Picture Books & Pirouettes

Happy 50th Anniversary to The Snowy Day!

2012-01-30T07:45:00.000-05:00

Read It. Move It. Share It.

For our January collaboration, I decided to recommend The Snowy Day for dance educator Maria Hanley to incorporate into her creative movement classes in New York City. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the book, which is being honored in the media, through a national museum tour, and even in a new children's musical this year. You can celebrate it in dance class, too!

Last week, the American Library Association announced the winners of some of the most prestigious annual awards in children's literature. Among them was the Randolph Caldecott Medal, which was awarded to A Ball for Daisy as the most distinguished American picture book of 2011. If you click here, you can see a full list of Caldecott winners and honor books from 1938 until today, including the 1963 winner The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats.

This groundbreaking book was the first picture book to include an African American child as a main character, paving the way for the multicultural environment we more often see in picture books today. The book also stands out for its simple yet magical illustrations. The main character Peter is dressed in a bright red snow suit and iconic red snow cap through most of the book as he spends an adventurous day outside in the newly fallen snow.

And what, you might be asking, makes this a good book for a children's dance class? Well, here is one of my favorite passage from the book, which convinced me that Peter possesses many of the same qualities that a dancer does. In fact, I bet Peter would have loved to take Maria's creative movement classes!

Crunch, crunch, crunch, his feet sank into the snow. He walked with this toes pointing out like this. He walked with his toes pointing in, like that. Then he dragged his feel s-l-o-w-l-y to make tracks. And he found something sticking out of the snow that made a new track.

First of all, Peter is curious. He's curious to see what kind of tracks he can make in the snow with his feet. And later in the book, he's curious to see what happens when he smacks a snow-covered tree with a stick he finds on the ground. PLOP! It lands on his head! Peter is also creative. He not only thinks up lots of neat ways to move his feet through the snow but also pretends he's a mountain climber when he encounters a huge mound of snow later in the book.

And, like all passionate dancers, Peter loves to move! From the passage above, you know that he likes to move his feet in different directions and in different tempos. But he also likes to flap his arms, like when he makes snow angels. And he likes to move his whole body, like when he climbs up the snow mound and then slides all the way to the bottom, hands in the air and snow flying behind him.

I'm sure Peter thought of lots of other things to do in the snow, too, since he was outside all day. And this makes me wonder what ideas Maria came up with to encourage movement in her creative dance classes. Did her students move like Peter moves in the book, or did Peter inspire them to move in other ways? You can find out here.

After you read Maria's post, if you still want to know more about The Snowy Day and how it is being celebrated this year, here are some articles and sites worth checking out...

More background about the book and its lasting impact on children's literature can be found in The Washington Post and The New York Times.

Publisher Viking Children's Books has issued a special 50th anniversary edition of the book, including eight pages of bonus material. Read more about this special edition and about a museum tour honoring the book here.

Adventure Theatre, a popular children's theatre based outside of Washington, DC, recently premiered a musical based on the book. The show has been well received, and more performances have been added in February 2012. Learn more here.

If you want to know more about Ezra Jack Keats, the many books he created during his lifetime, and all the good that has come out of his life and his work, visit the beautiful website of the Ezra Jack Keats Foundation.

Here, There and Everywhere!

2012-01-19T10:32:00.003-05:00

It's true that I haven't posted much on my own blog this month. But, I've been featured in a few other places around the blogosphere that I'm really excited about. Here's a little roundup of sorts...

I've collaborated with independent publisher Barefoot Books a few times on my blog and am a long-time fan of their books, so I was thrilled when they asked me and Maria Hanley (from Maria's Movers) to be guests on their popular blog. Here's our post on Living Barefoot, where we offer its readers some practical tips on incorporating movement into reading time at home. You might remember that Maria and I have our own collaboration every month in which we explore picture books and how they can be incorporated into creative movement classes. You can check out our archive here.

Last year, Nichelle Strzepek from Dance Advantage asked me to write a review of dance picture books published in 2010. I'm so happy that she asked me to write a review of books published in 2011, too. You can read my 2011 review here. And speaking of Nichelle at Dance Advantage, thank you again to everyone who voted for me in her Top Dance Blogs of 2011 contest. I came in 16th out of the 32 blogs that entered!

I recently discovered a wonderful blog called the ABCs of Reading, where elementary school teacher Jayne Gammons gives recommendations on how to use the arts to teach reading comprehension. And she does it all with picture books! Earlier this month, Jayne highlighted creative movement ideas that Maria Hanley came up with based on a picture book I recommended during our monthly collaboration. You can see that blog post here, but I also recommend taking a look around Jayne's whole website. I just love the concept of her blog!

Since we are on the topic of roundups, don't forget to submit a post to my January Read & Romp Roundup if you've blogged about picture books or children's poetry combined with dance, yoga, or any form of movement lately. You can read more about the roundup and leave your links here. Submissions are open until January 31, 2012!

Introducing the Read & Romp Roundup!

2012-01-10T14:28:00.005-05:00

I'm glad you stopped by today because I'm launching something new! The Read & Romp Roundup is going to be a monthly feature in which I invite you to submit your own blog posts that combine picture books or children's poetry with dance, yoga, or other forms of movement. All you have to do is leave a comment with a link to your post, and I'll gather up all the links and summarize them in a new post when the month is over.

I'll accept book reviews, poems, lesson plans, author or illustrator interviews, ideas for dance or yoga classes, and any other creative thoughts you have about combining children's literature and movement for little ones. I'll post about each monthly roundup around the middle of the month, and entries will be open until the last day of that month. So that means you have until January 31st to submit a post for this month! Just leave a link to your post in a comment on this post, and I'll take it from there.

I've realized that several of you blog (at least occasionally) about topics similar to mine, so I thought this would be a fun way to create a small community of bloggers who are integrating children's literature and movement. I also know that many dance teachers, librarians, and parents enjoy combining picture books with movement, so I thought this feature could become a helpful resource for them as well.

So whether you contribute posts to the roundup or just want to stop by from time to time to see what we're up to, I hope you'll enjoy this new feature. As the year continues, I'll be archiving each month's roundup under the "Read & Romp Roundup" tab at the top of my blog.

Please let me know if you have any questions, as I have a feeling we'll have to make up some of the rules as we go along. I'm looking forward to seeing your January posts!

Top Dance Blogs: Please Vote for Me!

2011-12-27T21:25:00.005-05:00

I am so happy to let you know that Picture Books & Pirouettes made it into the top 20 of the Top Dance Blogs of 2011 contest, which is being hosted by one of my favorite blogs--Dance Advantage. And I am shocked--and thrilled--that I also made it into the top three blogs in the Teacher Talk category.

Thank you so much to everyone who supported me in the first round of the competition. I couldn't have done it without you! But...the contest is not over. I still need your votes!

If you go here, you can cast your votes in the final round of the competition. You can vote for Picture Books & Pirouettes as your favorite overall dance blog, and you can vote for Picture Books & Pirouettes in the Teacher Talk category. Polls close on January 4, 2012. No comments needed this time. Simply choose my blog from a list, and hit the "vote" button. It's that simple!

Thank you for supporting my blog throughout all of 2011. Your readership means so much to me. Happy New Year!

An Interview with Author Doreen Cronin

2011-12-26T08:58:00.003-05:00

December is winding down, and what a month it has been! My youngest daughter turned 5, we survived her art and cupcake party (where the kids used acrylic paints and real canvases to make cupcake masterpieces), and we made it through all the holiday planning and have been sitting back and enjoying some good old fashioned family time.

As the month nears its end, my blog's December of Doreen is also nearly over. I hope you've enjoyed learning a little more about the picture books Wiggle, Bounce, and Stretch and that you have some fresh ideas for using them to foster movement and yes--even yoga--among the little ones in your life. To finish off the month, Doreen Cronin kindly answered a few questions I had for her over email about this series of books. Enjoy...and happy holidays, everyone!

Wiggle, Bounce, and Stretch are such fun and simple movement books that all children can relate to. What inspired you to choose these themes for the books?

Wiggle was such a deviation from the normal turn of things. Scott Menchin had already created the dog and some of the art and was working on a book about wiggling, but wasn't completely satisfied with it. My agent (also Scott's agent) sent the art to me and asked me if I would take a crack at it, so I did! It was the first time I had ever started with art and worked backwards! I loved the result, and the feedback was so good that we decided to do two more books.

All three books exude joy, movement, and childish mischief. I can only imagine they were a lot of fun to create. Can you tell us a little bit more about your process for creating them?

Once we had Wiggle, we knew the other two books would be about movement as well. With the dog already created, it really became a matter of "what else can we do with him?" Scott's art is so fun, whimsical, and accessible -- I think it's perfect for young readers.

The dog character is truly adorable. Ever thought of giving the dog a name...for fun?

I sometimes ask children what they would name the dog -- I like that it's open-ended. It's also a recurring theme in my books (by accident!) to have characters with no names! The Wiggle dog, Worm, Spider, Fly, Duck, the Cows. Farmer Brown is the only one who has an actual name!

I know it's like asking you which of your children you prefer, but do you happen to have a favorite of these three books? Or does one of them resonate with you more than the others for some reason?

I really depends on my mood (or actually, my daughter's moods)! I spent five days in Kansas reading (and wiggling) with kids all over the state after Wiggle was chosen for the Kansas Reads to Preschoolers program in 2009. I had so much fun -- and wiggled with so many kids, parents, and educators -- that Wiggle now evokes great memories for me!

Congratulations on your newest picture book, M.O.M. (Mom Operating Manual)...and on your first chapter book, The Trouble with Chickens. Any other books in the works that you want to mention? And any chance you will continue your collaboration with Scott Menchin and create another movement-themed picture book?

Right now there are no plans for another movement book. But Scott and I also did a book called Rescue Bunnies together, and I hope to work with him again and again in the future!

Boing.... Boing.... Boing....

2011-12-22T10:16:00.004-05:00

Read It. Move It. Share It.

This month I'm recommending the picture book Bounce for independent dance educator Maria Hanley to incorporate into her creative movement classes in New York City. This post is also part of a December of Doreen, in which I'm featuring three movement-themed books by author Doreen Cronin and illustrator Scott Menchin. After reading the post, bounce on over to Maria's blog to see how she used the book in her classes.

Although Bounce was not the final book published in the movement-based series I'm highlighting on my blog this month, I've saved it for last because it holds a special place in my heart.

In the summer of 2007, when my family was in the midst of moving from California to the Washington, DC area, we spent some time at my mom's house in Florida. And while we were there, we of course visited the local bookstore. My older daughter was two and a half at the time, and my younger daughter was several months shy of one. My mom and I together bought several books for the girls that day, but one of the only ones I specifically remember picking out is Bounce. I know we had lots of board books and a few picture books already, but I think of that moment as the start of the hand-picked collection of picture books that we truly cherish now as a family.

