Piece by Piece

How Stephen Sondheim Made

Musical Puzzles Come Alive

A TRUE TALE WITH

A CHERRY ON TOP

Calkins Creek

(Astra Books for Young Readers)

(pub. 4.21.2026)

48 pages

Ages 7 - 10

Author: Erin Frankel

   Illustrator: Stacy Innerst

Character: Stephen Sondheim

Overview:

"Before he became a noted 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, Sondheim 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 Sondheim loved figuring it out, and loved the way the people in every show became like a family."

Tantalizing taste:

" Writing songs for the theater was

Stephen Sondheim's favorite

puzzle to solve.

Choosing notes

Choosing words

Putting it all together

Piece by piece.

When the pieces fit together, the puzzle

came alive!

Music and lyrics flying off the page and

onto the stage

What could be more exciting!"

And something more: The author, Erin Frankel, shares in the Author's Note: "What kept him moving on? To my great joy, I discovered the answer to a question at the heart of his work: Why? Piece after piece, Sondheim immersed himself in his craft for the love of it - even when it was hard. In doing so, he gave the world a gift that will live forever. Stephen Sondheim made us feel something more."

Foote Was First!

How One Curious Woman Connected

Carbon Dioxide and Climate Change

A TRUE TALE WITH

A CHERRY ON TOP

Quill Tree Books

(Harper Collins Publishers)

(pub. 1.13.2026)

40 pages

Ages 4 - 8

Author: Jen Bryant

and illustrator: Amy June Bates

Character: Pauline Baynes

Overview:

"From a young age, Eunice Foote’s natural curiosity led her to learn more about how the world worked. What makes milk turn to butter? Why can I see my breath when it’s cold? Why are there different kinds of clouds?

By the time she grew up, scientists announced that the Earth was much hotter in the past, and that the warmer temperatures must mean the Earth’s core was the cause. But Eunice thought something else could be at work. Through experiments and tests, Eunice’s curiosity helped her make an important breakthrough: the greenhouse effect."

Tantalizing taste:

" Every summer, American scientists held a meeting where they discussed their experiments and discoveries. But only men were allowed to speak at the meetings! ...

So a friend of [her husband's] presented Eunice's results instead...

Five years later, in 1861, Professor Tyndall would claim that he was the first to show that more carbon dioxide in the air made the earth warmer."

And something more: The Timeline in the Back Matter included: "July 2019. During the 200th anniversary of the birth of Eunice Newton Foote, the New York Times, Smithsonian Magazine and Time magazine pay tribute to her work."

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