A clever mix of dance, drama, and storytelling.
A young dancer watches his baby brother summon a talented dragon in this movement-centered picture book.
Danny loves dancing. He’s excited to meet his new baby brother, Denny, hoping they can dance together. Unfortunately, the narrator relates, “it turns out babies can’t even stand! Why hadn’t someone explained this to Danny?!” Despite this setback, Danny likes to be with his cute sibling, and he’s practicing his own moves when Denny’s baby dance and talk summon a dragon. Kadessa is an excellent dance partner; she’s performed with many fantastic creatures. Soon, Danny looks forward to Kadessa’s visits so much that he’s willing to mimic Denny’s baby dance to summon the dragon himself—but mostly he waits to share the magic with his sibling. This simple story by Once Upon a Dance doesn’t deliver much conflict—Danny quickly overcomes his disappointment about Denny’s lack of movement skills—but it offers readers the idea of performing the tale. On each page, White ballerina Konora (her stage name) provides instructions, accompanied by uncredited photographs of the dancer, on how to create the poses in the illustrations. She shows how readers can mimic moving like a dragon, a troll, or a fairy. Willems’ oil pastel images, which cast Danny as a ballet dancer with brown skin and curly brown hair, embrace the tale’s fantasy and practical aspects. Some details, such as eye position, occasionally look slightly off, but these small missteps don’t undermine the whimsical story.
A clever mix of dance, drama, and storytelling.Pub Date: May 11, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-73-687509-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Once Upon A Dance
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre.
Ice princess Lina must navigate family and school in this early chapter read.
The family picnic is today. This is not a typical gathering, since Lina’s maternal relatives are a royal family of Windtamers who have power over the weather and live in castles floating on clouds. Lina herself is mixed race, with black hair and a tan complexion like her Asian-presenting mother’s; her Groundling father appears to be a white human. While making a grand entrance at the castle of her grandfather, the North Wind, she fails to successfully ride a gust of wind and crashes in front of her entire family. This prompts her stern grandfather to ask that Lina move in with him so he can teach her to control her powers. Desperate to avoid this, Lina and her friend Claudia, who is black, get Lina accepted at the Hilltop Science and Arts Academy. Lina’s parents allow her to go as long as she does lessons with grandpa on Saturdays. However, fitting in at a Groundling school is rough, especially when your powers start freak winter storms! With the story unfurling in diary format, bright-pink–highlighted grayscale illustrations help move the plot along. There are slight gaps in the storytelling and the pacing is occasionally uneven, but Lina is full of spunk and promotes self-acceptance.
A jam-packed opener sure to satisfy lovers of the princess genre. (Fantasy. 5-8)Pub Date: June 25, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-35393-8
Page Count: 128
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2019
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