As a mother and as a lover of movement, it was hard to resist the bouncy rhythm of the text and the antics of the fun-loving dog who bounces in all sorts of ways--ranging from pretty normal to fairly outlandish--throughout the book. Here's one of my favorite stanzas...

It's hard to bounce in roller skates.

It's fun to bounce on poles.

If hippos bounced from place to place,

imagine all the holes!

I just love that part about the hippos, and I love the illustration that goes with it. There is a huge hippo that covers a large portion of a two-page spread, and it's obvious that he is bouncing. Many large holes, made by his feet, are scattered about the pages. And in the right-hand corner of the spread, our fun-loving dog friend is peeking just his head and two front paws out of the hole. Adorable.

Just as the book provides plenty of entertaining ways to bounce, it also cautions readers--in a truly delightful way--about some of the ways they probably shouldn't be bouncing. The illustration that makes me laugh the most shows the dog diving headfirst into a large pile of fruit, with the text mentioning that if you must bounce in the market, then it's probably best not to bounce in the fruits. I absolutely love the ending of the book, too. I won't give away the illustration on the final spread, but the combination of the art and the following text always gives me a chuckle...

A bounce can turn into a bump,
a bump into a fall.
But it's better to have bounced and bumped...
than never to have bounced at all!

So, I don't know about you, but I am excited to see how Maria has decided to use this book in her creative movement classes. Little ones are naturally good bouncers, and I'm sure Maria has thought up some innovate ways to take advantage of their innate ability! You can read her post here.

In case this is the first post you've read in my December of Doreen series, you can read more about the other posts here. I'll be ending the month with an interview with Doreen Cronin herself. Stay tuned!

Guest Post for Little Yogis: Ready... Set... Stretch!

2011-12-14T22:35:00.008-05:00

The picture book Stretch, published in 2009, is the third book in Doreen Cronin's series for little movers. (You can read more about the series here.) If you compare the covers of Wiggle and Stretch, you can see that the dog from the book has evolved over time. He seems just a little bit crisper and a little bit cuter than he did when the series began, don't you think? He's also gotten even more creative and is now doing yoga!

Today's guest post is by speech-language pathologist and children's yoga specialist Angela Moorad, who is also the founder of OMazing Kids Yoga, LLC. Angela was nice enough to take time out of her busy schedule to share her ideas for using the book Stretch in yoga classes for kids, including those with special needs. Thanks so much, Angela!

I typically develop each of my OMazing Kids Yoga lesson plans around a children's picture book. Books provide a clear beginning and end, and they provide visual information for us to build on during class. Many of the children I work with have special needs, so providing this extra structure is helpful for them.

One of the characteristics I love about Stretch is that it provides opportunities for multiple yoga poses and activities on each page, so it's easy to adapt to the needs of any child or group. The book also provides good opportunities for children to learn new vocabulary, rhyming words, adjectives, inferences, and skills for prediction.

Can you stretch to the ceiling? Can you stretch to the floor?

You can stretch with a whisper, you can stretch with a roar!

Below is a partial list of poses and activities I use with the book. I don't do all of them with every group of kids, but I pick the ones that are the best match for the kids' needs, interests, and abilities on any particular day! All of the poses and activities are inspired by words and images from the book:

Dog pose: We typically do upward facing dog rather than downward facing dog in my OMazing Kids Yoga groups because of contraindications to downward facing dog for certain medical conditions.
Cat pose: There is a leopard in the book, so I have the kids do the cat pose, name different body parts, and then pat "spots" onto the different body parts.
Fish pose: We don't use the traditional fish pose in OMazing Kids Yoga because of the risk that many of our kids, especially those with Down Syndrome, might hyperextend their necks. Depending on the kids in the group, we either do the sign for fish or lay on our bellies and do a swimming motion.
Mountain pose: We actually do the mountain pose with one arm lifted high, to represent the Statue of Liberty, which is shown in the book.
We also do many yoga poses for other animals and objects that appear in the book, including a giraffe, mouse, lion, crab, peacock, boat, and tree.
Blowing feathers: Using white craft feathers that "fluff" at the bottom and have a stiffer top, we notice how just a little puff of air is needed to move the fluffy part of the feather, while a bigger breath is needed to move the stiffer part.
Apple picking: This stretch can be done either sitting or standing. I have the kids stretch their arms over their heads to reach apples high in a tree. Depending on the kids in the group, I may also hold up a picture of an apple to give them something to actually reach for.
Namaste yarn game: One child holds a ball of yarn, says something he or she likes about another child in the class, and then rolls the yarn to that child. The second child does the same thing with another child, and this continues until all the children have had a turn. At the end of the game, the pattern of yarn that the kids have formed shows them how we are all connected.

Want to hear the entire book Stretch? Watch Sesame Street's Elmo and Maria read and discuss it during the 2010 White House Easter Egg Roll here. And finally, here is a coloring sheet I made to use alongside the book in OMazing Kids Yoga. We often do simple coloring as part of relaxation at the end of class.

Angela Moorad holds a master's degree in speech-language pathology from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences and has more than 21 years of experience working with children with a wide range of developmental disabilities, including autism spectrum disorders. She also teaches adapted yoga for children with special needs at the J. D. McCarty Center, volunteers to teach children's yoga at Oklahoma City Educare, and founded OMazing Kids Yoga, LLC to promote inclusive yoga for children of all abilities. OMazing Kids Yoga has a Facebook page, blog, and YouTube channel where Angela shares her ideas and experiences.

Perfect Picture Book Friday: Wiggle!

2011-12-09T08:14:00.004-05:00

One of the first things babies do--even before they learn how to eat, or to babble, or to sit--is to wiggle. And then they keep on wiggling and wiggling and wiggling some more throughout their toddler years and beyond. No wonder Wiggle, the first picture book collaboration between author Doreen Cronin and illustrator Scott Menchin, was such a success. It's all about wiggling!

Children's author Susanna Leonard Hill has started a feature on her blog called Perfect Picture Book Fridays, which is part of a resource she's developing for parents and teachers who are looking for high-quality picture books to combine with educational activities at home and in the classroom. Every Friday Susanna takes recommendations to add to the resource, and I'm recommending Wiggle this week. As you might have guessed from its title alone, Wiggle would also be a great addition to any dance teacher's picture book collection!

General Information

Title: Wiggle
Author: Doreen Cronin
Illustrator: Scott Menchin
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers (an imprint of Simon & Schuster)
Date of publication: 2005
Genre: Fiction
Age: Preschool and younger

Themes

Animals
Movement
Wiggling

Opening and Synopsis

Do you wake up with a wiggle? Do you wiggle out of bed?

If you wiggle with your breakfast, it might wind up on your head.

An adorable beige and brown dog is the star of the book, and Cronin's upbeat rhyming text gives him lots of ideas for wiggling. He wiggles with his breakfast, wiggles with his animal friends, wiggles different body parts, and even wiggles in his underwear!

More About the Book

I love picture books written in rhyme, and the rhyme in this book is especially creative. Who knew there were so many ways to wiggle! I also love the expressions on the dog's face and the childlike quality of the illustrations. The dog and other animals are drawn with black outlines that are colored in, but the coloring doesn't quite make it inside the lines all the time. This just adds to the book's charm, as do the actual photographs of objects like a pancake, a rubber duck, and a toy ball that are incorporated into the art and sprinkled throughout the book. On one page, the dog is even wearing a sweater and hat made out of real yarn (or at least a photograph of real yarn). Neat!

Resources

Wiggle was chosen as the 2009 book for the Kansas Reads to Preschoolers project. Created as part of the project, this impressive 55-page toolkit contains more than 30 activities for preschoolers that are all related to the book. The activities focus on reading, movement, math, crafts, and more!
Simon & Schuster has put a variety of games, worksheets, and coloring pages together into this activity kit that can be used alongside the book and its sequel Bounce (which I'll talk about in more detail in an upcoming post). They're sure to keep kids wiggling, bouncing, and thinking, too!

In addition to being Perfect Picture Book Friday, today is Poetry Friday. So there are now two great reasons to explore the kidlitosphere at the end of every week! Today's Poetry Friday host is Robyn Hood Black at Read, Write, Howl. You'll be sure to find lots of original poetry and posts about other books in verse there.

And to see what others are recommending for today's Perfect Picture Book Friday, click here. You can also find the full resource of Perfect Picture Books, which has a whole category devoted to the arts, here. Happy Friday, everyone!

This post is also part of a December of Doreen on my blog. You can find a list of all the posts in the series here. They are all related to Doreen Cronin and her movement-themed books!

A December of Doreen.... and a Dog!

2011-12-04T14:42:00.015-05:00

Picture book author Doreen Cronin may be best known for her book Click, Clack, Moo: Cows that Type, which was named a 2001 Caldecott honor book and started her prolific career as a children's writer. However, Cronin is the author of 13 additional picture books, plus a chapter book, and is also juggling a handful of additional projects that will hopefully hit bookshelves soon. You can find an up-to-date list of her books here.

I decided to feature "A December of Doreen" on my blog for a couple of reasons. First of all, I thought it had kind of a nice ring to it! But more importantly, I wanted to feature some of Cronin's movement-themed picture books, particularly a series of three books that would make great accompaniments to any movement-based class for very young children. With single-word titles that say it all, Wiggle, Bounce, and Stretch are simple, humorous books that are bound to get the little ones moving and smiling--all with the help of an adorable dog (drawn by illustrator Scott Menchin) that you'll get to know a little better over the next few weeks.

So stay tuned for a month of fun posts about the books, including a guest post by Angela Moorad from OMazing Kids Yoga and an interview with Doreen Cronin herself. I'll also list the posts here as they go live. I'm super excited and hope you are, too!

Sing, Dance and Create with the Shape Song!

2011-11-30T08:19:00.001-05:00

Read It. Move It. Share It.

Each month I recommend a picture book for dance educator Maria Hanley to use in her children's dance classes in New York City. This month I chose a new title from Barefoot Books called The Shape Song Swingalong. I hope you're ready for some sing-along swing-along fun!

Quite a while ago, Maria mentioned to me that she was interested in exploring shapes with her little ones, so I've been on the lookout for some good picture books about shapes. I had already discovered a few treasures at our local library and was about to recommend one when I came across The Shape Song Swingalong.

I may still recommend the other book a little later, but for now The Shape Song Swingalong was just too much fun to pass up. Based on a song written and sung by SteveSongs, this book is all about shapes--specifically lines, circles, rectangles, and triangles--and the many fun things you can create with them.

