Tidbit-filled cameo sketches of the famous reveal infamous habits and quirks for a generation accustomed to thumbnail glimpses of celebrity personalities. Brief selected musical "notes" add other facts. Twenty musicians are thus introduced to young readers who have not heard of most or all of them: Vivaldi, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Verdi, C. Schumann, Foster, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Gilbert & Sullivan, Satie, S. Joplin, Ives, Stravinsky, Boulanger, Prokofiev, Gershwin and W. Guthrie. Personal details and anecdotes are linked to the unconventional full-color art accompanying each two-page account. Material typically unavailable in encyclopedias brings European and American musicians to life. By their unconventiona approach, Krull and Hewitt may just have revolutionized the generally dull form of collective biography for young readers. (Ages 7-14)