By: George Ancona
Publisher: E.P. Dutton, 1979
Age Level: 9-12
OUT OF PRINT
If you can speak, you can sing. If you can walk, you can dance. All you have to do is kick, step, turn, hop, jump, reach, leap, and wiggle.
Come share the joy of dance with the children and adults from many countries who leap, turn, and boogie in the stunning photographs of this book. You’ll learn how dances changed when they were brought to the New World and how dancers can tell stories with their movements. Celebrate the Pueblo Harvest Festival and the Chinese New Year. Join tap dancers, contra dancers, ballerinas, and wheelchair dancers as they perform and share happy feelings.
Come, let’s dance!
- Notable Children’s Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies, 1999
“Jubilant dancers of all ages freeze in mid-rhythm in sharp photographs that show the styles, costumes, and occasions for native dances from around the world. The large-print is simple, allowing the vibrant photos and small-print captions to elaborate on the main points. On the spread that announces “Dancing is a way of celebrating”, the skirts of an Afghan wedding dancer swirl as she employs traditional movements to wish good luck to a bride and groom; the facing page features a scene from the lion dance performed to welcome the Chinese New Year. Couples enjoying country barn dances face a page of urban youths twirling to break dancing beats. Dancers costumed like a yak energetically recognize that animal’s contribution to Tibetan society, and colorfully gowned women of northern India pantomime and dance the story of jealous gods. This compact introduction to the art captures and conveys the author’s enthusiasm for dance.”