How Stephen Sondheim Made Musical Puzzles Come Alive
Erin Frankel,
Stacy Innerst (Illustrated by)
Apr 21, 2026
Hardcover
Juvenile Nonfiction / Performing Arts / Theater & Musicals / Biography & Autobiography / Music / Performing Arts
Ages 7 to 10, Grades 2 to 5
Stephen Sondheim learns to assemble musicals like the pieces of a puzzle on his way to becoming an American theater icon.
An inspiring nonfiction picture book on the creative process that will spark an interest in music for kids ages 7–10.
Before he became a greatest lyricist and composer, Stephen Sondheim was a boy filled with curiosity—a boy who loved figuring out how things worked. After his parents’ divorce scattered the pieces of his life, he found comfort in music.
Guided by his mentor, Oscar Hammerstein II, Stephen learned that the best way to get better was to practice: choosing notes, choosing words, and putting it all together, piece by piece. Writing musicals wasn’t easy, and not everyone loved Stephen’s new and unusual shows. But Stephen loved figuring it out, and loved the way the people in every show became like a family.
An inspiring nonfiction picture book on the creative process that will spark an interest in music for kids ages 7–10.
Before he became a greatest lyricist and composer, Stephen Sondheim was a boy filled with curiosity—a boy who loved figuring out how things worked. After his parents’ divorce scattered the pieces of his life, he found comfort in music.
Guided by his mentor, Oscar Hammerstein II, Stephen learned that the best way to get better was to practice: choosing notes, choosing words, and putting it all together, piece by piece. Writing musicals wasn’t easy, and not everyone loved Stephen’s new and unusual shows. But Stephen loved figuring it out, and loved the way the people in every show became like a family.
