Customer Reviews

I, Vivaldi

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

 

 

Intended for young readers age seven to eleven, I, Vivaldi is a children's picturebook story about the childhood of classical violinist and composer Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741). Though there are a few author's liberties taken with Vivaldi's factual biography, most notably telling the story directly from Vivaldi's point of view, I, Vivaldi stays reasonably close to what history tells us of this remarkable music genius. Vivaldi's mother pushed him to enter the priesthood, but Vivaldi's first and foremost passion was his music - how was he to find his life's destiny? The text is moderately complex as picturebooks go, making I, Vivaldi ideal for young readers who are almost ready to make the transition to chapter books. Highly recommended.

I am always pleased to see new books about Vivaldi, especially when they are geared toward children and young readers. "I, Vivaldi" is a captivating picture book and story, appropriate for elementary age and up. I've used this book in music classes for this age, in conjunction with a unit on Vivaldi's "Four Seasons," and the children love relating the music to the composer's feelings, as the book's author does.

"I, Vivaldi" is beautifully illustrated, and the author is careful to separate fact from fiction in her endnotes. I would not hesitate to recommend this book to parents and teachers who want to introduce their young students to Vivaldi and his music.

Sarah Bruce Kelly
Author of THE RED PRIEST'S ANNINA

This book was very well done. We learn about Vivaldi from Vivaldi. He tells us about his life from his birth on. It was engaging and the illustrations truly added to the story.

At the end of the book there is a 'what is fact, what is fiction' section. The author stayed very close to the fact and the kids were interested in finding out what was different.

This book held their attention and taught us a lot. It's a book I'd buy for our home library.

*taken from my review at goodreads

On the day that Antonio Vivaldi was born he nearly died. To save him, his mother vowed he would become a priest. That vow would cause trouble, because Antonio wanted to be a musician like his father. But how? You will find out in this lively picture book biography which uses the known facts of his life and is true to Venice in glorious detail. A book for all ages.

I mistakenly purchased this book as a reference for a college paper on Vivaldi. The amount of fiction involved in the story made it unusable, but I'll admit it was a very nicely spun tale and is suitable for young children as an introduction to Vivaldi, although it gives his life more of a fable quality than he actually lived.

As for his mother promising to make him a priest if God spared his life at birth, well that may be true, but frankly his career choices in Venice at that time were limited to priest, sailor, or shopkeeper. Not much variety, and priest was the one career path that offered a decent education and salary, plus allowed him the freedom to pursue his passion for music.

This book takes my breath away. I became a collector of children's books
around 10 years ago when I took up a part time job in a bookstore. Today,
I have around 2000 overflowing my home. Some, purchases were mistakes, others
are very enjoyable still and some just make my day. This is one of them.

There is a "biography" of a wonderful artist, and as someone else stated
you don't write a paper around the information given in the book, but I
think it could easily pique the interest of a child who is reading the
book.

Also there are wonderful illustrations of glorious Venice. I love to
travel so I am always on the lookoneout for books that depict foreign
places. Venice, along with Paris, seems to be one of the top favorite
places for illustrators as well as travelers. Each illustration was
instantly recognizable as a place in the heart of Venice which brought back wonderful memories.

This book had me wanting to go pack my bags but that isn't possible right
now so I instead am enjoying Vivaldi on the stereo. I am also buying
a copy of the book for the nearly 8 year old granddaughter.