The 39 Apartments of Ludwig Van Beethoven

Illustrated by Barry Blitt
How hard is it to move 5 legless pianos 39 times?
Beethoven owned five legless pianos and composed great works on the floor. His first apartment was in the center of Vienna's theater district... but he forgot to pay rent, so he had to move. (And it's very hard to move a piano. Even harder to move five). Beethoven's next apartment was in a dangerous part of town... so he moved, and the pianos followed on a series of pulleys. Then came an apartment with a view of the Danube (but he made too much noise and the neighbors complained), followed by an attic apartment (where he made even MORE of a rukus), and so Beethoven moved again and again. Each time, pianos were bought, left behind, transported on pulleys, slides, and by movers, all so that gifted Beethoven could compose great works of music for the world.
Jonah Winter is the award-winning author of more than forty nonfiction picture books that promote environmental awareness and social and racial justice. Among them are Here Comes the Garbage Barge!; Ruth Bader Ginsburg: The Case of R.B.G. vs. Inequality; My Name is James Madison Hemings; Barack; The Founding Fathers!; and Lillian’s Right to Vote, a Jane Addams Children’s Book Award recipient and Kirkus Prize finalist. View titles by Jonah Winter
Barry Blitt is a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist and illustrator. Since 1992, he has contributed illustrations and more than one hundred covers to The New Yorker, including “Deluged,” voted Cover of the Year by the American Society of Magazine Editors in 2006, and “The Politics of Fear,” a finalist for the same award in 2009. Blitt’s work has also appeared in Vanity Fair, Time, Rolling StoneThe Atlantic, and The New York Times. His work for children includes The 39 Apartments of Ludwig van Beethoven and Once Upon a Time, the End (Asleep in 60 Seconds). Blitt lives in Roxbury, Connecticut. View titles by Barry Blitt
Publishers Weekly starred review

About

How hard is it to move 5 legless pianos 39 times?
Beethoven owned five legless pianos and composed great works on the floor. His first apartment was in the center of Vienna's theater district... but he forgot to pay rent, so he had to move. (And it's very hard to move a piano. Even harder to move five). Beethoven's next apartment was in a dangerous part of town... so he moved, and the pianos followed on a series of pulleys. Then came an apartment with a view of the Danube (but he made too much noise and the neighbors complained), followed by an attic apartment (where he made even MORE of a rukus), and so Beethoven moved again and again. Each time, pianos were bought, left behind, transported on pulleys, slides, and by movers, all so that gifted Beethoven could compose great works of music for the world.

Author

Jonah Winter is the award-winning author of more than forty nonfiction picture books that promote environmental awareness and social and racial justice. Among them are Here Comes the Garbage Barge!; Ruth Bader Ginsburg: The Case of R.B.G. vs. Inequality; My Name is James Madison Hemings; Barack; The Founding Fathers!; and Lillian’s Right to Vote, a Jane Addams Children’s Book Award recipient and Kirkus Prize finalist. View titles by Jonah Winter
Barry Blitt is a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist and illustrator. Since 1992, he has contributed illustrations and more than one hundred covers to The New Yorker, including “Deluged,” voted Cover of the Year by the American Society of Magazine Editors in 2006, and “The Politics of Fear,” a finalist for the same award in 2009. Blitt’s work has also appeared in Vanity Fair, Time, Rolling StoneThe Atlantic, and The New York Times. His work for children includes The 39 Apartments of Ludwig van Beethoven and Once Upon a Time, the End (Asleep in 60 Seconds). Blitt lives in Roxbury, Connecticut. View titles by Barry Blitt

Praise

Publishers Weekly starred review

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