Cesar Mendoza - Before There Was Mozart

Before there was Mozart, written by Lesa Cline-Ransome and illustrated by James E. Ransome, is a children's illustrated book that depicts the story and life of Jospeh Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-George. This is a magnificent book that ties in many subjects. It covers history, music, reading, english, and art in a way that is not as explicit because of how intertwined these ideas are. The book begins with the birth of a child on Christmas. Joseph was born on a slave plantation. He was the child of the slavemaster and a slave woman. The book is set up in four movements, very similar to how a symphony is set up. The book then follows the musical path of success that Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-George. It covers his life in Paris and how successful he became despite being a man of color. It even describes how he inspired Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at one of his concerts!! I would institute this book as part of a unit that looks at successful musicians outside of the canon. The book would is easy enough to be read in pairs, using the Content DR-TA strategy, so the students could interact more with the reading. This book could really empower many students and is a book that can be used as a culturally responsive teaching tool.