Leontyne Price

Starred review from October 20, 2014
Weatherford and Colón create a rapturously described, evocatively illustrated account of the life of groundbreaking African-American opera singer Leontyne Price. Her musical path began in the segregated South where, as a child, she was inspired by hymns, opera music on the radio, and the success of Marian Anderson. Price’s natural talent eventually led her to Juilliard, theatres, and television. Colón works in subdued blues, browns, and creams, textured with the fine lines that are his trademark. Yet when Price sings, fiery, vibrant shapes represent the music pouring out of her as she appears in Porgy and Bess, Madama Butterfly, and Aida. While Weatherford addresses the barriers Price faced, her love of music and the presence of those who supported her are deeply felt: “The song of her soul soared on the breath of her ancestors.” Ages 5–9. Illustrator’s agency: Morgan Gaynin.

November 1, 2014
Rising from the Mississippi Delta to the stages of the Metropolitan Opera and La Scala, Price had a groundbreaking operatic career.Weatherford introduces a less familiar name to children, laying out the major events in her life with poetic brevity. Encouraged by her musically gifted parents, the young Price played the piano and listened to Saturday-afternoon opera broadcasts. She heard Marian Anderson's legendary 1939 concert at the Lincoln Memorial, but even so, she did not believe that she could become a performer because of her color. The turning point came when a college teacher encouraged her to study music, and gradually a career took shape. Porgy and Bess on Broadway was among her first national performances, and Aida on the opera stage was her triumph. Awards and accolades followed. The poetic text highlights Price's firsts as an African-American opera singer. Colon employs his signature watercolor, crayon and pencil paintings with scratchboard texturing and a palette of warm teals, greens and oranges that swirl across the pages to capture the grandeur of her performances. One beautiful double-page spread features Price in the costumes of three major roles: the regal Cleopatra from Antony and Cleopatra, the tragic Cio-Cio from Madame Butterfly and Minnie, the feisty saloon keeper from The Girl of the Golden West. Weatherford and Colon's beautiful book does children a service by giving them one more African-American performer to applaud. (author's note) (Picture book/biography. 5-8)

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Starred review from November 1, 2014

Gr 2-5- Weatherford continues to showcase groundbreaking African Americans often overlooked by history books and popular culture. World-famous opera singer Leontyne Price gets her due in this luscious picture book biography. Price's talent and perseverance enabled her to follow in the footsteps of singer Marian Anderson and become a celebrated soprano whose wondrous voice rang through the Metropolitan Opera House in her iconic Aida role and on Broadway as a lead in Porgy and Bess. A true marriage of lyrical text and majestic illustrations, the book shines a much-needed spotlight on an important cultural figure. Colon's earthy hues establish the tone of Price's early years, set against the backdrop of her humble Mississippi upbringing and a childhood surrounded by supportive parents and gospel music. The watercolor and pencil drawings seem to vibrate off the page, especially in the form of rainbow-colored musical notes that often envelop the work's subject. An author's note includes more information on other singers for whom Price paved the way. While the exact audience for this book is hard to place, the emphasis on the performer's predecessors ("The song of her soul soared on the breath of her ancestors.") and mentions of segregation will tie this title into units on African American history and female pioneers. A gorgeous book in the ranks of the author's I, Matthew Henson: Polar Explorer (Walker, 2007) and Becoming Billie Holliday (Boyds Mills, 2008).-Shelley Diaz, School Library Journal

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from November 1, 2014
Grades K-3 *Starred Review* As the story of Leontyne Price opens, and as the text so affectingly puts it, a black girl born in 1927 Mississippi could expect nothing besides a heap of hard workas a maid, mill worker, or sharecropper. Her song would surely be the blues. But Leontyne heard other music growing up: hymns and praise songs, and encouraging words that told her she was as good as anyone. Seeing Marian Anderson sing raised her hopes higher, and after a musical education at Juilliard, Price went on to play Bess in Porgy and Bess and fulfilled her dream of becoming an opera singer, playing all the great roles. One curious line of text as Price goes off to teacher's college: The concert stage was out of reach for a black singer then, even though a previous spread has her listening to Marian Anderson, who had already sung in places like New York's Town Hall. But this does a beautiful job of capturing the dreams of a young girl who has the talent and willpower to make them come true, and Coln's dappled artwork is an excellent visual accompaniment. Children will get a sense of Price's struggles and triumphs as well as how music can break down barriers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)