I pulled these ages ago and I'm glad to finally be able to use them (and get them back into circulation, whoops!).
Miss Lina's Ballerinas
Grace Maccarone, illustrated by Christine Davenier
ISBN: 9780312382438
Eight dancers with names-that-rhyme-with-Lina live and go to school in-house, and they are very organized in their routine in their two rows of four dancers (shades here of Madeline) until a new dancer joins them and they must regroup into three rows of three. A later book has a boy joining the fun - these are silly and lighthearted and very fluffy.
Baby Dance (board book format)
Ann Taylor (original poet), illustrated by Marjorie van Heerden
ISBN: 0694012068
Colorful and fun - A Black father dances with his young daughter while the mother (referenced in the poem) rests on a couch behind them. Very Very short, but really cute and fun.
Color Dance
Ann Jonas
ISBN: 9780688059903
A representative variety of leotard-clad young dancers represent primary colors, as well as greyscale in this short and simple book that introduces the concept of color mixing through the visuals of fluttery translucent scarves which are danced about by the dancer representing that color. Lots of good interesting color names, and very direct concepts and clear artwork.
Showing posts with label dance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dance. Show all posts
Thursday, March 15, 2018
Tuesday, August 16, 2016
Tuesday Storytime: Zingy Blingy Rhythm
The Ring Went Zing! a story that ends with a kiss
Sean Taylor, illustrated by Jill Barton
ISBN: 9780803733114
Scratchy colored-pencil and watercolor anthropomorphic animals chase a ring, in growing numbers.
I Got the Rhythm
Connie Schofield-Morrison, illustrated by Frank Morrison
ISBN: 9781619631786
A delightful AA child beat-bops through a park associating rhythms with different senses and sounds.
Dancing Feet!
Lindsay Craig, illustrated by Marc Brown
ISBN: 9780375861819
A series of animal-feet-based "who does this" pages get kids involved, and then a splash page at the end has children and animals all dancing together.
Sean Taylor, illustrated by Jill Barton
ISBN: 9780803733114
Scratchy colored-pencil and watercolor anthropomorphic animals chase a ring, in growing numbers.
I Got the Rhythm
Connie Schofield-Morrison, illustrated by Frank Morrison
ISBN: 9781619631786
A delightful AA child beat-bops through a park associating rhythms with different senses and sounds.
Dancing Feet!
Lindsay Craig, illustrated by Marc Brown
ISBN: 9780375861819
A series of animal-feet-based "who does this" pages get kids involved, and then a splash page at the end has children and animals all dancing together.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
New Picture Book: A Dance Like Starlight, Kristy Dempsey & Floyd Cooper
A Dance Like Starlight: One Ballerina's Dream
Kristy Dempsey, illustrated by Floyd Cooper (A Beach Tail)
ISBN: 9780399252846
Lyrical text and dreamlike sepia-textured scenes show the inspiration of Janet Collins in 1951.
This is a perfect pairing for Firebird, and I foresee an influx of beautiful black ballerinas in years to come, inspired by these two lovely books. (I'm already doing a storytime with these two and Amazing Grace - it's just too perfect not to.)
A young girl stands in the wings and imagines dancing along with the ballet corps, while her seamstress mother creates the fantastic ballet costumes for the dancers. A sympathetic dancing master, and a mother determined to inspire her child bring them to the Met for the debut of Janet Collins dancing - four years before Marian Anderson's debut.
Again, the storyline is beautiful, and the racial issues, while apparent and clear, aren't judgmental or vindictive. The entire work is hopeful and joyful, and I hope that it inspires others to reach for their dreams and to take courage from those who have gone before.
Kristy Dempsey, illustrated by Floyd Cooper (A Beach Tail)
ISBN: 9780399252846
Lyrical text and dreamlike sepia-textured scenes show the inspiration of Janet Collins in 1951.
