A Certain Music
  • Published: 3 September 2012
  • ISBN: 9781742757407
  • Imprint: Vintage Classic Children's
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 144
  • RRP: $17.99

A Certain Music

Formats & editions
EBook
1 May 2010
Paperback
3 Sep 2012
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A fairytale in the tradition of Hans Christian Andersen – heart-warming and enchanting.

A fairytale in the tradition of Hans Christian Andersen – heart-warming and enchanting.

It is 1823 and the child is a loner who spends her time hiding in the Vienna Woods until she spies an old man - a music maker. And so begins an odd friendship which develops through their mutual love of music.

The man is composing a new work. It will break new ground. He fears it will be ridiculed and is aware that he is thought mad. He confides in the child, who sits for hours watching and listening as he revises and plays. She has a feeling for the music that he cannot fathom. And not only for the music, but for what he is. She knows his pain, his anger, his fear and also his gentleness. Together they give each other the courage to face their critics and dare to be different.

A tale of a song written by a man who couldn't hear for a child people thought strange. Yet the song will live forever in the heart and mind of every child where there's nurtured a love of music.
  • Published: 3 September 2012
  • ISBN: 9781742757407
  • Imprint: Vintage Classic Children's
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 144
  • RRP: $17.99
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About the authors

Celeste Walters

Celeste Walters has been a teacher, a children's theatre actor/manager, a lecturer in Drama and Language and Literature at Deakin University and writer-in-residence at tertiary institutions as well as in primary and secondary schools.
Celeste has published texts on drama and the writing of eulogies. Her novels for younger readers include Treading the Boards and of her books of verse, Who's Who at the Zoo, illustrated by Patricia Mullins, is a special favourite. Celeste has also written several novels for young adults, including The Last Race, the award-winning The Killing of Mud-Eye, The Glass Mountain and Deception.

Anne Spudvilas

ANNE SPUDVILAS is a multi-award-winning illustrator of children's books and an established portrait painter who also works as a courtroom artist for the Melbourne media. Her first picture book The Race was awarded the Crichton Award for Illustration and Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Honour Book. In 2000 she won CBCA Picture Book of the Year for Jenny Angel and her latest picture book The Peasant Prince has received the NSW and Queensland Premiers' Literary Awards, the Australian Book Industry Award and CBCA Honour Book. Anne lives and works in Melbourne.

portrait photo of Anne Spudvilas

Praise for A Certain Music

A Certain Music displays an appreciation of the lyrical nature of language, the emotional power of music and the ability of art to move us. It is a beautifully written, moving novel which will give pleasure to many young readers.

Viewpoint

It’s a book full of gentle charm, enhanced by the delicate illustrations, a memorable experience for thoughtful readers.

Jo Goodman, Magpies

This tale for young readers concentrates on the themes of love, loss, faith and redemption. It is written in delicate and carefully considered prose, and demonstrates a perfect union between illustration and text.

Bookseller + Publisher

This is a beautiful story for readers of all ages who know what it’s like to be moved by certain music.

Good Reading

All credit to Celeste Walters for treating her readers with respect. A Certain Music balances moments of desperate sadness with rapturous joy and ferocious love, blending harsh reality with fairytale elements. Walters creates a tender tale, delicately complemented by Anne Spudvilas’ black-and-white illustrations.

The Age