The Horn Book Guide

YOUNGER FICTION

Cowling, Douglas , Cowling, Douglas

Hallelujah Handel

48 pp. | Scholastic | October, 2003 | Trade ISBN 0-439-05850-3 $$16.95

(4) 1-3 Illustrated by Jason Walker & Jason Walker. George Frideric Handel was one of the founders of London's first orphanage; appropriately, Cowling imagines a story of Handel's befriending a street urchin who sings like an angel. Handel protects him from his cruel and greedy "Keeper" and returns him to the safe orphanage. Period details are accurate and the detailed, textured illustrations enhance the narrative, but plot improbabilities and unclear chronology detract from the whole.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian