Donkeys lined up to dance the merengue? Rats in bolero hats? Pigs salsa dancing? And how cool are those cats anyway? Sherry Shahan and Paula BarragA-n, the collaborators behind the highly acclaimed Spicy Hot Colors, reteam in a burst of color and rhythm to introduce young readers to animals and numbers in English and Spanish. Shahan\’s poetic riffs suggest a variety of rhythms and dances, and BarragA-n\’s multimedia illustrations outfit the animals in vibrant costumes any diva would envy!
Marisol has always loved to dance–from the salsa at family parties to the boom boxes on Loisada Avenue. Then she wins a scholarship to ballet school and discovers an inspiring new world of beauty and discipline. When violence erupts in Alphabet City, Marisol’s dream starts to slip away. To keep dancing she must make heartbreaking choices–perhaps impossible ones.
Rita, a young girl living in New York’s El Barrio, describes the Afro-Caribbean dance music, salsa, and imagines being a salsa director.
When Miata leaves on the school bus the skirt that she is to wear in a dance performance, she needs all her wits to get it back without her parents’ finding out that she has lost something yet again.
Finally! After begging their parents for ballet lessons, Ivy and Bean finally get what they want…well, not exactly. Much to their surprise, it turns out ballet lessons do not include karate chops and roundhouse kicks to the villain’s heart. The girls have no interest in learning how to dance gracefully, but they promised their parents they would finish the entire ballet course! When it comes time for Ivy and Bean to participate in the ocean-themed class recital, the girls must figure out a way to get out of it without breaking their promises.
When Old Grandfather Winter disappears into his ice palace high in the mountains, Young Robin chirps her wake-up song to the Root Children deep underground. ³Wake up,² she sings, ³it¹s time for the masquerade!² Right away, the Root Children set to work sewing their flowering costumes and painting bugs with rainbows until they sparkle like jewels. Then they frolic out into the world in a joyous chorus of frolic and song all through Summer, until the frosty Autumn winds blow away the leaves and flowers. The Root Children return to their underground bed with gentle Mother Earth until Spring returns again.
This is a lyrical and reassuring story about growing up and leaving the barn to dance on one’s own. At the biggest barn owl dance of the year, the Leave the Nest Fall Fest, keen dancer Berkeley shines as usual. Next moonrise, however, she and her fellow fledglings Bo and Bree must leave home. Though Berkeley is frightened, the winking, smiling, laughing moon lights her way. After thousands of silent wingbeats, she finds a new audience, and Flippity, Tappity, Clap Clap Clap, Berkeley’s new barn dance begins. Berkeley’s Barn Owl Dance ushers children into an unseen animal world, while the young owl’s journey will help them prepare to spread their wings and fly on their own.
In a poor village in northern China, a small boy named Li Cunxin was given the chance of a lifetime. Selected by Chairman Mao’s officials from among millions of children to become a dancer, Li’s new life began as he left his family behind.
At the Beijing Dance Academy, days were long and difficult. Li’s hard work was rewarded when he was chosen yet again, this time to travel to America.
From there his career took flight, and he danced in cities around the world—never forgetting his family, who urged him to follow his dreams.
Chosen from millions of children to serve in Mao’s cultural revolution by studying at the Beijing Dance Academy, Li knows ballet would be his family’s best opportunity to escape the poverty in his rural China home. From one hardship to another, Li perseveres, never forgetting the family he left behind.
From the day she danced out of her shell, Celestine knew she was born to be a star! She dresses herself carefully every day, prefers to eat only pink food, and insists on wearing a tiara at all times — as all good stars should. The school play is the perfect chance to show the world just how special she is, and she has a secret role that not even her family knows about. But will a sudden case of stage fright keep her from making her grand debut? No matter how the play ends, she\’ll always be a star to her family.