Wednesday, July 2, 2008

“The Case of Beethoven’s Bandit” by T.A. Sigafus


Whether or not your interests include music, “The Case of Beethoven’s Bandit” is a book that will engage readers with laughter and suspense. I met the author, T.A. (Terri) Sigafus, and had the pleasure of spending a couple of hours with her at the 2007 Missouri Writer’s Guild Conference in St. Charles, Missouri. I found her to be an extremely charming and sweet person. Also a talented musician, Terri plays the cello and she shares her love for music through her writing. (She and her husband, Chad, create acoustic, folk-inspired children’s music.)

In “The Case of Beethoven’s Bandit,” Sigafus mixes mystery and music for an entertaining story. The Little Maestros—Gert, Alexander, Wallaby, and Gracie—and their conductor, Madam Macaroni, receive a piece of music from their friend, Professor Podges. The music contains a hidden message. The children can’t find Professor Podges, and so they search for him and the pieces of Beethoven’s unfinished tenth symphony.

The mystery is written in an entertaining way and children are taught a little about music in a subtle manner as they read this enchanting book. The characters are endearing and well crafted. My granddaughter and I read the book together. We read only a couple chapters each time she spent the night, and she was excited about starting each new chapter. We found ourselves laughing together often throughout the story.

Terri talked about how she conceived the idea for the four main characters in her book. Four of her students in the private lessons she conducted were cut-ups and the Little Maestros were created. Having met Terri, I even noticed resemblances between Madame Macaroni and Terri. (Gotta love her!)

The book is a wonderful read and I look forward to reading more of Terri’s books. Be sure to pick up “The Case of Beethoven’s Bandit” and curl up and enjoy!

Visit Terri’s websites at the links below and happy reading!

Official website of T.A. Sigafus http://www.tasigafus.com/

Meet the Little Maestros http://www.tasigafus.com/id1.html

5 comments:

Suzanne Lieurance said...

Hey, Lisa,

Wow! Great review. And how nice that you got to meet the author at a conference. That makes your review much more personal.

Why not grab the cover illustration of her book online someplace and use it with your post. It would attract more readers. Plus, they'd know what the book looks like so it would be easier for them to spot it in the bookstores.

You have a wonderful writing style, Lisa! You're quickly getting the hang of blogging meaningful content on a regular basis. Keep up the good work.

Suzanne Lieurance
The Working Writer's Coach
http://www.workingwriterscoach.com
"When Your Pen Won't Budge, Read The Morning Nudge"

Dorit Sasson said...

I agree with Suzanne - presenting a book review makes the reading even more enticing.

Your post really drew me in.

Thanks!

Dorit
http://newteacherresourcecenter.blogspot.com/

SuseADoodle said...

Okay, I'm ready to go read this book! Great review, and the info about the author enticed me even more (especially how some of her students were models for her characters).

If you plan to write many reviews, consider becoming an "affiliate" with Amazon or other online bookseller. Then when you say "this book is available at ..." convert the name of the seller to a link to the book at that seller through your affilate number. You collect a commission on any books purchased as a result of your review!

Great review and now I have to go find the book to share it with a couple of my young reader friends. :-)

Sue Berg
http://www.suseink.com/suse_ink/
http://suseadoodle-ant-thymes.blogspot.com/

Theresa Schultz said...

Hi Lisa,

Great review. My kids are past this age, but I still want to go read the book! Well done.

Theresa
Stress-FreeParent.blogspot.com

T. Forehand said...

You have a great writing style and I loved the review. How nice to have met the author too. Sounds like a fun summer read.

Warmly,
Terri
http://heartfeltwords4kids.blogspot.com