(1) K-3 "One night...Otilla finally ran away." After trekking through the snowy forest, she knocks at the door of a large old house. A skull in the window says he'll let the girl in if she'll carry him: "Rolling around is difficult for me." "All right," Otilla agrees, and soon they are touring his home together. Otilla finds there's a lot she can do for the skull, who can no longer build a fire or make tea or reach the pears on the tree. (She kindly feeds him a bite of pear, which "went through him and fell onto the floor. 'Ah, delicious,' said the skull.") They dance together in the ballroom, and when the skull warns her of the headless skeleton that chases him every night, Otilla sets out to help her new friend, handily destroying the skeleton. In gratitude, the skull invites her to stay with him, and, of course, she accepts. Unflappable Otilla and the unfailingly polite skull make for odd but exemplary companions in this well-paced tale, told in five parts (with most split into three brief sections) and illustrated in classic, deadpan Klassen style with speckled art that's both mesmerizing and dryly hilarious. The dark tones of the art are warmed by slants of peach-hued winter sunlight; like the scary-funny story, darkness and light work in tandem surprisingly well. An author's note expands on the background of this folktale retelling.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2023

(2) 4-6 Another real-life, courageous, boundary-pushing woman gets some well-deserved attention in Atkins's (Grasping M­ysteries, rev. 11/20; Finding Wonders, rev. 7/16) novel in verse. Readers first meet Jewish physicist Lise Meitner (1878–1968) as she "aches to taste hope," clutching fake papers aboard a train at the German border in 1938. Atkins then leaves her audience in suspense and backtracks to Meitner's childhood in Austria, as she chafes against restrictions preventing girls from formal schooling after age thirteen. When the University of Vienna finally opens its doors to women, Meitner is the only female physics student. After earning a PhD and publishing her work on radiation, she moves to Berlin and begins ­conducting unpaid research in a makeshift basement laboratory. Vivid and ­poignant, Atkins's poems chronicle Meitner's hesitation to abandon her experiments and flee Germany after Hitler's rise to power; her horror at realizing her role in the creation of the atomic bomb; and her disappointment that her longtime male collaborator received the Nobel Prize for their shared discovery of nuclear fission, while she was snubbed. Atkins meshes "facts with empathy" in this stirring portrait of--as Meitner's epitaph reads--"A Physicist Who Never Lost Her Humanity." An author's note, a timeline, an annotated list of Meitner's colleagues, and a selected bibliography are appended.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2022

(2) YA This absorbing and well-paced biography of Austrian-born trailblazing physicist Lise Meitner begins by exploring ­Meitner's path from college student to struggling laboratory scientist (prevented, as a woman, from gaining employment as a university professor in Berlin). With the coming of WWII, the narrative kicks into high gear as Moss depicts the Jewish Meitner's delayed ­decision to finally flee Germany and the dramatic escape that follows. It is in the ­relative safety of neighboring Sweden that Meitner makes her most significant ­discovery, ­concluding that atoms can be split and that the resulting "fission" releases massive amounts of energy. The implications of this discovery would emerge shortly thereafter with the Manhattan Project. Moss provides readers with comprehensible descriptions of her subject's scientific work; equally important to ­Meitner's story is the depiction of the conditions under which she finds herself working during Hitler's rise to power. Chapters are preceded by single-page ­comics showing significant moments in the unfolding narrative. These welcome breaks serve many functions, including moving Meitner's story along, depicting ­scientists at work in their labs, and helping readers ­better understand the many ­pressures Meitner was under. Extensive back matter includes a timeline, profiles of the various scientists mentioned in the ­narrative, a glossary, an index, and chapter-by-chapter source notes. A perfect accompaniment to Sheinkin's Bomb (rev. 3/17); see also Atkins's Hidden Powers: Lise Meitner's Call to Science (rev. 5/22).

Reviewer: Eric Carpenter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2022

(2) YA Maria Anna Mozart (nicknamed Nannerl) was a musical child prodigy in her own right, though now mainly remembered only in relation to her famous younger brother, Wolfgang (Woferl) Amadeus. Lu's historical fantasy begins in 1759 Salzburg, after an event where Woferl steals eight-year-old Nannerl's spotlight; she makes a wish to be "worthy of praise, of being loved and remembered" and dreams of a magical land, the Kingdom of Back. Hyacinth, a faery princeling, later appears and offers to grant Nannerl's wish if she'll help him seek the kingdom's throne. As Nannerl begins to realize the more sinister aspects of the Kingdom, will her fear of being forgotten outweigh the danger it poses to her and, especially, her brother? Lu's exploration of the complex Mozart family dynamics and the period in which they lived is fascinating, and her knowledge of music and composition is evident; the fantastical kingdom and its inhabitants, particularly Hyacinth, feel underdeveloped in comparison. While this is a genre departure for the author (Legend, rev. 11/11; The Young Elites, rev. 1/15), Nannerl's believable development as an empowered character is classic Lu. An author's note explains that while the Mozart children actually did invent a Kingdom of Back, this version is Lu's creation.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2020

(3) 4-6 A middle-school project prompts violin prodigy Charlotte (known as Charlie) to research the great-aunt for whom she was named and who disappeared during the Holocaust; her persistent detective work leads to unexpected discoveries about her family. Sweet twelve-year-old Charlie's story provides an accessible entry point into the Holocaust and its connections to people living today, with a dash of hopefulness amid the difficult history.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(3) YA Blood Rose Rebellion series. After Anna (Blood Rose Rebellion) broke the Binding spell, supernatural creatures roam free in Europe. Meanwhile, Anna is still unsure of her chimera nature as well as the path she desires in a frustratingly unjust world. Bouncing from opulent Hapsburg-ruled Vienna to the bandit-controlled Hungarian backroads to the supernatural realm, this historical fantasy integrates beings from Eastern European and Slavic lore into its nineteenth-century setting. Author's note appended. Bib., glos.

