As an endnote explains, George Frideric Handel played a pivotal role in creating and sustaining London's Foundling Hospital, the first orphanage and school in that city; he raised money through performances of the Messiah
and, upon his death, left the score to the Foundling Hospital. This debut from a Canadian duo imagines what prompted Handel to make that gift. As the story begins, three street urchins attract the attention of the master composer, who later hears one of them—Thomas, who "cannot speak, but sings like an angel"—singing his music. When Thomas disappears, his friends ask Handel to help find him before they are all punished by the Keeper (a grasping, Fagan-like character). Their hunt takes them from the orphanage to Bedlam and, finally, backstage at the opera house, where they discover Thomas has been staying ("Every night you heard the singers' voices rising clear and beautiful. They created a world for you that was safe and loving," Handel deduces). Cowling weaves an engaging tale, although a tad top-heavy with text and not always believable ("This is the final chorus, Master Handel, and it ain't your song," says the Keeper when he tries to reclaim the boy he "owns"). Walker's realistic illustrations gain warmth from a russet-toned palette, and although the Keeper comes off as something of a caricature, the candle-lit portraits of Handel and Thomas effectively convey emotion. Ages 6-10. (Oct.)
