Princesses, birds celestial and enchanted, trickster gods, sheep, birch fairies, goddesses and witches from Europe, the British Isles, Japan, Africa, the West Indies and ancient Egypt all dance in this attractive collection of eight tales. They perform waltzes, polkas and reels, the limbo, flamenco and belly dancing, stylized Noh and Malian funeral ceremonial dancing. Stories range from the familiar "Twelve Dancing Princesses" from Germany to "When the Goddess Danced" from ancient Egypt. Each story is introduced with a couple of paragraphs incorporated into the multipage table of contents, and at the end of the book, there’s a how-to on the dances and information on what costumes are worn. The accompanying CD, read beautifully by British actress Juliet Stevenson, has a brief musical introduction to each story that helps set the mood. The watercolor illustrations swirl about in appropriately Terpsichorean fashion. A useful collection for reading aloud and for adding flavor to musical programs and national studies. The bibliography includes many websites. Step lively! (Folktales. 7-12)
