Costanza, Stephen ( - )

Genre: Children's Literature

Stephen Costanza, author and illustrator of children's books, lives in Belfast, Maine. He spent some of his youth in Cherry Hill, New Jersey studied music theory and composition at Syracuse University, and is a University of the Arts (Philadelphia) alumnus who is also a musician. Some of his other jobs have included graphic artist, ragtime and classical pianist, and designer of merchandise for sports teams.

His artwork has appeared in magazines, newspapers, advertising and text books. He was invited to exhibit illustrations at the Bologna Children's Book Fair in Italy in 2000. His work has also been exhibited at the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland. Costanza is active in the arts community in the midcoast Maine area.

Selected Bibliography

Illustrator

• Noodle Man: The Pasta Superhero (2002), written by April Pulley Sayre, featuring Al Dente, who wants to do anything except work in the family pasta deli business
• Just Because/Shane's Best Week Ever! (2004), a book containing two short stories about foster families by Jan Riddle, part of the Kits for Kids series, based in Camden, Maine.

Writer and Illustrator

• Mozart Finds a Melody (2004), a fictionalized tale of how Mozart wrote his "Piano Concerto no. 17 in G Major" with inspiration from a pet starling.