"The Mysteries of Beethoven's Hair" by Russell Martin and Lydia Nibley

Summary of The Mysteries of Beethoven's Hair by Martin & Nibley
A remarkable true story of the path of a lock of hair from Beethoven's head.  Taken from Beethoven as he was on his deathbed, it was a treasured heirloom of a family passed down through time.  Lost during the turbulent years of World War II, it reappeared in Europe and is authenticated and auctioned off to two collectors who share ownership today. Scientific studies conducted on the lock of hair was analyzed to determine his cause of death, which now appears to be a prolonged poisoning by lead and is possible as the reason for his bouts of temper and eventual deafness.

Martin, R. & Nibley, L. (2009).  The Mysteries of Beethoven's Hair. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge Publishing, Inc.

Personal Impressions of Beethoven's Hair
What a fascinating and unique subject matter for a non=fiction selection!  A lot of detail goes into the process for determining the cause of so much lead in Beethoven's hair. Medicine meant to help his gastrointestinal problems he suffered from his whole life may be the very cause of his deafness. The mystery of the transfer of the lock of hair from the Hiller family and how it reappeared in Denmark will probably never be solved.

Reviews of Beethoven's Hair
"On Beethoven's death a gray-brown lock of his hair was snipped by a fifteen-year-old musician, Ferdinand Hiller, from the composer's corpse, and placed in a locket. Vignettes from the brilliant, troubled composer's life alternate with an account of the forensic detective work conducted on the lock of hair after it was acquired by collectors in 1994. The combination makes for a fascinating book, a young readers' version of Martin's national bestseller, Beethoven's Hair. Hiller became a composer and musician himself, and he took seriously Beethoven's injunction to him to devote his life to his art. Hiller also happened to be of Jewish heritage, from a family that may have protected itself by hiding that aspect of its identity. In a continent rapidly becoming engulfed with anti-Semitism, it is unclear how the lock of hair got to Denmark as it obviously did. Martin and Nibley use those chapters to speculate on possibilities and to flesh out the events of the evacuation of Denmark for young readers. Here the missing elements of story offer an opportunity to contextualize and clarify, where such a panning out to the larger events of the time may be seen as a weakness in the adult book. Woven into the narrative as well are the lives of the two impassioned Beethoven collectors, Alfredo "Che" Guevara of Laredo, Texas, and Ira Brilliant of Arizona, who acquired the lock of hair at a Sotheby's auction. Finally, The Mysteries of Beethoven's Hair details the meticulous process of testing and investigating historical artifacts and cumulatively building our knowledge about the lives that touched them. An afterword provides the story behind both the adult book and this one. A note fromthe authors clarifies aspects of the art of narrative nonfiction." 
Review by Uma Krishnaswami of Children's Literature and Retrieved from Barnes & Noble.

"In 1827, a music student cut a lock of hair as a memento from the head of recently deceased Ludwig van Beethoven. In 1994, two Americans bought the hair for about $7,300 and had scientists subject it to forensic tests. This slim volume introduces Beethoven's life, with an emphasis on his poor health and emotional problems, interspersing chapters about the hair's journey from Vienna to Arizona and the scientific analysis. Although the lock's history intersects with Denmark's remarkable evacuation of Jews in World War II, the specifics of its journey are unknown, which leaches some of the excitement from the episode. One must also wonder how many child readers will be captivated by the revelation that Beethoven's hair had extremely high levels of lead, much as the authors strain to build to a dramatic climax. Beethoven fans and music students may be intrigued, but overall the audience for this mildly interesting story will be limited. Black-and-white archival illustrations and photographs add little to the appeal."
Review by Kirkus Reviews and Retrieved from Barnes & Noble.

Suggestions for Use in Library or School
For the high school student, do a research project on the possible cause of deafness/death of the famous composer Beethoven.  For the younger student, pair the book with the video "Beethoven Lives Upstairs" and see if any of the symptoms of lead poisoning were prevalent in the depiction of his personality in the film.