Leontyne Price: Voice of A Century - a bookwrap

"My heart is like a singing bird."   - Christina Rosetti

"Singing is like a celebration of oxygen."  -Bjork

Unwrapping....

Leontyne Price Voice of a Century

Author:  Carole Boston Weatherford

Illustrator:  Raul Colón

Digging deeper into the package...

This beautiful book is a biography of Leontyne Price, an African American opera star who was born in Laurel, Mississippi in 1927.

She was the daughter of a midwife and a sawmill worker.  In those times there was little chance for her to raise to international acclaim  but her amazing voice caught the attention of the right people that could guide her and help her along to achieve superstar status. Growing up she had big dreams and plenty of be thankful for.  Her loving parents surrounded her with church hymns and hallelujahs, and she herself basked in opera arias on the radio and watched the great Marian Anderson grace the stage.

She was one of the first African Americans to become a leading artist at the Metropolitan Opera and she became recognized around the world - most notably as the majestic Ethiopian princess in Aida, a part she felt she was destined to sing.

This book is inspiring and traces the journey of this young African American women who heroically battles racism and finally lives out her dream of becoming a famous opera star.  

The illustrations are fluid, featuring a muted colour pallet.  The music is shown in brighter colours depicting movement and as a powerful force in Leontyne's life.  They web and flow and sweep up the reader into the narrative.

1. Carole Boston Weatherford is an Afro-American author and critic, now living in North Carolina, United States. She writes children's literature and some historical books, as well as poetry and commentaries. Wikipedia
3. Born: 1956, Baltimore, Maryland, United States
4. Education: University of Baltimore
5. Awards: NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work - Children's
6. Nominations: Coretta Scott King Award for Authors, Jane Addams Chldren's Book Awards for Book for Older Children

   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   

   

   
   

   Raúl Colón has illustrated several highly acclaimed picture books, including the New York Times bestselling Angela and the Baby Jesus by Frank McCourt, Susanna Reich’s José! Born to Dance, and Jill Biden’s Don’t Forget, God Bless Our Troops.Mr. Colón lived in Puerto Rico as a young boy and now resides in New City, New York, with his family.

   - See more at: http://authors.simonandschuster.com/Raul-Colon/706247#sthash.dSW5S14L.dpuf

   
   

   
   

   Read on and read always!

   
   

   It's a wrap.