Along with the words to the song, the bright and childlike illustrations by David Sim show how you can use the shapes to make houses, pencils, animals, sand castles, and just about anything else you’d like to make. And one of the reasons I really like this book is that it incorporates so many of the arts, including dance, into this concept.

I have a shape collection and I use it to create

Anything I want to see or be or do or make.

Is it work? Is it play? Is it music? Is it art?

With my shape collection all I need to do is start...

Many of the illustrations also show four multicultural children, each one of them representing a different shape. One of my favorite spreads shows the kids making their respective shapes with their arms. It reminds me of how fun it is to make the letters Y-M-C-A over your head to the classic Village People song of the same name. Similarly, I think kids would enjoy making lines, circles, rectangles, and triangles when they hear The Shape Song Swingalong.

Even more fun would be making shapes to the actual shape song, which comes as a CD with the book. Wait until you hear its catchy refrain, which is so hard to get out of your head once you’ve heard it!

If you've read this far, and perhaps are bouncing in your chair or singing the refrain of the song yourself, then we have a giveaway for you! Barefoot Books is kindly giving away a copy of The Shape Song Swingalong and accompanying CD to one lucky reader of my blog or Maria's blog.

If you win the book, Maria and I will want to know how you end up using it with the little ones in your life--be that in a dance class, in a traditional school setting, at home, or somewhere else. We really want this giveaway to help promote movement and creativity, so you'll have to write us back with the details of your book-related activities.

So, if you're still reading this post and would love a copy of the book, there are three ways you can enter the giveaway. If you do one of them, you will be entered once. If you do two, you will be entered twice. And if you do all three, you will have three chances to win:

Leave a comment on this post letting me know what your favorite type of creating is. Mine is creating stories with words, but I also love creating arts & crafts with my kids.
Leave a comment on Maria's post letting her know what your favorite shape is and why. Also check out her post to see how she used the book in her classes!
Like Barefoot Books on Facebook and then let either me or Maria know in a separate comment.

Leave your comments by 11:59 pm EST on December 7, 2011. Maria and I will then pool the responses and randomly pick a winner. If you'd like to learn more about the book in the meantime, you can check out this interview with SteveSongs via the Barefoot Books blog. Have fun!

UPDATE: Congratulations to Liz Vacco, the winner of our Shape Song Swingalong giveaway! Liz is a performer, choreographer, and dance educator in Los Angeles who will be using the book with some of her students soon. We look forward to hearing how it goes!

Top Dance Blogs of 2011: I Need Your Support!

2011-11-29T23:14:00.000-05:00

Last year, the amazing Nichelle Strzepek of Dance Advantage held a contest to crown the top 20 dance blogs of 2010. My blog was so new at the time that I was afraid to enter, although I had fun keeping up with the contestants and voting for some of my favorite blogs.

Well, this year I've decided to be a little braver. My blog may not be a typical dance blog, but all of my posts involve dance or movement, and I hope that many of them help dance teachers find good picture books to use in their children's classes. So, I've decided to enter the contest's "Teacher Talk" category, which focuses on blogs about dance topics for or by teachers. You can read more about the contest and all of the categories here.

As my blog has started to grow, I've been pleasantly surprised to find out that so many different kinds of people like to combine dance and movement with children's literacy. It makes me extremely happy to know this, and so very thankful for all of my readers.

To move forward in the competition, I need your support! Please consider leaving a comment on this post, perhaps mentioning what you like about Picture Books & Pirouettes or what you would like to see more of in the future. The 20 blogs with the most comments by December 20, 2011, will enter the voting round of the competition. By the end of December, the top dance blogs of the year will be crowned!

An Interview with Author Ann Bonwill

2011-11-22T10:32:00.004-05:00

Ann Bonwill is the author of three picture books, including Naughty Toes, which is about a spunky little girl who struggles to find her place in a classical ballet class. If you aren't familiar with the book and its characters, you might want to read my earlier post about it and then come back here for the following interview. Enjoy!

I'm so happy to have this chance to talk with you about your writing. What are some of the strategies you use to come up with fresh ideas for your books? And what was your initial inspiration for Naughty Toes?

My ideas bloom from a combination of observation and imagination. I collect ideas from everywhere, or as one little boy at a school visit put it, from the universe! Some of my books are inspired by nature, some by family and friends, and others, like Naughty Toes, by experiences in my own life. One day my editor mentioned that her childhood ballet teacher called unpointed toes "naughty toes." That phrase, along with my own memories of childhood dance classes, grew into Chloe's story.

What types of dance classes did you take as a child, and how did those experiences influence the book?

I took ballet, tap, and jazz. I stuck with ballet the longest, and really enjoyed it, though tap was lots of fun, too. Many of my dance class experiences are woven into this book. My father fixed my hair for class, just as Chloe's father does. And my ballet teacher was fond of talking about the spotlights on our hands as a way to get us to remember the proper hand positions. I wasn't a ballet natural like Belinda, but I wasn't quite as much of a disaster as Chloe either. I like to think that Chloe will come into her own in the world of tap, where her spirit can shine through in a unique and jazzy way.

I love the name of the pianist in the book--Mr. Tiempo. It's sort of mysterious, yet somehow so appropriate for a musician. How did you choose his name? I’m hoping there’s a good story here!

Thanks! I love Mr. Tiempo's name, too. I started out thinking about the word "tempo," which is such an important facet of dance music. Then I added a little extra flare to come up with his name. Though it's not stated outright in the book, I think that Mr. Tiempo is the one who gives Chloe the tap shoes at the end. Some of my child readers agree, although others think that it might be Chloe's sister, her parents, or Madame Mina. One little girl even suggested that Chloe gave the shoes to herself -- I love that idea!

I saw that Naughty Toes has been published in the United Kingdom and the United States. Has it been published anywhere else? And out of curiosity, are the different editions all the same?

Naughty Toes has been published in the United Kingdom, the United States, Portugal, and Canada (in French). The main difference in the editions are the names. In my original story, which was first published in the United Kingdom, the main character's name was Trixie and her sister was Belinda. In the United States, their names changed to Chloe and Belinda. The Portuguese version features Beatriz and Aurora, and in French their names are Josephine and Isabella. The grown-ups names are the same, except in Portugal where they are called Madame Malvina and Sr. Wagner.

Is it correct that all of the books you have published are picture books? If so, what is it that draws you to this particular genre?

Yes, so far I've had three picture books published in the United States, with four more on the way. I love the way that the pictures and the words combine to tell the story -- you can't have one without the other. I was so lucky to have Teresa Murfin illustrate my words in Naughty Toes. I think her artwork complements the spirit and style of the story perfectly. I have been fortunate to have similar matches in my other picture books, all of which differ in style but are brought to life through their art. Picture books are such an expressive medium. They beg to be read aloud, and they capture all of our senses. They can be read and enjoyed on so many different levels by people of all ages. And they are perfect for sharing.

Are you working on any new picture book manuscripts right now? Any other book projects?

I have a new picture book coming out in January, I Don't Want to be a Pea!, which is about the friendship between a hippo and a bird and the compromises they make as they prepare to go to a costume party together. I also have a rhyming bedtime story on the way. I am currently working on a story about crocodiles, and I'm having fun playing with longer writing formats, including a middle grade novel.

Thanks so much for talking with us today. I can’t let you go without one more question related to dance, though. I read on your website that you still love to dance. Can you tell us a little more about the kind of dancing you do these days?

Yes, I do still love to dance! I mostly just do silly dances around the house with my son, but I also enjoy dancing with my husband. Our favorite dance is the swing. I'm still not terribly graceful, but I do have lots of enthusiasm!

To read more about Ann and her picture books, visit her website at www.annbonwill.com. And if you're curious how other picture book authors and illustrators come up with their ideas, check out Picture Book Idea Month (also known as PiBoIdMo), held each November at author Tara Lazar's blog Writing for Kids!

Good Toes or Naughty Toes?

2011-11-20T19:45:00.014-05:00

I'm really enjoying the inaugural International Picture Book Month, which is celebrating my favorite kind of book throughout November. As part of the celebration, I want to share with you a new book from Tiger Tales--a small independent publisher that happens to only create picture books.

Naughty Toes, written by Ann Bonwill and illustrated by Teresa Murfin, was actually first published in April 2011 by Oxford University Press in the United Kingdom. Tiger Tales then published it a few months later, in September 2011, in the United States. Here's the cast of characters from the book:

Chloe is the narrator and main character. She dances with gusto...but not with much grace.
Belinda is Chloe's big sister. She's a natural ballerina.
Madame Mina is the girls' ballet teacher. She makes Belinda the star of the ballet show and casts poor Chloe as a rock!
Mr. Tiempo plays the piano during ballet class. Chloe and her creative spirit make him smile again and again.

"Float like clouds!" says Madame Mina, and I spin around the room like a dust cloud, clap like a thundercloud, whoosh like a rain cloud...SMACK! straight into Anthony. "What were you thinking?" asks Madame Mina. "I was a cloud with gusto," I say. Before I hang my head, I think I see Mr. Tiempo smiling.

It is clear from the start of the book--even before ballet class begins--that Chloe might not be the perfect candidate for a ballerina. She prefers a purple and green leotard over a classic pink one, and her fuzzy hair just doesn't want to be wrapped up neatly into a bun.

As the book continues, it becomes more and more apparent that Chloe is out of her element. But Chloe also becomes more and more comfortable and confident with that fact. By the end of the book, with help from a secret supporter, she realizes that instead of a ballerina she is actually a tap dancer!

The art by Teresa Murfin nicely complements the text and the unique qualities Chloe possesses. Murfin apparently gets some of her inspiration from papers and fabrics, which show up in the tutus of some of the dancers and in other objects, like Mr. Tiemp's piano bench and a bouquet that Belinda receives after the girls' ballet show.

I would love to see more of Murfin's art, which mixes her paper-and-fabric style with interestingly proportioned drawings of the characters. I'm also curious to find out what happens next to Chloe, as she starts her new tap class. I guess I will have to hope for a sequel!

If you want to learn more about author Ann Bonwill's inspirations for Naughty Toes, you can read my interview with her here.

Happy 'Haul-idays' from Chronicle Books!

2011-11-16T14:05:00.020-05:00

For the second year in a row, I'm taking part in a fantastic "haul-iday" giveaway from Chronicle Books. This eclectic independent publisher is giving away up to $500 worth of books to one lucky blogger (hopefully me), one reader of that blog (hopefully you), and the winning blogger's favorite charity. The winning reader will get the same haul of books as the winning blogger, and the winning charity will get to pick its own books. What a generous giveaway! And all you have to do to participate is leave a comment on this post...

My charity of choice is the American Friends of the Kigali Public Library (AFKPL). The AFKPL is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, DC, that is helping raise money, collect books, and offer additional support toward the construction and long-term sustainability of the first public library in Rwanda. The effort to construct the library was conceived by and is being led by the Rotary Club of Kigali-Virunga.

Located in the capital of Rwanda, the Kigali Public Library will help introduce a culture of reading into this small African country, which has a complex history of violence and isolation that it's working hard to overcome. The library will also have a special focus on children's literacy, including many books in English, which recently became the official language of Rwanda.

Please consider leaving a comment on this post to show your support for the AFKPL and the Kigali Public Library, and to enter to win the list of picture books (all published by Chronicle Books) below. In the spirit of my blog and of the Kigali Public Library, all of the books on my list have artistic or multicultural themes.

If you want to enter the giveaway as a blogger or want to enter as a reader on additional blogs, you can find the full instructions here. The giveaway closes on December 2, 2011. Good luck to all!

Dance, Art & Music
A Magical Day with Matisse
A Nutty Nutcracker Christmas
A Picnic with Monet
Dancing with Degas
Dem Bones
Dreaming with Rousseau
Frank Was a Monster Who Wanted to Dance
In the Garden with Van Gogh
Matisse: Dance for Joy
Monet's Impressions
On an Island with Gauguin
Painting with Picasso
Quiet Time with Cassatt
Sharing with Renoir
Sunday with Seurat
The Nutcracker
Twelve Dancing Princesses
When Louis Armstrong Taught Me Scat
Vincent's Colors

Around the World

Bintou's Braids
Dream Carver
Eight Winter Nights: A Family Hanukkah Book
I Can Do It Too!
Jacob Lawrence in the City
Just a Minute: A Trickster Tale and Counting Book
Kokeshi Kimonos
Mama, Do You Love Me?
Moishe's Miracle
Night of the Moon: A Muslim Holiday Story
One Love
Papa, Do You Love Me?
Red Is a Dragon
Round is a Mooncake
Ruby's Wish
Sienna's Scrapbook
Story Painter: The Life of Jacob Lawrence
Ten Little Rabbits
Wish: Wishing Traditions Around the World
You Can Do It Too!

I Love to Dance!

2011-11-14T17:17:00.013-05:00

November is Picture Book Idea Month (better known around the blogosphere as PiBoIdMo), and this is the first year I'm participating. Like the other 300 or so writers and illustrators taking part, I've been busy trying to come up with 30 new picture book ideas before the month is over. Luckily, I've been finding tons of inspiration on Writing for Kids (the official PiBoIdMo blog) and on a new website celebrating November as the first annual International Picture Book Month. But I'm still on the lookout for additional inspiration wherever I can find it, be that in dreams, in everyday life, or in picture books themselves...

Given this context, November seems the perfect time to talk about the picture book I Love to Dance, by Australian author and illustrator Anna Walker. The words in the book are few (only 88 of them) and the illustrations quite simple, but the book resonates with me strongly and inspires me deeply.

My six-year-old thinks the main character of the book, Ollie, is a zebra. My four-year-old thinks he's a dog. I'm not quite sure what I think he is, but perhaps this is one of the reasons I love the book so much. When I read it, I pretty much forget about...or don't even care...whether Ollie is a zebra, a dog, or some other creature. I only care that he loves to dance, and I feel happy for him that he dances so easily and with such abandon.

Ollie loves to dance loudly, and to dance quietly. He loves to dance like jelly. He loves to jump, roll, and flip. And he loves to hop! However, I think it is really Anna Walker's illustrations that let readers get to know Ollie and how creative he can be. When he jumps, rolls, and flips, the illustrations show him doing it all inside of a cardboard box. And when he hops, he doesn't hop the way you might expect he would. He does it upside down--in a one-arm handstand!

I love that Ollie thinks up new and exciting ways to perform classic movements...not unlike how picture book writers and illustrators think up fresh ideas to make stories that have been told before seem new.

Picture books and the ideas behind them can inspire. They can touch the hearts of readers and make them feel connected to the characters in a book. That's how I feel about Ollie, and that's what makes me want to read other books about him. For now, though, I'm going to take the inspiration that Ollie has already given me and try to come up with some more picture book ideas of my own!

I Love to Dance is just one book in a series about Ollie and the many things he loves. He loves to sing, he loves birthdays, he loves vacations, and he loves the special people in his life. You can see a partial list of the books in the series (those available in the United States) here.

Frolic in the Leaves with Mouse and Minka

2011-10-31T08:15:00.005-04:00

Read It. Move It. Share It.

Each month I recommend a picture book for independent dance educator Maria Hanley to incorporate into her creative movement classes in New York City. October's book is Mouse's First Fall, which I thought of immediately when Maria told me she had some leaf props she wanted to use with her students. After reading about the book here, head over to Maria's blog to see what she came up with!

One cool fall day...

Mouse and Minka came out to play!

In some parts of the United States, the weather has been quite wintery over the last few days. I'm holding out hope, though, that the fall weather will soon return...

Fall was one of my favorite seasons when I was a little girl, and I especially enjoyed raking the leaves with my brothers and then enthusiastically jumping into the huge piles we had created in the lawn. As an adult, I still enjoy the fall. Although I now avoid raking leaves and sadly no longer think about jumping into them, I still love to look at them--the beautiful shades of yellow, orange, and red--and the way they flutter to the ground after a cool breeze blows just hard enough to release them from their branches.

In Mouse's First Fall, written by Lauren Thompson and illustrated by Buket Erdogan, Mouse and Minka enjoy the fall both in the ways I did as a child and in the ways I do today. Judging by the cute blue shirt he is wearing, Mouse appears to be a young male mouse. Minka, in her pink shirt, looks and sounds like a female mouse. It isn't clear if she is Mouse's mother, his older sister, or another friend or relative, but she does take on a very motherly role, helping Mouse discover all the joys of fall.

Tumbling and twirling, fall leaves fell all around.

"Look at all the colors" said Minka.

Mouse saw red leaves and yellow leaves and

orange leaves and brown leaves.

As the book progresses, Minka points out that leaves come in different shapes and then suggests running through them, piling them up, and eventually jumping in them. Spurred on by these suggestions, Mouse experiences the leaves fully. He notes their shapes, runs and skips through them, kicks and swishes them, and even counts them as he piles them up.

The illustrations in this book are gorgeous. It looks like they might be made from acrylic paints, but I'm not sure. The mice are drawn simply and cheerfully, and the deep colors of the artwork envelop each page of the book entirely. There isn't one ounce of white anywhere, except for a few small clouds popping out from the bluish purple sky on a few of the pages. I also love how the leaves are gigantic in comparison to the mice, which brings out the fall colors even more.

Overall, Mouse's First Fall is charming, playful, and educational all at the same time. And the colors, shapes, numbers, and movement words in the book provide great fodder for a creative movement class. I hope Maria thinks so, too. You can read her post about the book here.

Hip-hip-hooray for fall!

Edgar Degas: In Museums and In Books

2011-10-25T15:25:00.005-04:00

If you are familiar with the French artist Edgar Degas (1834-1917), you probably know that he had a special fondness for ballet dancers. He painted them, he sculpted them, and he spent hours observing and sketching them on stage and during rehearsals. The result is a collection of more than 1,500 works of art that beautifully capture many aspects of a ballet dancer's life.

A bronze cast of Little Dancer of Fourteen Years,

which Degas originally sculpted in wax in 1880.

These works of art have also inspired a variety of picture books. Most of the books are fictional stories, but many of them also contain biographical information about Degas, reproductions of his paintings, and other factual information about his work. Although not exhaustive, the list below highlights a few books that I have read and enjoyed, a few that friends have recommended to me, and a few that I have seen frequently in gift shops at art museums. If you have a favorite that is not included on the list, I would love to hear about it.

Little Ballerina, the first on the list, was just published in September 2011 by Prestel Publishing. I hope to read it and potentially blog about it in more detail soon. In the coming weeks I'll also be posting a more in-depth look at Chasing Degas, which is the second newest book on the list, published by Abrams Books for Young Readers in 2009.

Little Ballerina

Author: Helene Kerillis

Illustrator: Lucie Albon

About: A young dancer performs on stage with ballerinas from the masterpiece The Rehearsal of the Ballet on Stage

Chasing Degas

Author: Eva Montanari

Illustrator: Eva Montanari

About: A young ballerina chases Degas all over Paris as she tries to recover her lost tutu before a performance at the opera house

Dancing with Degas

Authors: Julie Merberg and Suzanne Bober

About: A board book that introduces toddlers to Degas through rhyme and art

Bijou, Bonbon & Beau

Author: Joan Sweeney

Illustrator: Leslie Wu

About: A cat has kittens in a theatre where Degas is sketching ballerinas

Degas and the Little Dancer

Author: Laurence Anholt

Illustrator: Laurence Anholt

About: A poor ballerina named Marie becomes an inspiration to Degas and the model for Little Dancer of Fourteen Years, one of his most famous sculptures

Marie in Fourth Position

Author: Amy Littlesugar

Illustrator: Ian Schoenherr

About: Another account of how the young ballerina Marie became the inspiration for Little Dancer of Fourteen Years

On a related note, I recently found out about two exhibitions that are focusing on the relationship between Degas and ballet. "Degas and the Ballet: Picturing Movement" is being held at the Royal Academy of Arts in London through December 11, 2011. And "Degas's Dancers at the Barre: Point and Counterpoint" is on display at The Phillips Collection in Washington, DC, through January 8, 2012.

You can read more about the London exhibit here, in a review in The Economist. And, if you live in the DC area and are interested in visiting The Phillips Collection with other dance or art lovers, then local dance studio Ballet Petite is organizing a group tour on Sunday, December 18, 2011 (if you register by November 18, 2011). You can find out more about the tour here. A picture book about Degas might be the perfect warm-up to the event!

It's a Halloween Poetry Party!

2011-10-14T09:15:00.006-04:00

Thank goodness for libraries! I discovered two fabulous Halloween books at our local library a few weeks ago. Both are written in rhyme and each involves a nighttime party that lasts until dawn. I know lots of little boys and girls are looking forward to Halloween parties in their neighborhoods, preschools, and elementary schools over the next couple of weeks, and these two books would be perfect for extending that party spirit into reading time at home.

Rattlebone Rock is a delightful book written by Sylvia Andrews and illustrated by Jennifer Plecas. My copy is due back to the library tomorrow, and when I tried to renew it, the library wouldn't let me because other people are waiting to check it out. It must be a popular book, and I can certainly see why...

Folks in the town

Still talk of the night

When the moon on the graveyard

Shone so bright

That the spirits there

Made the tombstones knock

And the beat began

For the Rattlebone Rock.

BOOMA-BOOM! BOOMA-BOOM!

The party in this book takes place in a graveyard, which might normally be a scary place for young children. But the text of the book is so festive, and the illustrations so far from scary, that I doubt anyone would be afraid of it. At the beginning of the party, skeletons prance around the graveyard with a CLACKA-CLACK! Then ghosts sway to the beat of the drums. OOOOA-OOO! Witches, ghouls, and goblins galore join in until the graveyard party can be heard all over town.

Before long, the children of the town (many of them dressed in their Halloween costumes) and their families make their way to the graveyard, too. The playful illustrations show a girl dancing hand-in-hand with a skeleton, a ghost swinging in a tree, and a woman happily pulling a little boy and a goblin in a toy wagon. Even the town's mayor is boogying to the beat. It is definitely a night that the whole town will remember for a long time!

The second book I want to mention is Boogie Knights, written by Lisa Wheeler and illustrated by Mark Siegel. I didn't find it in the holiday section of the library (where I found Rattlebone Rock), but I still think it's a great book for Halloween. It's the story of seven knights, standing guard in the upstairs of an old castle, who one by one venture downstairs and away from their post to join a midnight monster ball. The names of the knights are all puns, like Sir Cumference and Sir Vivor, which adds a nice layer of humor. And there are gremlins, ghostlings, vampires, and a ton of other characters appropriate for Halloween.

Monsters mashing! Bogeys bashing!

Jesters jive and jump.

Go-go gobblins--bouncin', bobbin'--

teach that knight to... Bump!

Mark Siegel uses a lot of grays and browns in the illustrations, giving an illusion of spookiness. But it really is just an illusion because, like Rattlebone Rock, this book is not very scary. The vampires look a little goofy, a hunchback is swinging from a chandelier on one of the pages, and many of the monsters are smiling and laughing as they dance.

I have to admit I had a little trouble catching the rhythm of the text sometimes, because it changes a few times throughout the book, and there is a lot going on in both the text and the illustrations. However, once you get used to it all, the book is really a lot of fun.

I think Lisa Wheeler and Mark Siegel also had a ton of fun making the book, which is evident in the following video from YouTube. The video also provides more insight into the book's subtle humor and into a couple of characters that were added into the story through the illustrations alone. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

If you are in the mood for some more rhythm or rhyme, head on over to Fomagrams, where Poetry Friday is being hosted today. It's a great day for reading and writing poetry, don't you think?

This post is also part of Book Talk Tuesday, which is held each week at the Lemme Library to share reviews of good books for school-age kids.

From the Archives: I Heart Michael Jackson

2011-10-07T07:50:00.001-04:00

People around the world will be celebrating Michael Jackson's life and creative achievements tomorrow during a tribute concert in Wales, so I thought I would take this opportunity to honor him in my own small way. He has been an inspiration to me for almost as long as I can remember, and I'm thankful that his music is still on the radio so that my two young girls know at least a little bit about him.

It turns out that I kept just about everything I ever owned or created during my own childhood, so for fun on this Poetry Friday I dug up a poem I wrote about Michael Jackson many years ago. Unfortunately, I didn't date the little poetry book in which I found the poem, but I'm pretty sure I created it during my upper elementary school years. Hopefully you will be able to tell from the poem how much I adored Michael Jackson when I was young. He was a powerful performer, musician, singer, and dancer, and to this day I am in awe of his artistic genius...

Today's Poetry Friday round-up is being held at Great Kid Books. Drop by if you are in the mood for some more poetry!

We're Dancing on a Bear Hunt!

2011-09-29T09:00:00.001-04:00

Read It. Move It. Share It.

Each month I recommend a picture book for Maria Hanley--dance educator extraordinaire in New York City--to incorporate into her creative movement classes. Our September pick is We're Going on a Bear Hunt, written by Michael Rosen and illustrated by Helen Oxenbury. When you're done reading more about the book, don't forget to check out Maria's blog to see how she used it in her classes.

I still remember sitting in a big circle at summer camp, clapping one hand and then the other against my thighs and stamping my feet against the floor as our fearless leader took us on an adventurous bear hunt when I was a kid. Through fields of grass, thick mud, and dark forests we went, searching far and wide for that one elusive bear. Does this sound familiar to you, too?

Well, when I saw the picture book We're Going on a Bear Hunt for the first time earlier this year, this childhood memory came flooding back...not so much because of the actions we did during the bear hunt, but because of how exhilarating it was to play the game. And even though we were sitting in one place, it still included a lot of movement, which I'm sure was another reason I had so much fun with it.

I can't remember the exact words to the game I played, and I'm sure there are many versions. Here's a very expressive Michael Rosen reciting his version--the version that he created for the book. You can see from the video that the text of the book is full of rhythm and fun sounds that could easily inspire movement, as they do for Rosen himself.

Although the words to the book are what inspire the movement for me, the book wouldn't be what it is without the beautiful drawings of Helen Oxenbury. She was able to depict the characters in the book any which way she wanted, and she chose to draw them as five members of a family. I recently found out that the five characters are actually siblings, but many readers think they are a father and his four children. Either way, I think this depiction is especially nice for young children, who will likely be "reading" this book alongside other family members of their own.

However you interpret the illustrations, what's especially unique about them is that they alternate between black-and-white ones and full-color ones. Oxenbury uses black and white for the pages with the refrain (which, for the most part, is every other spread). This is for the moments when the family has yet to find out what the next obstacle on their bear hunt will be. Then she uses color for the more active pages, when the family trudges through grass, a river, mud, and even a snowstorm.

We're Going on a Bear Hunt was first published in 1989, which makes it about 22 years old today. Because this was after my summer camp days, I wonder how old the bear game actually is and what its origins are. Hmmm. Regardless, I'm very happy that it was adapted into a book so that many more kids could experience the exhilaration of those summer bear hunts I used to go on. And, I'm happy that it was adapted into a book so that dance educators could use it, too. You can see how Maria used it in her classes here.

Before I go, I also wanted to let you know about an extremely charming video interview with Helen Oxenbury over at Reading Rockets. It includes a heartwarming story about how Oxenbury's father encouraged her to go to art school and how she approached illustrating several of her most popular books, including We're Going on a Bear Hunt. I highly recommend it.

And, finally, here are a couple of lesson plans I found to go along with the book...in case you teach young children or want to incorporate some of the plans into your reading time at home.

These teaching materials from the San Diego County Office of Education, created as part of the Schools of California Online Resources for Educators (SCORE) Project, include a variety of activities to help students learn more about bears.
And here are some lesson plans from Scholastic that incorporate elements of the story into dramatic play and other preschool activities.

This post is also part of Read-Aloud Thursday, which is a weekly opportunity for bloggers to share some of their favorite family-friendly read-aloud books. It's hosted over at Hope Is the Word, where teacher turned stay-at-home mom Amy blogs about home education, parenting, and books. Check it out!

I Met Tomie dePaola...and Oliver Button!

2011-09-26T22:21:00.011-04:00

On Saturday afternoon, I spent two and a half hours waiting in line at the National Book Festival to meet the one and only Tomie dePaola. Spending the afternoon in line probably doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun to most people, but it was actually one of the most memorable experiences I've had in a while. By the end of the two and a half hours, I felt a strong bond with the women near me in line--even if only for that one afternoon--over our mutual adoration for children's books.

One of the women was a first grade teacher, another a reading specialist. Several librarians, a middle school teacher, and a fellow writer surrounded me as well. Our conversations covered adult authors, children's authors, childhood memories of school and books, and the state of the education system in the United States today. And of course, there was Tomie dePaola.

Strega Nona is probably one of dePaola's best known books, but he has written or illustrated more than 200 others. The Art Lesson, Pancakes for Breakfast, and The Knight and the Dragon are just a few that I saw in the hands of people in line on Saturday. His newest book, Strega Nona's Gift, will be released next month.

Another of dePaola's books, which actually has a dance theme in it, is Oliver Button Is a Sissy. According to the information on the book's jacket, the problems Oliver Button faces in the story are not unfamiliar to dePaola himself.

The boys at school think Oliver is a sissy, and he doesn't like to do the things the other boys like to do. Even though his father wishes that he was good at playing ball, Oliver would rather be reading books, drawing pictures, playing with paper dolls, or dancing.

When Oliver's mother enrolls him in dancing school, Oliver gets a shiny new pair of tap shoes. The boys at school keep calling him a sissy, but Oliver keeps practicing and practicing his tapping. And when his dance teacher asks him if he would like to participate in the local talent show, Oliver practices even more. When the big day finally arrives, Oliver taps with pizazz. It's not enough to win the talent show, but Oliver wins something even more important to him--the respect of the other boys in town. Oliver's no longer a sissy in their eyes. Now he's a star!

Once I got to the front of the line to meet dePaola, I was as nervous as a little girl meeting her kindergarten teacher for the first time. I think I blabbered something about what an honor it was to meet him and about how I wished I had a copy of Oliver Button Is a Sissy with me for him to sign. I also remember one of his handlers telling me that a new video interview with dePaola will be posted on Reading Rockets soon. (You can read an older interview with him here, and I'll post the new one on my Facebook page once it becomes available.)

I actually had a camera with me at the festival but didn't think to take it out of my bag. Luckily, one of the festival volunteers asked if I would like a picture with dePaola, and one of my new friends snapped a quick photo of us with her camera. (Thanks, Famin!) The perfect ending to a perfect afternoon...

Tessa's Tip-Tapping Toes Make Me Smile!

2011-09-07T08:00:00.003-04:00

My two girls and I spent a few weeks with my mom in Florida this summer. After moving away from California a few years ago, I was more than happy to be back in a sunny place for a while. The girls had a wonderful time with their "Grammy" and "Gramps," swimming in the pool, touring the town, and making tons of fun arts and crafts.

I wasn't quite as much fun as Grammy and Gramps, since I was traveling a bit for work and otherwise glued to the computer a good part of the time, but the girls and I did at least have some great times hanging out at bookstores and the local public library together. I was especially impressed by the local library, which had a huge room devoted to picture books AND had a fabulous selection.

We found so many books worth writing about, but today I'm going to share my favorite dance book that we discovered. It's called Tessa's Tip-Tapping Toes, written by Carolyn Crimi and illustrated by Marsha Gray Carrington. I can't believe I hadn't heard of it before. It is such an adorable book!

Tessa had swinging arms, skipping feet, and tip-tapping toes.

She was built to dance.

You might not be able to tell from this excerpt (although you can probably tell from the book cover) that Tessa is actually a mouse. But she's not like all the other mice. She doesn't like to scurry and she doesn't like to hurry. She just likes to dance. Even when Tessa's family is supposed to be raiding Mrs. Timboni's kitchen at night, Tessa just can't stop dancing. And then Mrs. Timboni gets a cat...

Most cats liked dozing on windowsills or curling up on fresh piles of laundry.

Not Oscar. He crooned on the kitchen counters, sang in the sinks,

and trilled on the dining room table.

Oscar's favorite thing in the world to do is to sing, but Mrs. Timboni is always trying to get him to keep his voice down so he won't disturb the neighbors. And then there's Tessa's mom, who's always trying to get Tessa to stop dancing, partly so she doesn't disturb Oscar. But no matter how hard Oscar and Tessa try, they can't keep their passions bundled up. They keep singing and singing, and dancing and dancing, until one day they actually bump into each other. Oops!

What comes next is not what you might expect when a mouse and cat meet for the first time, but then again we did establish that Tessa and Oscar aren't your usual animals, right? With a thunderstorm pounding its rhythm in the background, the two combine their passions and talents. Before long, there's a real party going on in the kitchen!

Tessa burst into an all-out rock-'n'-roll, boogie-woogie, hip-hop, two-step combo.

Oscar watched, eyes wide. Finally he cleared his throat and belted out

a rowdy, riotous tune just right for dancing feet.

The illustrations in this book are equally as charming as the text. Oscar is drawn quite large and Tessa is drawn quite small, so it makes for some neat perspectives in the artwork. Apparently author Carolyn Crimi loves the illustrations, too. You can read a little more about what she thinks of them, plus read about her inspiration for the book, here. It's kind of a cute and funny story. I've actually heard Carolyn speak at a writer's conference, and she is super funny in person, too.

Unfortunately, Tessa's Tip-Tapping Toes doesn't seem to be in print anymore, but there are some used copies floating around out there, and hopefully your local library will carry some copies, too. If you've ever been so passionate about something that you just can't help yourself from doing it--be it dancing, singing, writing, or anything else--then this book will probably make you smile. I know it made me smile, and I can't wait to read it again.

Board Books Use Animals to Inspire Movement

2011-08-27T07:55:00.004-04:00

Read It. Move It. Share It.

This month I mixed it up a little. I recommended not one but TWO books for independent dance educator Maria Hanley to incorporate into her creative movement classes in New York City. After reading this post to learn more about the books, head over to Maria's blog to see how she used them in her classes. And thanks to publisher Blue Apple Books for supplying review copies of both books!

When I saw the new board books SWING! Like a Monkey and WIGGLE! Like an Octopus, I knew right away that I wanted to highlight them on my blog. Because many dance educators use animals to inspire movement in their classes, I thought the books would be perfect tools to assist them.

SWING! focuses on zoo animals and WIGGLE! on ocean animals, and both are filled with movement words that even the youngest dancers will probably know. Prance like a lion, anyone? Gallop like a zebra? Or, since it's still summer here in the states and some other parts of the world, maybe you would prefer to swim like a dolphin? Or waddle like a penguin? Author Harriet Ziefert includes lots of phrases like these throughout the 12 pages and about 100 words of text in each of the two books.

I have to admit I was a little disappointed that the meter of the rhyme is not always as smooth as I would have liked, and some of the couplets don't rhyme perfectly. But, nonetheless, I think the books would be great to use in a class of young dancers...probably best for two-year-olds and three-year-olds I would say.

The illustrations by Simms Taback (who by the way has won a Caldecott Medal and a Caldecott Honor for previous works) are simple and youthful as well. All of the animals are drawn with thick black lines filled in with solid colors. The backgrounds of the book, too, are incredibly simple. In some ways, the illustrations remind me of the pages of a coloring book. Even the colors that Taback uses are typical colors you would find in a big box of crayons.

And finally, I love that the covers of the books actually "move" when you tilt them. You can probably tell from the cover images in this post that the monkey really swings and the octopus really wiggles its arms. What toddler or preschooler wouldn't want to explore a book like that, especially in a dance class! Let's see how Maria and her students explored the book here.

Giveaway: Choose Your Favorite of Four Books!

2011-08-12T16:23:00.015-04:00

Congratulations to Mary Ann Sheuer--fellow blogger (at Great Kid Books) and winner of LOLA'S FANDANGO! Although the following giveaway is over, I hope you will stay to enjoy the post.

GIVEAWAY OPEN UNTIL 11:59 EST AUGUST 30, 2011

To celebrate the one-year anniversary of my blog, Barefoot Books is helping me host a special giveaway. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post, letting me know which one of the following four dance books (all published by Barefoot Books) you would most like to own and why. And don't forget to leave your contact info if I won't know where to find you if you win. The randomly chosen winner will be announced August 31, 2011, both here and on my new Facebook page. Best of luck!

Lola's Fandango

Author: Anna Witte

Illustrator: Micha Archer

Lola discovers an old pair of flamenco shoes in her mother's closet and embarks on a wonderful journey of discovery--not just of flamenco dancing but also of confidence and of family bonding. A narrated CD version of the story includes a bit of flamenco music and really helps highlight the spirit of the book. Although not being released until October 2011, this book is worth the wait! You can read more detailed reviews of Lola's Fandango here and here. (Available in English or Spanish.)

The Barefoot Book of Ballet Stories

Authors: Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple

Illustrator: Rebecca Guay

A book for all ages, The Barefoot Book of Ballet Stories is an 80-page compilation of six famous stories that have been made into classical ballets. Each story is accompanied by a full page of factual information, and the end of the book includes a more comprehensive history of ballet. A narrated CD allows you listen to musical excerpts from the different ballets while enjoying the book's gorgeous illustrations. Click here to listen to the story of Coppelia. (Available in English.)

The Barefoot Book of Dance Stories

Authors: Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple

Illustrator: Helen Cann

The Barefoot Book of Dance Stories is a 99-page collection of eight delightful folktales from eight cultures, held together by the common theme of dance. The front matter includes an introduction to each folktake and a brief history of dance from the culture in which the story is set. The back matter contains more specific information about each dance. Like its companion The Barefoot Book of Ballet Stories, this book is accompanied by a lovely narrated CD. Click here to listen to a dance story from Japan. (Available in English.)

The Animal Boogie

Author: Debbie Harter

Illustrator: Debbie Harter

Published just over a decade ago, The Animal Boogie has already become a Barefoot Books classic. The accompanying sing-along CD makes the simple text, which inspires movement and reads like song lyrics, especially infectious. Rumor has it that this book is popular among dance and creative movement teachers who work with young children. Here's a sneak peak! (Available in English or Spanish.)

Celebration and Surprise in Lola's Fandango

2011-08-07T11:37:00.008-04:00

Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of my blog, and I'm so happy to have made it to this important milestone. Keeping up with the blog has been difficult at times, but it looks like Picture Books & Pirouettes is here to stay!

To celebrate, I'm featuring a lovely picture book to be published by Barefoot Books in October 2011. It's called Lola's Fandango, written by Anna Witte and illustrated by Micha Archer. It has quite a celebratory cover, don't you think? Many thanks go out to Barefoot Books for sending me an advance review copy of the book.

Lola's Fandango is a story about a little girl named Lola who is jealous of her older sister Clementina--of how pretty her name is, how long and beautiful her hair is, how talented she is at painting. Feeling sad and alone, Lola seeks refuge in her parents' closet, where she finds a stack of old boxes.

Inside one of the boxes is a pair of black shoes with high heels and little red polka dots. Lola soon finds out from her father (Papi) that her mother (Mami) used to be a very good flamenco dancer. Papi shows Lola an old photograph of Mami wearing the shoes and wearing a special dress with ruffles and polka dots. He also promises to secretly teach Lola how to dance a traditional flamenco dance called the fandango.

First, Papi teaches Lola the rhythm of the dance. Then how to stomp her feet. And finally, how to move her arms and hands. Lola practices all year long, gaining confidence and developing the spirit and attitude needed to be a great flamenco dancer.

She snaps her fingers: Snap! Snap!

Spring carries flower petals through the air.

She taps her heels: Tap! Tap!

Summer clouds dot the blue sky.

She whirls her skirt: Swish!

Fall blows leaves and raindrops across the roof.

She stomps her feet: Toca toca TICA!

Even though this is a "quiet" book in some ways, it is also full of sounds that make it great for reading aloud. The cars go honk hooonk outside Lola's window. Lola's dancing shoes go toca toca tica on the floor. And the unseen neighbor downstairs pounds BAM! BAM! BAM! against his ceiling when Lola's practicing makes too much noise.

My two favorite parts to read aloud are the repeating toca toca tica of Lola's dance shoes and the repeating rhythm of the dance: 1-2-3 4-5-6 7-8 9-10 11-12. The book also comes with a narrated version of the story, which is very handy if you aren't quite sure how to count out the fandango rhythm. The CD, which is narrated by the Amador family of the Pan-Latin musical and singing ensemble Sol y Canto, also includes some flamenco music and real foot stomping in the background.

The book's vibrant illustrations beautifully capture the movement and emotion in the story, and they somehow mesh reality and whimsy together into a style that really works. I also love the layout and creative use of space in the book. Elements of illustrated pages sometimes find their way onto otherwise empty pages of text, forming designs around the words or just floating freely amidst the white spaces. Much care seems to have been taken to give each full-page spread a unique design, giving the book a great deal of visual appeal.

Toward the end of the book, Papi, Lola, and Clementina plan a surprise birthday party for Mami, and Lola decides she wants to surprise Mami with a flamenco dance at the party. However, she is feeling insecure because she doesn't have a fancy flamenco dress like Mami used to have. Lola's father reassures her that she has the courage to dance without the dress, and Lola finds the strength to carry on and to finally have her own special moment in the spotlight.

But, just before Lola is about to actually dance, Papi gives her a surprise gift--her very own ruffled polka-dot dress (he must have read her mind!) and a new pair of dancing shoes. In the spirit of surprises, I have a gift to give away to one lucky reader of my blog, too!

Thanks to the generosity of Barefoot Books, you will soon be able to enter to win either a copy of Lola's Fandango or one of three additional Barefoot Books related to dance. Once I get the giveaway details ready later this month, I'll post them here and let everyone know on Picture Books & Pirouettes' new Facebook page. Stay tuned!

Update: Since I wrote this post, Barefoot Books has published a Q&A with author Anna Witte and illustrator Micha Archer. You can check out that blog post here.

David Ira Rottenberg: Author to Entrepreneur

2011-08-04T16:10:00.005-04:00

Gwendolyn, the Graceful Pig is the story of Gwendolyn and Omar--two pigs with very different dreams who find common ground and friendship through dance. I was so intrigued by author David Ira Rottenberg's creative marketing strategy for this self-published picture book that I tracked him down for an interview. Via email from his home outside of Boston, Massachusetts, David was kind enough to answer a few questions I had about his approach, which incorporates ballet into author events at bookstores! Thanks so much for sharing your experiences, David!

I love it that you integrate dance into your author events. How did you come up with such an innovative marketing strategy?

When it came time to market the book, events in bookstores were an obvious avenue to try, but I didn’t think kids would have much interest in me or in me reading my book. Then, I thought if I had a ballet dancer read the book, the kids (and their parents) would be a lot more interested. Over time, I’ve grown confident enough to read my book in bookstores, so now the dancers do more of a performance/dance demonstration.

How do you go about setting up these events? Is it a lot of work?

To set something like this up takes a lot more work than you think. Just finding the right person to speak to at a dance school, and then calling and calling until she is actually available to speak, can literally take weeks. The same is true of getting in touch with a bookstore. And then coordinating the event between the ballet school and the bookstore is the hardest of all. But the key for me is just calling and calling and calling until the person I want to reach at the ballet school is in, and then I send that person a copy of the book. Luckily, most people who have read the book have liked it enough to be willing to participate.

Can you tell us more about the actual events? For instance, do you read the book first, and then the dancers perform? Or do you follow another format?

Sometimes, I read the book first and then the dancers perform. Sometimes, it’s the other way around. Sometimes, one of the dancers wants to read the book. We also have a photo session afterward where the kids in the audience can have their pictures taken with the dancers, and often times the kids will also want the dancers to sign the book. I’ve also started a website for Gwendolyn Ballerina Birthday Parties, but what’s always surprising about any kind of business venture is that it’s hard to find dancers you can rely on to show up...so I’m still working on that idea!

What are some of the dance groups you’ve collaborated with? Are you planning any more collaborations? Or any encore presentations?

I’ve worked with a lot of ballet companies and schools, both big and little. Some that immediately come to mind are the Joffrey Ballet School, the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School, the Island Moving Company, and the Arts Ballet Centre of Winchester. Most of the companies I do events with want to do repeat events, but they have to be spaced out over time. Another problem is that it’s hard to do events beyond areas that you can reach by car (or bus) or that you can go to and from in a day, because then hotel and travel expenses make it a losing proposition. In this sense, I’m lucky I’m in the Northeast, as there are a lot of cities within a few hours reach.

Because you chose to write a book about ballet and chose to market it the way you did, I’m assuming you have a certain fondness for ballet. Is this true?

Ballet does hold special meaning for me in that I like the display of creativity. I like music, theatre, art, and literature, and ballet combines them all. Everyone has the desire for freedom and perfection, and ballet expresses those qualities about as beautifully as anything can.

For more information about upcoming author events or how to book a Gwendolyn-themed birthday party, visit Gwendolyn's website here. You can also fan Gwendolyn and see more photos from David's recent author visits on Facebook.

Dance to the Beat of Your Own... Tuba?

2011-07-28T07:14:00.005-04:00

Read It. Move It. Share It.

This month I'm recommending the picture book Tuba Lessons for independent dance educator Maria Hanley to incorporate into her creative movement classes in New York City. A while back, Maria told me she was interested in trying out wordless or nearly wordless picture books in class, and I thought Tuba Lessons might be a good one to start with. After reading more about the book below, head over to Maria's blog to see how she used it with her young dancers.

Tuba Lessons, by T. C. Bartlett and Monique Felix, is the fanciful story of a young boy's adventures on his way to music class. "Now, don't dillydally in the woods, young man, or you'll be late for your tuba lesson," his mother calls out, as the boy heads out for class carrying his large golden tuba.

From this point on, the illustrations take over as the boy steps into his own little world in the woods. I'm not sure if it's a real world, an imaginary world, or a dream world, but it's a wonderful world.

In this new world, a traditional musical staff (made up of five parallel lines and the four spaces in between) is used as a walking path one minute and turns into a tree the next. As the boy plays his tuba and starts attracting some forest animals, the lines of the staff curve and bend along with the music emanating from the tuba, and different sizes and shapes of musical notes bounce off the pages. So even though this is a nearly wordless picture book, Tuba Lessons is full of sound and movement--all captured by the illustrations alone.

From my description, Tuba Lessons probably sounds like a dreamy, upbeat kind of book, which it is. But it also contains a bit of conflict. Just as the young boy and his animal friends are finding their musical groove, a large brown bear roars onto the scene, threatening to spoil the party. The boy must figure out a way to befriend the bear, and as you might have guessed, he uses his tuba to do so.

I found out that T. C. Bartlett actually envisioned a lion instead of a bear in the story when he came up with the concept for the book. You can read more about this interesting story, as well as see some of Bartlett's artwork of his original concept, here. You can also see all the various covers for the book, which was first issued in 1997, but then reissued as a paperback in 2004 and in a revised hardcover format in 2009.

I'm so curious to see how Maria used this book in her creative movement classes. I have imagined her having the class act out the story with one dancer as the boy, one as the bear, and the rest of the dancers as the other forest animals. But I also think it would be fun to just read the story, play some tuba music, and see how the kids react to the music. If you're also curious to see what Maria did, click here!

The History and Power of African Dance

2011-07-16T22:50:00.007-04:00

I can hardly believe it's been more than two weeks since I've blogged. I think that's a record for me...but one I won't be trying to break any time soon. Because Picture Books & Pirouettes has been so quiet lately, I thought I'd start this post off with a bang. Or maybe I should say a boom--the boom of an African drum!

In 1990, Angola dancer and choreographer Julio T. Leitao founded Batoto Yetu--the children's African dance troupe featured in the above video. The troupe is based in New York City, but the 4- to 17-year-olds who make up the company travel throughout the world sharing the incredible energy and rhythm of their art form.

With the publication of Drumbeat in Our Feet by mulicultural publisher Lee & Low a few years back, dancer and choreographer Leitao also became a children's author. Leitao and author/illustrator Patricia A. Keeler teamed up to create this beautifully poetic picture book that captures the rich history and traditions of African dance.

Thinking about the ancestors once young like us--

Dancing in African soil

Dancing under African clouds

Dancing in African rain

Breathing in African air

Drumbeat in Our Feet contains plenty of nonfiction material, including information on the origins of African dance, the different types of African dances, the role of spirits and ancestors, costumes, and of course African drums.

Just as African dance styles vary between regions of the continent, so do drum styles. For instance, the drums in central Africa are conical shaped, held between the knees of the drummer. In western Africa, some drums are shaped like hourglasses with cords attached to each end. The drummer can then squeeze the cord and change the pitch of the drumbeat by tightening the goat skin that covers the top of the drum. Drumbeats carry the rhythm of the entire dance, but a special patterns of beats called a "break" also helps the dancers know when to start dancing, stop dancing, or change to a new dance step.

Listen up! The drums are talking!

Listen for the drum break.

Hear the beat: Doom, doom, da!

Tet da-da-dum, Tet da-da dum, Doom, doom, da!

Hear the drum break? Dance, dance, dance!

What I really like about this book is that the left-hand side of each full-page spread includes the nonfiction information, while the right-hand side contains a more lyrical interpretation of the material. I also love Keeler's illustrations, which are full of both rich earthy colors and more vibrant colors, especially on the costumes of the dancers, who are all children.

It turns out that Batoto Yetu founder Leitao and his family fled Angola during the civil war in the 1970s, and Leitao had a tough childhood living as a refugee after that. According to the back matter of the book, music and dance are part of what kept him going during those difficult years.

I recently had the great fortune of being able to spend a week in Rwanda--another African country that has been deeply changed by civil war. Despite its history of war and genocide, Rwanda has made astounding progress over the years and seems to have such a wonderfully peaceful aura. In some small way, I like to think that dance has played a part in this.

In 2009, Ballet Rwanda was formed to encourage creativity among young children and help develop the arts in Rwanda through dance. And years earlier, the nonprofit Association Mwana Ukundwa was created to help Rwandan orphans navigate their journey to adulthood. The following video shows children from the association performing an African song and dance. I found it so beautiful and mesmerizing, so was compelled to share it with you....

We are the children of the ancestors, singing the songs, dancing the steps to a story that never ends. African rhythm in our steps. African drumbeat in our feet!

Jump along to a Timeless Read Aloud!

2011-06-29T03:17:00.015-04:00

Read It. Move It. Share It.

Each month I recommend a picture book for independent dance educator Maria Hanley to incorporate into her creative movement classes in New York City. This is the sixth month of our collaboration. You can read about Maria’s experience with our June book—Jump, Frog, Jump!—over at her award-winning blog.

Jump, Frog, Jump! is a fun movement-themed book written by Robert Kalan, illustrated by Byron Barton, and published by Greenwillow Books (an imprint of HarperCollins). Although it was published three whole decades ago, it uses two popular writing techniques that still make it a fun read-aloud book today.

The first of the two techniques is cumulation--one that might be best known for its use in the classic There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. Coincidentally, Jump, Frog, Jump! has a fly in it, too…plus a whole bunch of other animals…

This is the snake that dropped from a branch
and swallowed the fish
that swam after the frog
that was under the fly that climbed out of the water.

This excerpt from the middle of the book also shows the use of movement words such as “dropped” and “swallowed” and “swam.” As the action in the book increases over time, you can begin to see how poor little frog gets himself into one perilous situation after the other....which brings us to the second technique I wanted to mention--repetition. Each time poor frog gets himself into trouble, he fixes the situation the same way. You can probably guess how...

How did the frog get away?
Jump, frog, jump!

On every other full-page spread of the book, the sole words “Jump, frog, jump!” appear in bright yellow letters against a bright blue background. I can just imagine a room full of two- or three-year olds sitting on a carpet listening to the story, giggling as they yell out this chorus over and over again. I wouldn't be surprised if at least a few of them also popped up from their seats to jump around every time they repeated the words.

Another quality I like about this book is how Byron Barton adds a richer context to the story through his illustrations. For example, he incorporates some of the animals into the story before they are ever mentioned in the text. Because young children learn to "read" illustrations before they learn to actually read text, details like these don't go unnoticed by their little eyes.

I picked Jump, Frog, Jump! as our June book because it has a summer theme, I thought it would excite young children, and I don't know anyone under the age of six who doesn't like to jump! Let's find out how Maria used the book in her creative movement classes here.

Dance into Summer with Highlights High Five!

2011-06-17T10:10:00.005-04:00

This year's summer solstice, at least in the Northern Hemisphere, is going to take place on June 21. We all know what that means, right? Super long days, short nights, and the beginning of summer! But what does the word solstice really mean?

If we examine the Latin origins of the word, "sol" actually means "sun" and "stice" means "to stand still." So on June 21, as the sun reaches its highest point above the horizon, it might look like it's standing still in the sky. But that doesn't mean that the children in our lives will be standing still. In fact, with all the good weather and with many kids out of school for the summer, it will probably be just the opposite!

Here's a fun action rhyme from the July 2011 issue of Highlights High Five to help young children ages 2 to 6 celebrate the beginning of summer through movement and dance...

A special thanks to Highlights for Children, Inc., who are always so generous in letting me post their dance-related poetry for kids. This particular poem was written by Marilyn Kratz and illustrated by Alexandra Ball. Guy Cali Associates is responsible for the photos of the incredibly cute orange-shirted boy.

Charles Ghigna (also known as Father Goose) is another well-known children' poet with a fun dance-related poem for summer....about dancing dragonflies! You can read it here.

Do you know of any other great children's poems about summer? If you do, I'd love to hear. Maybe we can find some more over at the Poetry Friday roundup, hosted today by Check It Out. Let's go see!

Someone Thinks My Blog Is Irresistibly Sweet!

2011-06-07T14:23:00.005-04:00

I'm so happy that Katie from Secrets & Sharing Soda (reviews and random thoughts on children's and teen fiction) has passed on "The Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award" to me. Thank you so much, Katie!

We actually spent last Saturday afternoon picking strawberries at a local orchard near our home, and now our refrigerator and freezer are full of strawberries. I swear, though, that our strawberry picking had nothing to do with this very "sweet" award. It was simply a nice coincidence. Now I just need to see if I can whip up something as fabulous as the dessert featured on the button for this award!

But, before I can test out my skills in the kitchen, this award comes with four important responsibilities:

Thank and link to the person who nominated you.
Share seven random facts about yourself.
Pass the award along to 15 deserving blog buddies.
Contact those buddies to congratulate them.

So here are seven random facts about me:

1. I share a birthday with author J.R.R. Tolkien.

2. I've developed a taste for dark chocolate and have a small piece almost every day.

3. I moved away from California four years ago and still miss it all the time.

4. I've been to India four times but have yet to visit the Taj Mahal.

5. One regret I have is not learning to speak a foreign language.

6. I have a secret aspiration to be a back-up dancer in a Bollywood movie.

7. This is my first blog award, and I am thrilled!

And here are 15 irresistibly sweet blogs for you to enjoy:

Children's Books to Love

Dance Advantage

Dance Bank

Delightful Children's Books

Grace: Melinda Marchiano

Letters from Leaping Legs

Can You Dance Like a Windy Day?

2011-05-30T13:10:00.002-04:00

Read It. Move It. Share It.
This is the fifth post in my super fun collaboration with independent dance educator Maria Hanley from Maria's Movers. Each month I recommend a picture book for Maria to incorporate into her creative movement classes, and then we both share our experiences with the book. You can read Maria's May post here.

It's that time of year. Storms are brewing, rains keep falling, and the wind is often howling. Even on a calm day, it's not uncommon for the trees to shake a bit as a cool spring breeze rushes past.

Wind inspires movement--movement not only of the trees but also of the grass, waves, windmils, flags, kites. The list goes on and on. So why not let the wind inspire movement of the body as well?

In the picture book Like a Windy Day, by Frank Asch and Devin Asch, the text and illustrations encourage readers to actually be the wind. Imagine the possibilities for a creative movement class!

I want to lift birds and butterflies in the sky.

I want to steal hats, drive clouds and rain, sail boats, and make umbrellas fly!

Every spread of the book includes both a young girl, dressed in a long-sleeved blue dress with a pink and orange scarf around her neck, and a representation of the wind that resembles the young girl in many ways. If you look at the cover of the book, you can see that the wind is like a large shadow of the girl, with the same general shape as the girl and the same wispy hair flowing behind it.

The text in the book is minimal but provides plenty of ideas for little creative movers to capitalize on. And, as you might imagine, the illustrations have so much movement to them. A single leaf also shows up on every spread, fluttering just out of reach of the little girl and the wind, to help carry the story--and the wind itself--from page to page.

I want to shake the dew from a spider's web and help her babies soar.

I want to blow through green grasses and crash big blue waves on the shore...

I want to play like a windy day.

The words "I want to play like a windy day" repeat several times throughout the book, but if you are using the book in a dance class, it might be fun to change the words just a tiny bit. "I want to DANCE like a windy day" has a nice ring to it, don't you think?

Don't forget to find out here how Maria used Like a Windy Day in her creative movement classes and how her students interpreted the wind!

Dancing in the Rain--Actually a Monsoon!

2011-05-15T23:35:00.005-04:00

For the last few days, I've been especially drawn to the picture book Monsoon by Uma Krishnaswami (author) and Jamel Akib (illustrator). Maybe it's because I just got back from India, and the book is about an Indian girl who is eagerly awaiting the arrival of the monsoon. Or maybe it's because I'm working on a picture book manuscript with an Indian theme, and I want to read lots of other books with Indian themes. Or maybe it's simply because it's been raining here lately, and rain is on my mind...

I do love the rain. I love its rhythm--the thumpety thump of the drops against the window pane. I also love the mood a good rainstorm can gently ease me into. So calm, so relaxed, even when thunder booms and lightning sparks across the sky. I love the book Monsoon, too, because it makes me feel the same way.

Uma Krishnaswami has such a beautiful way of describing the activity in the streets of India as all different kinds of people await the much needed rains to break the thick summer heat. Her writing is so full of sights and sounds, smells, and emotions that you really feel like you are experiencing the story as you read the book. (I think the fact that I've been to India several times makes this effect even stronger.)

In the street, a taxi driver honks

an angry horn,

but the cow is tired

and will not move.

Wheels inch around her. We laugh.

The driver frowns

and wags his head at us,

and tears off in a cloud of dust.

The illustrations by Jamel Akib are gorgeous. The colors in the book are bright and plentiful, just like the colors of India. But the images are also a little blurry, sort of how things might look when you view them through a rainstorm. I think this quality, along with the poetic nature of the text, contributes to the peaceful feeling I get when I read the book.

So, what does all of this have to do with dance? Well, because I was feeling so drawn to the book and wanted to feature it on my blog, I came up with a couple ways to weave dance into my post. First of all, in the last scene of the book, the young girl and her brother "dance with the joy of earth's sudden sweet scent." What a lovely ending.

But also, in an author's note in the back of the book, I found out that classical Indian dancers have special hand gestures for several words related to rain. I looked into this a little more and learned that these hand gestures are called mudras, and each one has several meanings, depending on the context of the dance and the subtle differences in the way the hands move during the gestures.

In the video above, the first of the single-handed mudras is called Pataka, and it can mean clouds. The second mudra, called Tripataka, can mean thunder. Lightning and umbrella are among the other rain-related words that different mudras can represent. What a complicated, but beautiful, form of dance.

Complicated but beautiful is probably a good description of India as well. And Monsoon--well, that's simpler. It's just beautiful!

UPDATE: Not long after I posted this review, Cynthia Leitich Smith interviewed author Uma Krishnaswami over at Cynsations. It's a wonderful interview that includes some great advice for other writers and some background information on Uma's new middle-grade novel The Grand Plan to Fix Everything. You don't want to miss it!

Poetry Friday: Celebrating National Dance Week

2011-04-29T01:19:00.009-04:00

Let’s Dance!

Are you ready to dance?

Are you ready to groove?

Find a pose down low.

Let's start to move!

Let’s rise like the sun

In the morning sky.

Let’s soar like a bird

Flying way up high.

Let’s spin like a top

Going round and round.

Let’s fall like the rain

'Til it hits the ground.

Let’s creep like a worm

Through the grass and mud.

Let’s bounce like a ball:

Thud, thud, thud, thud.

Let’s leap like a frog,

Jumping fast for fun.

Now freeze in a pose--

And our dance is done!

I'm in India right now (for a wedding next week), and I'm a bit jetlagged. This morning, as my husband kept sleeping beside me (apparently he is not as jetlagged as I am), I needed to find something to occupy my time. So what else than to write a poem!

So, in the early hours of the morning, as the sun was just rising, I wrote this short action rhyme in honor of National Poetry Month and National Dance Week (in the United States), which happen to be overlapping for the next couple of days. My hope is to get young children up and moving...maybe even inspire a few to create dances of their own this week.

Today is an extra special day, though. It is also International Dance Day, so you can celebrate dance wherever you live. And, it is Poetry Friday! Tabatha Yeatts is hosting the celebration at The Opposite of Indifference. Hope you can join in!

It's Not a Box, So What Could It Be?

2011-04-26T14:03:00.008-04:00

Read It. Move It. Share It.

This is the fourth post in my collaboration with independent dance educator Maria Hanley from Maria's Movers. Each month I recommend a picture book for Maria to incorporate into her creative movement classes, and then we both share our experiences with the book. You can read Maria's April post here.

Have you ever noticed how young children can occupy themselves for hours on end with the simplest of objects? Wrapping paper, bubble wrap, and stickers are a few that come to mind. But cardboard boxes seem to have the same magical quality--one that inspires creativity and imagination--and one that is captured so simply and effortlessly in the picture book Not a Box, by Antoinette Portis.

Not a Box actually physically resembles a box on the outside. The texture and color of its cover evoke images of a box, and the back cover even has the words "This Side Up" printed alongside a couple of arrows, just as you might see on a box being delivered in the mail. The inside of the book, however, demonstrates that what might look like a simple box, to the outside eye, could actually be a variety of other objects, if only you use your imagination.

The main character is a bunny who transforms a cardboard box into a race car, a burning house, a robot, and a myriad of other things that only a young child (or creator Antoinette Portis) would be able to dream up. The interesting part is that there is an unseen character who can only see a plain box, and so keeps asking the bunny what he is doing with "a box." The bunny's reply, appropriately in all cases, is "It's not a box!"

In an interview with publisher HarperCollins, Antoinette Portis reminisces about her own imaginative play as a child. "I would get a flutter of excitement in my stomach setting out to play Pueblo Indian or Pirate or Prima Ballerina--I was about to have an adventure! My imagination never let me down--it always took me to a place that I loved to be," she says.

One of the reasons I recommended this book to Maria is because I know that Maria likes to incorporate props into her dance classes, and I thought a cardboard box could make an interesting one. I almost recommended the book Not a Stick as well, but I was afraid of what might happen if any young dancers got a little "too creative" with a pointed object during class, if you know what I mean. I know Maria has used rhythm sticks in her tap classes, though, so I will leave that one up to her!

Find out here if Maria used cardboard boxes in her classes this week. And, if you're itching for more ideas on props for creative movement, check out this post on Dance Advantage or this guest post by Stacey Pepper Schwartz over at 4dancers. Today is also Book Talk Tuesday at Lemme Library. You can read about more educational and fun books for kids there. Happy reading!