This is a perfect pairing for Firebird, and I foresee an influx of beautiful black ballerinas in years to come, inspired by these two lovely books. (I'm already doing a storytime with these two and Amazing Grace - it's just too perfect not to.)
A young girl stands in the wings and imagines dancing along with the ballet corps, while her seamstress mother creates the fantastic ballet costumes for the dancers. A sympathetic dancing master, and a mother determined to inspire her child bring them to the Met for the debut of Janet Collins dancing - four years before Marian Anderson's debut.
Again, the storyline is beautiful, and the racial issues, while apparent and clear, aren't judgmental or vindictive. The entire work is hopeful and joyful, and I hope that it inspires others to reach for their dreams and to take courage from those who have gone before.
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Tuesday Storytime: African American Dancing Dreams
Chalk another one down for my absurdly specific storytime themes!
It's not my fault, really. I ordered Firebird, and then A Dance Like Starlight came through as a new addition the same week, and I've loved Amazing Grace since forever (blame Reading Rainbow).
We started with Amazing Grace, because that one really is at the length-limit for my age-group, then I put Firebird in the middle, and A Dance Like Starlight at the end. The entire storytime was a little on the long side, but they all went together so well that I felt it was worth it. I did end up "abridging" Amazing Grace and Dance Like Starlight a little bit on the fly.
Amazing Grace
Mary Hoffman, illustrated by Caroline Binch
ISBN: 0803710402
Classic Reading Rainbow book about sexism, racism, and the power of acceptance.
Grace is an imaginative, dramatic girl who loves to act out stories. When her teachers decides to do a class performance of Peter Pan, Grace wants to be Peter - but her classmates disagree - she can't be Peter because she's a girl, and she can't be Peter because she's black. Her mother and grandmother disagree, and take her out to see a beautiful black ballerina performing in Romeo and Juliet. Grace learns her lines, auditions with her whole soul, and the whole class ends up agreeing that she will be a perfect Peter Pan. The final image of her in her costume is one of my favorite illustrations in a picture book.
Firebird
Misty Copeland, illustrated by Christopher Myers
ISBN: 9780399166150
Reviewed here,
I liked how it was so conceptually different from Amazing Grace, and the way the art and colors are so vivid and wild and surreal, but at the same time, very clear and understandable.
A Dance Like Starlight
Kristy Dempsey, illustrated by Floyd Cooper (A Beach Tail)
ISBN: 9780399252846
Reviewed here.
The sepia tones in this story felt much more drab compared to Firebird and Amazing Grace, but I don't think it detracted from the story. The text doesn't seem very long on the page, but when reading, it goes a lot more slowly, and it isn't very intuitive and flowing (at least it wasn't for me). I ended up eliding or abridging sections, especially because it was the last book and the wiggle-worms were out in full force.
It's not my fault, really. I ordered Firebird, and then A Dance Like Starlight came through as a new addition the same week, and I've loved Amazing Grace since forever (blame Reading Rainbow).
We started with Amazing Grace, because that one really is at the length-limit for my age-group, then I put Firebird in the middle, and A Dance Like Starlight at the end. The entire storytime was a little on the long side, but they all went together so well that I felt it was worth it. I did end up "abridging" Amazing Grace and Dance Like Starlight a little bit on the fly.
Amazing Grace
Mary Hoffman, illustrated by Caroline Binch
ISBN: 0803710402
Classic Reading Rainbow book about sexism, racism, and the power of acceptance.
Grace is an imaginative, dramatic girl who loves to act out stories. When her teachers decides to do a class performance of Peter Pan, Grace wants to be Peter - but her classmates disagree - she can't be Peter because she's a girl, and she can't be Peter because she's black. Her mother and grandmother disagree, and take her out to see a beautiful black ballerina performing in Romeo and Juliet. Grace learns her lines, auditions with her whole soul, and the whole class ends up agreeing that she will be a perfect Peter Pan. The final image of her in her costume is one of my favorite illustrations in a picture book.
