I am going to do it here (online) instead because I can give links to some music.
Title: Getting to Know the World's Greatest Composers - Ludwig van Beethoven
Author: Mike Venezia
The book is a biography of Ludwig van Beethoven who was born in 1770 in Bonn, Germany.
Beethoven was a composer and his music was different from the cheerful, classical music that people listened to at the time. He grew up in Europe when things were changing. Everybody now thought that they were equally important even if they weren't born rich. It was the time of the French Revolution.
He wrote the Revolutionary Symphony in honour of Napoleon Bonaparte.
Here is a link to the first movement on youtube.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sBABTZuL44
Beethoven was 4 years old when he started learning music but he had to stand on a stool to reach the keys. His Dad would work him very hard. He would hit his knuckles when he made a mistake.
I think the most interesting fact about Beethoven is that he was deaf and still composed when he was older. He was deaf when he composed the Ninth Symphony.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3217H8JppI
Beethoven was crabby and unfriendly. But I think it's because he couldn't hear people very well. He needed an 'ear trumpet' to hear sounds.
I would recommend this book to any young person interested in Beethoven's life. I liked the comics inside which made the book more interesting. I would also recommend listening to the songs that they mention in the book. You can find a lot of them on youtube.
