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4-6
Illustrated by
Brian Selznick.
An orphaned boy with a gift for playing the dulcimer runs away from his cruel guardians. William finds a job performing at a tavern but longs to return home for his mute twin brother, Jules. Set in New England in a vaguely historic time period, the book--which has qualities of both a melodrama and a folktale--is written in exquisite prose and newly illustrated with appropriately old-fashioned illustrations.