Bach's Big Adventure - Hardcover

Sallie Ketcham; Timothy Bush

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0531301400 ISBN 13: 9780531301401

Publisher: Orchard Books, 1999

Synopsis

After his brother informs him that he is not the best organist in the world, Bach travels from the German countryside to Hamburg to meet the greatest organ player in the world, Adam Reincken, and Bach's talent is unleashed under the tutelage and friendship of Reincken.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

When people hear the name Johann Sebastian Bach, they think of the composer he became, as in Jeanette Winter's Sebastian (reviewed above), not the ambitious boy he once was. Ketcham takes the reverse approach in this affectionate debut "based on a story that Bach liked to tell." Teenage Bach, known as Sebastian, longs to hear the renowned organist Jan Adam Reincken, who lives in Hamburg. Since Sebastian has no money, he walks 30 miles to Reincken's home city, past half-timbered cottages and haystacks, and into cobblestone streets where workers heft flour sacks and load freight on wooden barges. Finally, Sebastian hears Reincken play and is humbled by the master's talent. "I used to be the greatest organist in all of Germany and the world!" Sebastian sobs. Reincken invites the boy to play, too, and afterward declares, "I thought the art had died, but now I see it lives in you." Ketcham, who introduces the dramatis personae in an informative foreword, celebrates Sebastian's determination and gently cautions against too much pride. In his lively watercolor scenes of Northern Europe, circa 1700, Bush (Benjamin McFadden and the Robot Babysitter) recalls details from Brueghel's canvases (though he replaces the grotesquery with softer slapstick), and echoes the changing tenor of the text with scenes that are at times bustling with activity and at times peaceful and reflective. The author and illustrator convince the audience that charming Sebastian is both naive and boldAa model young celebrity for the turn-of-the-(18th-)century. Ages 5-9.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal:

K-Gr-3A childhood reminiscence is the basis for this brief picture-book look at the youthful exuberance of Johann Sebastian Bach. The proud and boastful prodigy sets out to hear Jan Adam Reincken, a master organist, to see if he really is a better musician than the boy himself. When the determined Bach finally reaches the church and listens to the talented man, he is humbled but confident that he may still, one day, be the greatest organist in all of Germany and the world. This is an interesting and humorous glimpse into the early life of a musical master, but it lacks the depth and warmth of Barbara Nichols Beethoven Lives Upstairs (Orchard, 1994). There is no empathy created for the haughty young Bach and the text is overly descriptive at times. The pastel, watercolor cartoon drawings are sprightly, serviceable caricatures, but the bits of text imposed over some of the illustrations are distracting. For students writing reports, standard biographies will supply the facts. This is an additional purchase where fictionalized versions have an audience.Beth Tegart, Oneida City Schools, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Orchard Books
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0531301400
• ISBN 13: 9780531301401
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 32