The Music of Life: Bartolomeo Cristofori & the Invention of the Piano

Award-winning biographer Elizabeth Rusch and two-time Caldecott Honor-recipient Marjorie Priceman team up to tell the inspiring story of the invention of the world's most popular instrument: the piano.

Bartolomeo Cristofori coaxes just the right sounds from the musical instruments he makes. Some of his keyboards can play piano, light and soft; others make forte notes ring out, strong and loud, but Cristofori longs to create an instrument that can be played both soft and loud.

His talent has caught the attention of Prince Ferdinando de Medici, who wants his court to become the musical center of Italy. The prince brings Cristofori to the noisy city of Florence, where the goldsmiths' tiny hammers whisper tink, tink and the blacksmiths' big sledgehammers shout BANG, BANG! Could hammers be the key to the new instrument?

At last Cristofori gets his creation just right. It is called the pianoforte, for what it can do. All around the world, people young and old can play the most intricate music of their lives, thanks to Bartolomeo Cristofori's marvelous creation: the piano.

Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Published: 04/18/2017
Pages: 48
Weight: 1.2lbs
Size: 12.10h x 9.30w x 0.40d
ISBN: 9781481444842
Age: Ages 4-8

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 5.9
Point Value: 0.5
Interest Level: Lower Grade
Quiz #/Name: 189202 / Music of Life: Bartolomeo Cristofori & the Invention of the Piano


Review Citation(s):
Booklist 02/01/2017 pg. 33
Kirkus Reviews 02/15/2017 pg. 135
Publishers Weekly 02/27/2017
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 04/01/2017 - Book Of Special Distinction
School Library Journal 04/01/2017 pg. 166
Horn Book Magazine 07/01/2017 pg. 158
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2017 pg. 213 - Superior,Well Above Average

About the Author
Elizabeth Rusch is an award-winning children's book author and magazine writer. Her books include The Mighty Mars Rovers, For the Love of Music: The Remarkable Story of Maria Anna Mozart, and Electrical Wizard: How Nikola Tesla Lit Up the World. She teaches nonfiction and children's literature at the Attic Institute in Portland, Oregon. Visit her online at ElizabethRusch.com.

Marjorie Priceman, illustrator of many acclaimed picture books, has won Caldecott Honors for her illustrations in Zin! Zin! Zin! A Violin! by Lloyd Moss and Hot Air: The (Mostly) True Story of the Frist Hot-Air Balloon Ride, which she also wrote. She lives in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.