Hallelujah Handel

Elizabeth Fisher is a former elementary-school principal in Toronto, who
spent 10 years as a teacher-librarian.

One day three London street urchins carry the harpsichord for King
George I’s favorite composer. But the money George Frederick Handel
gives them is soon taken by the Keeper, who makes his living from the
boys. One of those boys is Thomas, who has a beautiful singing voice
even though he cannot (or will not) speak. On his next encounter with
the street children, Handel sees the dark side of their life and
realizes that the orphanage he and his friends built years before is not
enough. When Thomas disappears, his friends seek help from Handel who
takes them to Thomas’s old home, the composer’s orphanage.

This picture book touches on the horrors of 18th-century street life,
the efforts of humanitarians, and the glories of Handel’s music, but
fails to develop these themes in a satisfying manner. Not a first-choice
purchase.