Top Five Posts at Picture Books & Pirouettes

A lot of creative movement teachers have "circle time" at the beginning of class to give the children a chance to share any special thoughts they have before class and to help set up a structure and collaborative tone for the rest of the class. Over at the incredible dance resource Dance Advantage, Nichelle established a circle time of her own a few months ago so her readers could also share their thoughts on a variety of dance topics.

This month, Nichelle is asking bloggers to describe five top posts from their own blogs and why those posts "rock." This sounded like a fun exercise, especially since I haven't spent too much time reflecting on how Picture Books & Pirouettes has evolved since I started it. Here's a bit of what I had to say about the blog in my very first post back in August 2010...

My plan is to blog about a wide variety of picture books that are in some way related to dance...And, since I am still new to this whole blog thing, I'm not yet sure what other directions it might take...

It is reassuring to look back at this and realize I have stuck to my plan of blogging about picture books related to dance. But now -- 122 posts later -- it is also rewarding to be able to highlight a couple of those "other directions" my blog has taken in the last two and a half years...

Poetry Friday: Miss Tutu's Star Shines! 
(August 2010)

This post describes the picture book Miss Tutu's Star by Leslea Newman and Carey Armstrong-Ellis. The book is such a wonderful combination of poetry, humor, sweetness, and dance. It introduced me to an author and an illustrator I hadn't heard of before and has become one of my favorite picture books with a dance theme. 

The History and Power of African Dance 
(July 2011)

This post about the picture book Drumbeat In Our Feet was one of my most personal posts, as the book reminded me of some of my own life experiences related to Africa and African dance. It also resonated with some of my readers and elicited comments from people I don't often hear from through my blog. 

We're Dancing on a Bear Hunt! 
(September 2011)

One of my favorite "other directions" the blog has taken is my monthly collaboration with Maria's Movers. For "Read It. Move It. Share It," each month I recommend a book for Maria to use in her creative movement classes, and then we share our experiences with the book. We're Going on a Bear Hunt turned out to be a popular book among dance teachers, and I love how Maria used it in her classes!

Read & Romp Roundup 
(January 2012)

Exactly a year ago, I started hosting a monthly roundup of blog posts related to both picture books or children's poetry AND dance, yoga, or other forms of movement. I was really happy with the response, especially among other bloggers who integrate children's literature and the arts. I love interacting with others who share my passions, so I would have to say that the inaugural "Read & Romp Roundup" is another of my favorite posts!

Author Interview: Ballerina Allegra Kent 
(April 2012)

I've had the privilege of interviewing several amazing children's book authors on my blog, but my interview with Allegra Kent stands out in my mind. It is the only interview that I've conducted over the phone (rather than over email) for the blog, and I so enjoyed learning in person more about Allegra's history as a Balanchine ballerina and how she became the author of her debut picture book Ballerina Swan. 

A Nutcracker Picture Book Countdown!

My two girls and I have tickets to see the Maryland Youth Ballet's version of The Nutcracker this weekend. It's become a bit of a family tradition, and this will be our third year going. We're all very excited!

In anticipation of the weekend, we started reading Nutcracker picture books last night. Duke Ellington's Nutcracker Suite by Anna Harwell Celenza and Don Tate was the first on our list, and we have three more lined up for the rest of the week. I'm guest posting about all four books today on Dance Advantage (a wonderful online dance resource for dance students, parents, and educators). I hope you'll check it out!

Have you ever been to a performance of The Nutcracker? Do you have a favorite Nutcracker picture book you'd like to share?

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!

Top Dance Blogs: Please Vote for Me!

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!

Top Dance Blogs of 2011: I Need Your Support!

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!

Guest Post by Nichelle Strzepek: P Is for Pilobolus

I am very excited that Nichelle Strzepek from the extremely popular website Dance Advantage has written the first guest post for Picture Books & Pirouettes. Here she reviews the picture book Pilobolus: The Human Alphabet, created by the famous dance company Pilobolus and by photographer John Kane. Over at Dance Advantage, Nichelle has written another post about the history of this quirky modern dance company. You can read it here.

My three-year-old son has had his entire alphabet down cold since he was about 16 months old. His enthusiasm for identifying and playing with letters has led to both early reading and writing. So, when I finally picked up a copy of Pilobolus: The Human Alphabet a number of months ago, it was with the assumption that the purchase would probably be more for me (a dancer, writer, and picture book enthusiast).

To my surprise (honestly, I shouldn’t have been), the little guy was immediately enthralled by the colorful and nearly wordless hardcover. The book features over 50 photographs by John Kane of the world-famous dance company Pilobolus. Even if you’ve never seen the artistic work of this nearly 40-year-old ensemble, it’s likely you’ve caught at least one of their TV commercials, appearances on late night TV, or perhaps the 2007 Academy Awards. Magical, morphing silhouettes are a Pilobolus calling card.

Though not in shadow, The Human Alphabet artwork is similarly… well, illustrative, with the dancers creating imaginative and sometimes bizarre depictions of animals and objects with nothing but their bodies.

The book begins with a simple instruction: “Here are 26 letters of the alphabet and 26 pictures – all made of people! Can you guess what each picture shows?” I suppose you can predict what follows.

In the corner of each page is a human alphabetical character, which is accompanied by a corresponding picture: dancers, clad in vibrant unitards, render something that starts with the appropriate letter.

Some of my favorites are the four-person Tyrannosaurus Rex, complete with gnashing teeth and two-fingered talons that represent Dinosaur; a human Ladder climbed by an impish dancer dressed in cherry red; and the two-page layout of a particularly puerile Parade.

Not all of the photos are immediately obvious. However, the book’s final pages list the anthropomorphized ABCs with the upper and lower-case printed letter and the word represented by each photo.

Creating body sculptures is the natural next step when exploring this book with children. Right away my son wanted to collaborate to form letters of the alphabet and, though sometimes frustrated by our height difference, he was quite satisfied with the result.

Next steps might include the designing of objects, concepts, or animals, as well as further exploration of Pilobolus and their work, including their use of silhouette. Shadow play is fun and educational. As it happens, my dance studio growing up had quite an active creative movement program for ages 3 through high school (and sometimes beyond). Perhaps an industrious dad helped build the large wooden frame with white fabric we used to explore shape, shadow, and relationships. I recall endless fascination with the possibilities a floodlit screen presented for the telling of both existing and original stories. Parents, what kinds of discoveries might you and your children make with a white bed sheet and a few high-watt lamps?

Nichelle Strzepek is a dance artist, teacher, and writer in Houston, Texas. She's spent over 16 years as a dance instructor, striving to pass on the knowledge and legacy of the art of movement to her students. Since the birth of her son in 2007, she has funneled her enthusiasm for dance training and education into her role as creator, writer, and editor of DanceAdvantage.net. For and about dance students, teachers, and parents, Dance Advantage provides high quality information to supplement students’ in-class learning as well as inspire and support teachers in their work.

Wild About Nature is hosting Nonfiction Monday today. Find out about other educational books for kids there. And thanks again, Nichelle, for your wonderful post!

I'm an Official Guest Blogger Now!

I can't believe I haven't blogged in almost two weeks. Yikes! I've actually been on the computer nearly nonstop, but I've been working almost exclusively on some high-priority projects at my science writing job. The dance picture books are piling up on my bedside table, though, so I will have to let you know about them soon.

In the meantime, I'm happy to report that my first guest blog post was published this week. It's about the diversity of dance picture books in 2010, and you can read it over at Dance Advantage. The amazing Nichelle Strzepek started Dance Advantage in 2008, and it has blossomed into a powerhouse of a resource for dance students, dance teachers, and parents of young dancers. I'm so happy to have connected with Nichelle and her incredibly creative and informative blog!