Sing Along to Boogie in the Bronx!

Put on your dancing shoes and get ready to rumba! Boogie in the Bronx hit bookshelves one week ago today! 

I became a huge fan of publisher Barefoot Books when my girls (who are both teenagers now) were very young. This new picture book, written by Jackie Azúa Kramer and illustrated by Jana Glatt, embodies all the qualities that have kept me a fan through the years. The art is bold and bright, with equally engaging rhyming text, full of music and movement. As a bonus, it's a singalong! Sung by Sol y Canto to music written by Brian Amador, the song (which mimics the text) and an accompanying animated video can be accessed through a QR code at the end of the book, or here!

Although not apparent from the title alone, this book is also a counting book (with numbers and some short phrases in both English and Spanish) and an introduction to Latin, Afro-Latin, and African American dance--all set within the walls of a diverse high-rise apartment in New York City...

Once you listen to the song, you'll also realize that it's an introduction to the rhythms that go along with each the 10 featured dances, including salsa, reggaeton, and conga. The spread below, featuring tango, is one of my favorites. I especially love how the paint brushes of the artists are gliding right along with them as they dance in their apartment...

One more thing I've always loved about Barefoot Books is that the characters in their books have been from diverse backgrounds for as long as I've been reading them, which means representation has been important to them for a very long time. 

To that point, I really appreciated the acknowledgment in the back of Boogie in the Bronx thanking a director of diversity education, a disability consultant, a pronunciation consultant, and a dance consultant for their expert advice in creating this book. So, with that...

 

I hope you've still got your dancing shoes on. Let's dance! Vamos a bailar!

Here, There and Everywhere!

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!

Sing, Dance and Create with the Shape Song!

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! 

Giveaway: Choose Your Favorite of Four Books!

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

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.