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant

(3) YA In Wintersong, Elisabeth (Liesl) miraculously escaped the Goblin King's underground realm alive. Now Liesl travels with her violinist brother to Vienna as his composer. Yet as a painful new distance opens between the siblings, so too does the veil between the Underground and the nineteenth-century world. Fluctuating between mania and melancholy (Liesl, per the author's note, has bipolar disorder), this historical fantasy overflows with beautiful and terrifying emotions.

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Katie Harnett. After World War II, the world's magic "has come and gone," and the remaining dragons must fit into Vienna society under government regulation. Fire-breathing dragon Grisha meets a girl, Maggie, whose creative nature lets her see the world's remaining magic, and together they devise a plan to free the dragons. Each chapter of this enchanting historical fantasy begins with a full-page scene-setting illustration.

Reviewer: Jessica Bushore

(3) 4-6 Seven-year-old orphan Pierrot is sent to live with his aunt, who works as a housekeeper in Hitler's home in the Austrian Alps. As he grows up, Pierrot (renamed Pieter to sound a little more German and a little less French) develops a relationship with Hitler and grows into a cruel, immensely unlikable young man. Pierrot's evolution will encourage much discussion in this thought-provoking story.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(3) YA Translated by Shelley Tanaka. Over the course of a year, Charlotte's parents divorce, and the fifteen-year-old tries to make sense of her own complex emotions about the very human messiness of love. There is a lot to like in this slim Austria-set German import, including a strong main character, a great supporting cast, and the raw emotions of high school.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(3) YA A grim tone governs Rehr's graphic-novel "docudrama" of the man who assassinated Austria's Archduke Franz Ferdinand, thus precipitating WWI. Princip, sent to study in Sarajevo, fails at school but becomes heatedly engaged with anarchist political philosophy. Rehr successfully shows the tangle of alliances, imperial dominions, and grueling poverty furnishing Princip's rage and gloom; gray borders and dark graphics deepen the effect of misery.

Reviewer: Deirdre F. Baker

(3) YA Nicolò Zen, an eighteenth-century orphaned teen in possession of an enchanted clarinet, goes from disguising himself as a girl to join Antonio Vivaldi's orchestra in Venice to finding fame on the stages of Vienna, helped by two benefactors who are doubles of each other. A fresh blend of historical fiction and inventive magical realism, sweeping romance and escapist fun.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Alison Jay. It's morning in Vienna when Oskar begins seeking the perfect birthday gift for Mama. And there it is: a yellow rose. But Oskar trades the gift for another, then another, and on. Eventually, through an act of kindness, he's empty-handed...until the act is repaid. Lodding's full-circle story is as charming as the quaint, cobblestone-street setting, pictured brilliantly in Jay's glowing crackle-varnish paintings.

Reviewer: Katrina Hedeen

(3) 1-3 Horse Diaries series. Illustrated by Ruth Sanderson. Horse Maestoso Petra narrates his life in Austria under German occupation during WWII. A Lipizzaner stallion, Petra is thrilled to perform with the Spanish Riding School, run-ins with Nazis and bomb raids not withstanding. Kendall effectively incorporates history and horsemanship into her engaging story. An appendix gives more information about horses; additional details about historical fact versus fiction would have been welcome.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(3) YA In eighteenth-century Vienna, fifteen-year-old Theresa Maria discovers that her murdered father, a violinist in Franz Joseph Haydn's orchestra, was also a spy investigating the persecution of Hungarian gypsies. As she moves between the court of Prince Nicholas Esterhazy and the gypsy camps, the strong-willed Theresa tells her own story. The details of this historical novel, part mystery, part romance, are intriguing.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(3) 1-3 Magic Tree House series. Illustrated by Sal Murdocca. Jack and Annie time travel to 1762 Austria. Their mission: to persuade an artist to share his gifts. However, they're hampered by Wolfie, a mischievous boy. With the help of a magic flute, the kids (inadvertently) complete their task as they find out "Wolfie" is young Mozart. Readers will learn a little about the composer's early life while being entertained by his exploits.

Reviewer:

(3) YA Weaving together fact and fiction, this story imagines the life of Mozart's sister. Herself musically gifted, Nannerl is nonetheless eclipsed by her virtuoso brother, her talent squelched by their overbearing father. Meyer portrays Nannerl as a winsome heroine who suffers and overcomes innumerable disappointments in both her musical career and personal life. The historical setting is richly displayed.

Reviewer: Marika Jeffrey

(2) 4-6 Giants of Science series. Illustrated by Boris Kulikov. Krull introduces Freud as the man who brought empirical research into the canon. After several missteps, such as his early advocacy for the widespread use of cocaine, Freud found his niche, but not universal acceptance. Clearly and without sensationalism, Krull presents Freud's theories on dividing the personality into Id, Ego, and Superego. Back matter includes a listing of Freud's works. Websites. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2006

(4) 4-6 Ilse and her Jewish family flee Austria in 1939. Unable to obtain visas, they battle poverty in the squalid ghettos of the only country that will take them: Japanese-occupied China. Ilse's friendship with a young street criminal is undeveloped, but Ruby's sense of detail and scale makes this a moving historical portrait.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Barry Blitt. "FACT: Ludwig van Beethoven lived in 39 different apartments." This information provides the slim premise for this amusing and imaginative explanation of why the famous composer lived in so many places and how he moved his pianos so frequently. Blitt's exaggerated caricatures of Beethoven, his neighbors, and the unfortunate moving men provide plenty of visual humor.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac