Kitchen Dance

Kitchen Dance

by Maurie J. Manning

A son and daughter wake to the sounds of their mother and father dancing to the tunes of clanging dishes. After noticing the kids peeking in on them, the mother and father sweep the children off their feet and the entire family finishes cleaning up the kitchen by doing the kitchen dance! Very cute story!

Red Dancing Shoes

Red Dancing Shoes

by Denise Lewis Patrick
illustrated by James E. Ransome

My daughter really enjoyed this book. It is about a girl who receives "the finest, reddest, shiniest shoes that anyone had ever seen." After thanking her grandmama for the wonderful gift, she dances off to show everyone in the neighborhood her new dancing shoes. However, while on her way to her favorite aunts house, she trips over a rock and her once shiny shoes become blotchy and muddy. After being consoled by her aunt, she is amazed as her aunt is able to clean and polish her shoes and make them look good as new! With her shiny, red shoes, she dances back home and Grandmama comments on how proud she is that her grand-daughter managed to go all the way to the store and her shoes still looked beautiful!

Dream Dancer

Dream Dancer 

by Jill Newsome
illustrated by Claudio Munoz

This book is about a girl and her love of dancing! She dances everywhere, even in her dreams! But, her dream turned into a nightmare when she fell and hurt her leg. In hopes of cheering Lily up, her grandma gave her a little dancing doll that she named Peggy. From that moment on, Lilly and Peggy were inseparable and when Lily was finally able to dance again, Peggy was right there with her!

Dancing in the Wings

Dancing in the Wings

by Debbie Allen

Illustrated by Kadir Nelson

I liked this book because I could identify with it. I am tall and for the longest time I disliked my height...until I discovered basketball. Then, being tall became a GOOD thing. The same is true for the main character, Sassy, and her love for ballet. This is a story about perseverance. She is encouraged to "make her mark." Despite ridicule about her long legs and big feet, Sassy works hard and no longer has to dance in the wings, but is able to take center stage! My daughter loves this book, however, I find that I skip over some of the words because I prefer to avoid the name-calling that is exchanged between Sassy and her fellow dancers as well as between Sassy and her brother. My daughter is old enough to understand that it is not okay to call people names. However, my boys are not at that age yet. So, when reading to book to all my kids I do skip over some sentences. Overall, I really like the book and the message. I wish I would have read it when I was growing up and struggling with my height!