{"id":27315,"date":"2015-05-04T20:32:27","date_gmt":"2015-05-05T00:32:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=27315"},"modified":"2015-05-04T20:32:27","modified_gmt":"2015-05-05T00:32:27","slug":"review-of-leontyne-price-voice-of-a-century","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=27315","title":{"rendered":"Review of Leontyne Price: Voice of a Century"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"leontyne_price_large\"<\/a>Leontyne Price<\/p>\n

Voice of a Century<\/em><\/p>\n

by Carole Boston Weatherford
\nillustrated by Raul Col\u00f3n<\/p>\n

Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2014. 36 pages.
\nStarred Review<\/p>\n

Several years ago, I read When Marian Sang<\/a><\/em>, by Pam Munoz Ryan, and The Voice that Challenged a Nation<\/a><\/em>, by Russell Freedman, and so felt I knew about how Marian Anderson showed that the beauty of a voice does not depend on skin color.<\/p>\n

Leontyne Price: Voice of a Century<\/em> tells a later chapter in the story, about a girl inspired by Marian Anderson. This picture book biography imaginatively conveys the beauty of her voice with swirling colors of art.<\/p>\n

The text tells a simple story of a girl who dared to dream.<\/p>\n

1927. Laurel, Mississippi.
\nThe line between black and white
\nwas as wide as the Mississippi River was long.
\nAll a black girl from the Cotton Belt could expect
\nwas a heap of hard work \u2013 as a maid, mill worker, or sharecropper.
\nHer song, most surely the blues\u2026.<\/p>\n

Wasn\u2019t long before Leontyne was finding her voice.
\nSinging along to her daddy James\u2019s records and listening
\nto the Metropolitan Opera\u2019s Saturday-afternoon radio broadcasts.
\nShe soaked up the sopranos, if not the foreign words.
\nArt songs and arias, shaping a brown girl\u2019s dreams.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The text tells about Leontyne playing the piano, singing in the choir, and being inspired by the voice of Marian Anderson. The accompanying illustrations show the swirling beauty of song.<\/p>\n

Leontyne went to college in Ohio to study to be a teacher, but after the college president heard her sing, she went on to study voice instead and went on to Juilliard.<\/p>\n

The illustrations of Leontyne\u2019s international career in opera, and as the first black opera singer to perform on television in America, are particularly lovely.<\/p>\n

Leontyne was never more majestic than as Aida,
\nplaying the part she was born to sing. As the Ethiopian princess,
\nwith her skin as her costume, she expressed her whole self.
\nStanding on Marian\u2019s shoulders, Leontyne gave the crowd goose bumps.
\nThe song of her soul soared on the breath of her ancestors.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The book finishes up with the line:<\/p>\n

Her song sure wasn\u2019t the blues.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

An Author\u2019s Note at the end fills in details for adults.<\/p>\n

This is a lovely and inspiring story for anyone to read \u2013 about a person with a beautiful voice who transcended the obstacles in her path.<\/p>\n

CBWeatherford.com<\/a>
\nrandomhousekids.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Childrens_Nonfiction\/leontyne_price.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

Tweet<\/a>