The Lost Music: Gustav Mole’s war on noise by M. Twinn (1991) is a bit overwhelming. Gustav Mole is a mole and a composer. Where he lives is becoming a noisy neighborhood. “An urban sprawl of new dwellings and factories filled every gap in the landscape. . . Gustav could scarcely concentrate on his compositions.” And his four children stopped playing their instruments. They listened “to the Stoney Crows on their personal stereos.” They ate fast food and attended concerts in the stadium. One day, the members of C.A.L.M., Campaign for All Lovers of Music, asked Gustav for help. So Gustav sets out on a world tour with his children. They meet musicians in France, Hungary, Africa, and more. His family listens to many, many instruments until, at long last, they agree to play their own again. The end of the story is a World Festival of Music, a Bill of Silence, and a Manifesto for Music. Pictures by Kathryn Meyrick fill every page and successfully meet the challenge of showing a large number of musical instruments.
