Let's Dance!

Let's Dance!
by Valerie Bolling; illus. by Maine Diaz
32 pages; ages 3 - 7
Boyds Mills Press, 2020

theme: dancing, rhyme, inclusion

Tappity-tap, fingers snap

Twist, twirl, slide, jeté! This verb-filled, rhyming book highlights dance moves from around the world. From ballet to disco, readers will feel their toes tapping to the rhythm of the words. Watch out! When you put the book down, you’ll want to leap, glide, and two-step across the floor.

What I like about this book: The action! With only four to six words per spread, author Valerie Bolling infuses the pages with movement. She captures the rhythm of dance in the rhythm of the language. Illustrator Maine Diaz captures the vibrancy of the diversity of dance from around the world, from Cuba’s cha-cha to the flowing long-sleeve dance from China.

I also like that there is just the right amount of back matter: a couple of sentences explaining each of the ten styles of dance.

A couple weeks ago, I caught up with Valerie by phone. We chatted about writing and kids – because that’s what happens when two teachers start talking – and dance. She graciously answered Three Questions:

Sally: Where did your inspiration come from?

Valerie: My inspiration for writing comes from my nieces. When they were young, they would spend a week with me a couple times a year. I began exploring the idea of writing children’s books. I also noticed that if you put music on, children dance!

Sally: I love that the pages are filled with action, with verbs. Can you talk about how that happened?

author Valerie Bolling

Valerie: I wanted to have fun with words in the same way that people have fun with dance. I’ve always loved to play with words and rhyme, though I confess to consulting an occasional online rhyming dictionary.

I had a couple of dances in mind as I began writing wiggle hips, dip, dip… Some of the phrases were inspired by dances I remembered from a wedding. And I remembered watching a young man in a wheelchair; he lifted up the front wheels and did a combination of zig-zag moves.

I give a lot of credit to my editor who saw the potential in expanding the concept to include dances from around the world. She knew I wanted to include diversity – of dance and children, and her vision helped bring it to kids on a global level. 

Sally: So, do you dance?

Valerie: Oh yes! Turn on the music and we’ll dance in the kitchen. I love to dance at weddings, on a cruise ship – wherever the music inspires me to tap my toes. The funny thing is, I never took a dance class until I went to college. Then I took an African dance class and learned the Kuku.


Beyond the Books:

Check out these videos of Kuku dance (Guinea) and Cha Cha ( Cuba)
 
Create your own dance. All you need is some music and enough space to move. Turn on the radio, spin the platter, or stream a tune and bust some moves.

Thanks to Valerie for joining us today. You can find out more about her at her website here. Today we're joining Perfect Picture Book Friday, an event where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copy provided by the publisher.

Dojo Daycare

Dojo Daytrip
by Chris Tougas
32 pages; ages 3-7
Owlkids Books, 2015

theme: adventure, bravery

The ninjas are going on a field trip!
"With Master leading, arm in arm, they leave the bus to tour the farm."

Living near a farm that hosts school field trips, I know that this is an exciting experience for kids. They can check out pumpkins, feed the goats... but what do ninjas do when they visit a farm?

Let me just say that lots of the spreads feature YIKES! and YEE-OW! Things that shouldn't happen do happen, involving chickens, scarecrows, a bull, and some crazy ninja stuff... Until their master is in peril and they must remember their ninja creed (always help) and rush to save him with ninja speed.

What I like about this book: It reminds us to pay attention and not forget the lessons we've learned. At the same time,  you just know these guys are going to get into all kinds of trouble. All I can say is: if you're going to hang out near the goats, make sure your pockets are zipped. Especially if your homework is folded up in there.

Beyond the book. Ninja were professional spies during the age of the samurai. You can learn about ninja history here. And you can learn more about Japanese history here.

If you want to learn the way of the ninja, you need to master the skills of walking silently, and camouflaging yourself using nature. This takes practice!

You also need to be able to run really fast and know how to disappear in a flash. Running is easy - just tie your sneakers and head outside and run every day. Eventually you'll get faster. Disappearing - not so easy.

Today is PPBF (perfect picture book Friday), an event in which bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's site. She keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books.  Review copy from the publisher.

Spectacular Spots ~ blog tour

Spectacular Spots
by Susan Stockdale
32 pages; ages 4-8
Peachtree Publisher, 2015

theme: nonfiction, animals

opening: 
Spots on creatures all around,
way up high and on the ground.

In simple and engaging rhyming text, Susan Stockdale explores where - in the animal world - we can find spots.

What I like: the action words. There are gliding snails, swimming turtles, crawling crabs and charging cheetahs. This is a fun book to read just for the language. I also love the illustrations... my favorites are the sea slugs and the spotted owls that you see on the cover.

I also like the back matter. There are two pages filled with additional information about the animals she includes, plus a "Find the Spot" challenge.

Beyond the book: Check out these blog-tour stops. At the Peachtree blog, Susan talks about her illustration process. And over at the Uncommon Corps Susan talks more about the research she does for her illustrations, and gives more examples of her process.

See Spot. Go on a Spot hike. Look for animals (birds, insects, pets) with spots and dots.

See Spot run. Write a list of action words to describe how animals with spots move.

See Spot count. Do you have any spots (freckles)? How many? Do you have a pet with spots? Try to count them.