Firebird
Misty Copeland, illustrated by Christopher Myers
ISBN: 9780399166150
Reviewed here,
I liked how it was so conceptually different from Amazing Grace, and the way the art and colors are so vivid and wild and surreal, but at the same time, very clear and understandable.
A Dance Like Starlight
Kristy Dempsey, illustrated by Floyd Cooper (A Beach Tail)
ISBN: 9780399252846
Reviewed here.
The sepia tones in this story felt much more drab compared to Firebird and Amazing Grace, but I don't think it detracted from the story. The text doesn't seem very long on the page, but when reading, it goes a lot more slowly, and it isn't very intuitive and flowing (at least it wasn't for me). I ended up eliding or abridging sections, especially because it was the last book and the wiggle-worms were out in full force.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Dancing in the Wings, Debbie Allen, illustrated by Kadir Nelson
Sassy is tall. She has long gangly legs, and huge feet. She's also a ballerina, and quite proud of her height - mostly. Her brother teases her about it, but she gives as good as she gets, and keeps on working hard at her dancing.
Still, being tallest is not the greatest thing - her ballet teacher stumbles over Sassy's feet, she can't dance partner work because she's taller than all the boys, and she can't even dance in ensemble with the other girls because she's too tall to fit in.
When a famous Russian instructor offers try-outs for a summer dance festival in DC, she's excited and proudly signs up to audition, but the snickers and cracks from her fellow dancers, and from her brother, finally get to her. Maybe she is too tall and gangly? Maybe her feet are too big? Maybe - maybe it would be safer just not to try out at all...?
A pep talk from a favorite uncle cheers her up and gets her confidence back up to par, and she attends the audition in her brightest yellow leotard, determined to be noticed, and to do her best.
I love this story. I've read it before, and I liked it then, too. I'll never be a ballerina (I'm pigeon-toed with weird hips) but I am pretty tall for a girl - 5'10" in my bare feet. I'm married to a lovely guy who happens to be 6'6". His sisters all break the 6' mark. We were all swimmers, and we all have legs that practically reach our armpits.
I'm gonna have me some tall kids eventually, I just know it. Books like this one are perfect for me to keep in mind when they get a little older, because kids (and adults) can be really cruel about physical differences. It takes a lot of repetition for someone who's always singled out for being different to realize that sometimes different can be really really good! All it takes is one look at that picture of Sassy in her bright yellow, head bowed in disappointment (temporary) with those looooong skinny legs, and I know right where she's coming from. This book is a keeper.
Still, being tallest is not the greatest thing - her ballet teacher stumbles over Sassy's feet, she can't dance partner work because she's taller than all the boys, and she can't even dance in ensemble with the other girls because she's too tall to fit in.
When a famous Russian instructor offers try-outs for a summer dance festival in DC, she's excited and proudly signs up to audition, but the snickers and cracks from her fellow dancers, and from her brother, finally get to her. Maybe she is too tall and gangly? Maybe her feet are too big? Maybe - maybe it would be safer just not to try out at all...?
A pep talk from a favorite uncle cheers her up and gets her confidence back up to par, and she attends the audition in her brightest yellow leotard, determined to be noticed, and to do her best.
I love this story. I've read it before, and I liked it then, too. I'll never be a ballerina (I'm pigeon-toed with weird hips) but I am pretty tall for a girl - 5'10" in my bare feet. I'm married to a lovely guy who happens to be 6'6". His sisters all break the 6' mark. We were all swimmers, and we all have legs that practically reach our armpits.
I'm gonna have me some tall kids eventually, I just know it. Books like this one are perfect for me to keep in mind when they get a little older, because kids (and adults) can be really cruel about physical differences. It takes a lot of repetition for someone who's always singled out for being different to realize that sometimes different can be really really good! All it takes is one look at that picture of Sassy in her bright yellow, head bowed in disappointment (temporary) with those looooong skinny legs, and I know right where she's coming from. This book is a keeper.
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