Customer Reviews

AIDA

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Leontyne Price has presented us with a treasure in this book. It is a wonderful gift for any child -- or adult. It is told clearly and with beauty, strength and love. The illustrations are an especially wonderful companion to the story. Styled uniquely to the story they provide a gentle, beautiful flow which endlessly illumines the imagination. Although the ending is classically "tragic," this tale of love is presented in both word and pictures appropriate for any age child. My nearly two year old son loves to look at the pictures as I read to him and, I believe, enjoys the story as I "act" it out for him. Certainly, he asks for Aida often when we pick his bedtime story!

Leontyne Price's retelling of Aida is concise and beautifully illustrated. My three sixth grade classes loved the story, but my voice gave out in the repeated readings! I found the CD-Rom of Aida, which features Ms. Price's rich voice reading the text, along with musical excerpts from the opera. (Ms. Price sings Aida, Placido Domingo sings Radames.) Total playing time on the CD is 67:22. I expect this combination of beautiful story, music, illustrations, and singing will serve my students well as an introduction/exposure to opera.

The combination of Leontyne Price as the storyteller and the Dillons as the artists makes this an outstanding book. I question recommending this book as appropriate for Ages 4-8. As an elementary teacher, I introduced this book to fourth,fifth, and sixth graders. They all liked it, but the sixth graders LOVED IT! Getting 12 year olds to tolerate a picture book is an achievement in itself. These sixth graders saw a love story, and really were spellbound when I read it to them. Playing some of the music and reading this story introduces children to the world of opera. Please buy this book for all ages; I have given it to many adult friends too!

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Forbidden love, enemy captivity, and royal betrayal - Aida endures it all. This book is a talented interpretation of a beautiful tragedy composed by Giuseppe Verdi in the late 1800s. Children of all ages can now delight in the story of the Ethiopian Princess and the noble Egyptian warrior brought to life by the stunning illustrations of Leo and Diane Dillon, who were awarded the Caldecott medal for previous work in children's literature. This book captivated my imagination and heart because of its unique narrative perspective and intense passion with which the tale is told. Leontyne Price is the gifted performer who played the character of Aida for many years with much success. In the afterward of the book, Price describes the passion she had for her character. "In many ways," she says, "I believe Aida is a portrait of my inner self." That relationship with her character manifests itself in her telling of the story for children. Each scene is filled with the emotions and struggles of the young princess, with supporting dialogue and illustrations to enchant children and adults of all ages. The story introduces children to the two ancient cultures of Ethiopia and Egypt, while the illustrations help them to envision a time long, long ago. The relationships between a young girl, her father, her true love, and her country are depicted with emotion, struggle, and beauty by both the author and the illustrators. However, the most appealing aspect of this story is Aida herself. She is a strong woman of royal blood that holds her head high in the face of adversity and yet struggles to do right by all those she loves. She is a true heroine and children's literature must continue to produce such women for generations to come.

I was only about 10 or 11 when my PATS class was studying the arts. I was given this book as a gift, and brought it to the class. The teacher then got the information from my book to buy it for herself. To this very day I have an appreciation for the arts, and especially Aida. Even though I cannot find my book, I still have the cover, and the memories. The tale is beautifully written, and the exceptional artwork in my opinion should be enlarged and framed. I recommend this beautiful book as a teaching tool for young students.

In the romantic book, Aida, Leontyne Price takes you to a new time and place where your position on the "food chain" doesn't matter. Aida is an Ethiopian princess whose father, the king, is at war with the Egyptians. When Aida was on her first trip over the kingdom wall some Egyptian soldiers kidnapped her without knowing that she was the princess. She was taken to the king of Egypt and made a slave to the princess of Egypt, Amneris. One day while Aida was doing her duties she saw the Captain of the Egyptian army, Radames, and for them both it was love at first sight. They secretly spent time with each other and spoke of running away to Ethiopia and getting married so that their lands can forever live in harmony, only to find out that after a great victory of Radames's that he was to marry princess Amneris. Aida, feeling betrayed tells Radames, that if he loves her, then he will run away with her tonight. That was a very hard decision for him to make because he couldn't bare the thought of never seeing Aida again but he also didn't want to leave his home land. But in the end he chose to leave. So when they started to run, someone caught them and Radames gave himself up but Aida managed to escape. Will Radames and Aida ever see each other again? Or will Radames die a horrible death? Read to find out.

I read this book and marvelled at the incredible illustrations. I'm a teacher, so I shared it with my young students. They didn't understand everything, but they sure did appreciate the artwork and story line. I'm buying it again as a gift for my niece's 12th birthday. She is obsessed with Egypt and Egyptian subjects. The Aida Broadway production recently came through Austin at the Bass Concert Hall, but we were unable to attend. This truly is the next best thing. When read correctly, it pleases the senses so much more (or as much as to some people) than hearing the production.

This particular book of Aida (there are others) is the most exceptional because the story is written by Leontyne Price, the actress who actually played Aida on stage and the magnificent illustrations by Leo and Diane Dillon. The book is simple and romantic but the most important part that many of the book's fans don't mention (or notice) is the realistic illustrations by the Dillons. The Ethiopians and the Egyptians are depicted exactly as they should be: African. And the fact that the pictures are drawn with vivid colors and patterns with a great legendary storyline proves the fact that a book about two black lovers can be just as passionate and captivating as white European love stories.

I used the superlative illustrations, mounted on a large folding display board, to accompany a report on the opera Aida.

Most of my students would never think of going to an opera. The picture book Aida brings the story of the opera to them in a way they can relate to. The illustrations are rich and introduce a world that my students might never know otherwise.