From a master storyteller and former Children's Laureate comes a moving story of a group of musicians who survived the Holocaust using the only weapon they had.

The author of the international phenomenon War Horse brings us a moving tale of secrets and survival bound together by the power of music. When Lesley is sent to Venice to interview world-renowned violinist Paulo Levi on his fiftieth birthday, she cannot believe her luck. She is told that she can ask him anything at all – except the Mozart question. But it is Paulo himself who decides that the time has come for the truth to be told. And so follows the story of his parents in a Jewish concentration camp, forced to play Mozart violin concerti for the enemy; how they watched fellow Jews being led off to their deaths and knew that they were playing for their lives. As the story unfolds, the journalist begins to understand the full horror of war – and how one group of musicians survived using the only weapon they had.

Prizes

Long-listed for Cybils Award, Fiction Picture Books (United States).

Wonderful illustrations. * Wells Journal *
The storytelling is superb . . . it makes a good read for those who are short of time but want a quality read. I read it on the daily commute * The Citizen *
Moving tale of secrets and survival bound together by the power of music. * The Bookseller Children's Buyer's Guide *
Like so many of his books, the author packs a huge amount of emotion into a relatively short story; tender and touching yet woven through with the reality and horror of those times. Michael Foreman's pencil drawings subtly convey the emotions and hit home for the reader. A compelling and haunting tale. * Parents in Touch *

Michael Morpurgo was 2003–2005 Children's Laureate, has written over 100 books and is the winner of many awards, including the Whitbread Children's Book Award, the Smarties Book Prize, the Blue Peter Award and the Red House Children's Book Award. His books are translated and read around the world and his hugely popular novel War Horse is now both a critically acclaimed stage play and a highly successful film. Michael and his wife, Clare, live in Devon. Visit Michael's website at: www.michaelmorpurgo.com.

Michael Foreman is one of the world’s leading illustrators. He has won several major awards, including the Kate Greenaway Medal, most recently for War Boy. His titles for Walker Books include Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Mia’s Story, A Child's Garden and The Seeds of Friendship. He lives in London.