See Spot paint. Draw or paint a portrait of your favorite spotted animal. OR make a mask out of a paper grocery bag. OR paint your face with spots.

Today's review is part of the STEM Friday roundup. Drop by STEM Friday blog for more science books and resources. We're also joining PPBF (perfect picture book Friday), an event in which bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's site. She keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books.  Review copy from the publisher.

One Duck Stuck

Usually I review new and newish books. But today I'm reaching deep into the WayBack basket for an old favorite that I haven't found on Susanna's list of Perfect Picture Books.

One Duck Stuck
by Phyllis Root; illus. by Jane Chapman
40 pages; ages 2-5
Candlewick Press, 1998

theme: working together; helping others

opening lines: Down by the marsh, by the sleepy, slimy marsh, one duck gets stuck in the muck, down by the deep green marsh. Help! Help! Who can help?

Different animals show up to help: two fish, three moose..... all the way up to ten dragonflies. Each group tries and tries to pull the duck out, but the duck stays stuck! Until they decide to work together. Which is my favorite spread in the book:

What I like love about this book: the creative language. Fish splish, moose clomp. Every creature has a word which may (or may not) be in the dictionary. And after tugging and pulling and pushing, the duck stays stuck in the swampy, chompy marsh. Or the pricky, sticky marsh.... each page brings new descriptions for the marsh. I also like that once the duck is rescued, he says "Thanks!" before flying off.

Beyond the book: This book features such wonderful language, so why not play with words? Go on a Verb hunt. Verbs are "action words", and Phyllis Root finds - or makes up - the perfect words to show how each animal moves in the marsh. Write down words that show how animals in your neighborhood move about. If you can't find the right word in a dictionary or thesaurus, make one up! Phyllis did.

Visit a park or marsh or some other place, and sit for awhile. Observe what's there, how it sounds, smells, feels. Then come up with a list of words to describe the place. In the book, the marsh is described as swampy, croaky, sticky.... What words can you find - or make up - to describe your place?

Pick up a pencil and draw. Jane Chapman has fun drawing all the creatures that come to help duck. So when you're out at your marsh (or park or pond) - draw some of the creatures you see. They don't have to look perfect - or even real. And if you want some tips on drawing - or painting- critters, check out Jane's activity page at her website.

Today is PPBF (perfect picture book Friday) over at  Susanna Leonard Hill's site. She keeps an ever-growing list of Perfect Picture Books.  Review copy from my local library.

Bring on the Demolition crew!

Demolition
by Sally Sutton; illus by Brian Lovelock
22 pages (board book)
Candlewick Press, 2014

My kids loved watching trucks and construction machinery. It didn't matter whether buildings were going up or bridges were coming down - they lived for the noise and rumble and the sight of a crew getting things done.

This is a fun book to read aloud for the rhymes and the noises. There are zips and snaps and cracks  creaks and bangs and crunches - each page is full of wonderful noises that kids will love to shout aloud.

Screech! Scrunch! Rip! Those are the sounds of machinery knocking things down. Those are the sounds of people at work. And after all the concrete has been hauled away, the steel recycled and the wood chipped... there's construction, and a place to play. Hip, hip, hooray!

Review copy provided by the publisher.

Riding in a One-Dog Sleigh

One-Dog Sleigh
by Mary Casanova; illus. by Ard Hoyt
32 pages; ages 4-8
Farrar Strauss Giroux, 2013

This is a fun, cumulative story that begins when a girl hitches her pony to her little red sleigh and invites her dog to hop in for a ride. "Just me and you in a one-dog sleigh."

They're off with harness bells a-jinglin' and the pony prancing and - oops! a squirrel falls down from a tree above and now it's a one-squirrel, one-dog sleigh. At least until they disturb the owl and a sleepy lynx and a four-point buck and a bear stuck in a tree...

But all those passengers help out when they've got to get to the top of a hill... and then it's smooth sailing downhill - until they hit a bump. And with a thump it's just "me and my pal in a one-dog sleigh."

This is a fun, bouncy rhyme that will have children imagining what creatures they might run into if they headed off for a ride in a one-dog sleigh. Don't be surprised if they pile their stuffed animals onto the plastic toboggan and prance around the backyard...
Review copy provided by publisher.

Castaway Cats

Castaway Cats

By Lisa Wheeler; illustrated by Ponder Goembel
32 pages, ages 4 and up

Atheneum/Richard Jackson Books, 2006

“On an island / in the ocean / near the land of Singapore,

midst a storm of great proportion,

fifteen cats were washed ashore.”

So begins Lisa Wheeler’s saga of shipwrecked cats – cats that, now stranded, must learn to sink or swim. Together. And that turns out to be as hard as … herding cats.

The rhymes are engaging and, if you’re up to singing, can accompany the tune “Oh My Darlin’ Clementine”. Every now and then Wheeler breaks the rhyme with a couplet that, not only furthers the story, but presents a mathematical relationship. For example:

  

“Fifteen cats by tempest blown –

Seven babes and eight full grown.”

The cats do not get along. They have … cat fights. But eventually they find a way to work together and, when escape becomes possible, decide to remain together, living on the island.

This is a fun book to read. In addition to math facts, there are delicious puns scattered through the pages.  Review copy from my bookshelf.