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

The book is a little wordy for a class tell out loud (not read along), but the pictures are great. The story is great. I use it with videos of harpsicord workings and then piano workings. The kids are fascinated.

My son is learning Piano and his teacher recommended this book. He loved the story and I even loved learning about the invention of the Piano! Such a great books for little muscians. It’s a bit big and more for older kids. 4+

I gave my 6-year-old daughter, who has been taking piano lessons for almost 2 years, this book as a part of Christmas gifts. I had a high expectation before the book arrived since I read the great reviews on this book. It arrived with a very tiny dent on one corner of the book, but that didn't bother me enough to return it. The day after Christmas, my daughter and I read it together, and I was so thrilled to find out that this book was actually beyond my expectation! The size of the book is bigger than I thought and it's already fun just to look at the beautiful pictures, but the wording, the story, and everything about this book was so perfect that we both were quickly drawn into it! My daughter had already been in love with the piano and practicing hard everyday, however, after we read this book, I feel that she respects and appreciates the instrument even more. I would recommend this book to everyone (any age, probably from 5 to adult). If you or your child play the piano, you will definitely love it!!

Well-written story about Cristofori and the beginnings of the forte-piano, precursor to the piano. Beautiful watercolor illustrations! Great background for older children and adults of the research and discoveries of the author in creating the book!

Well researched historical facts about the beginnings of the fortepiano. Great list in the back of piano playing samples from YouTube for children to look up. beautifully illustrated.

Could not have loved this book more! For the kids and me! I have a 7 & 4 yo. It was a hit!

I purchased this book for my piano students to be able to check out from our studio library. They have all loved it. The illustrations are beautiful and the story is well-told. I also appreciated that there were extra, detailed historical references and timelines in the back for further research. I highly recommend this book to anyone who cares to listen!

The child enjoys books, and also appreciates music, so hopefully this will encourage both activities as he grows.

I am an adult and I have passed ATCL piano, but I never knew this story of Cristofori. This book contains a well-written, interesting story and beautiful illustrations - I loved it! This is a Xmas gift for my 7 year old cousin who is making good progress in her piano studies. This book is great for younger readers to read with an adult, or for older readers to read alone.