The Dulcimer Boy

June 1, 2003
Fans of a host of favorite authors will be glad to see their books being reissued this spring and summer. Tor Seidler's The Dulcimer Boy, originally published in 1979, is back with elegant half-tone illustrations by Brian Selznick. Opposite the title page, a detailed portrait introduces the two orphaned babies left at the door of their uncle, Eustace Carbuncle, Esq., with a caption: "William has the brown hair and Jules the gold." Other drawings depict milestones in the tale, such as William's discovery of the silver-stringed dulcimer in the antique mahogany secretary on the landing at the top of the stairs-a discovery that leads him and his brother to solve the mystery of their past. A handsome presentation of Seidler's eloquent tale of finding one's place in the world.

June 1, 2003
Gr 4-8-First published in 1979 (Viking; o.p.) for adults, Seidler's early-20th-century New England fairy tale receives an inspired pictorial resurrection by Selznick. Tracing the footsteps of musically gifted William Carbuncle from his arrival on his uncaring uncle's doorstep in a box containing him, his brother, and a silver-stringed dulcimer, the story follows William's escape and journey south. Tricked by an innkeeper into a year's servitude, he spends his days plotting his brother's rescue and his nights playing sorrowful love songs of the sea to drunken sailor crowds. Liberation soon appears in the guise of a fictional New York City mayor, and William finally frees his brother from servitude and gains his own independence. Though Dulcimer Boy is without traditional fairy-tale elements, magic instead is portrayed as artistic accomplishment, inspiration, and drive. And, Seidler's simple yet eloquent prose likens William's plight to a caged songbird, cleverly weaving the hero's physical dilemma and pursuit of artistic creativity into the novel's rising tension. Selznick's detailed sense of light and shadow shines as his soft-textured acrylic paintings not only echo the novel's overall poetic melancholy, but also serve as integral pieces of the plot itself. This fusion of fantastic storytelling and engaging illustrations makes Dulcimer Boy an exciting and inspirational work that will be read, both alone and aloud, and remembered.-Hillias J. Martin, New York Public Library

Copyright 2003 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.