leontyne Price by Carole Boston Weatherford For the Love of Music by Elizabeth Rusch Jimi: Sounds Like a Rainbow: A Story of the Young Jimi Hendrix by Gary Golio Muddy by Michael Mahin Dizzy by Jonah Winter Before John Was a Jazz Giant by Carole Boston Weatherford She Persisted by Chelsea Clinton I Dissent by Debbie Levy Rosa by Nikki Giovanni Separate Is Never Equal by Duncan Tonatiuh She Persisted Around the World by Chelsea Clinton The Oldest Student by Rita Lorraine Hubbard The Youngest Marcher by Cynthia Levinson