(3) K-3 Words by JaNay Brown-Wood. “Brown girl, / you were born to take that stage.” Wallace-McMillian's stunning photography, primarily of Black ballerinas, is paired with empowering poetry by Brown-Wood in this celebration of dancers of color in ballet, an art form that remains primarily white. The photographs include a nice mix of experienced dancers en pointe and those just starting out. The dancers appear to range in age from toddlers to tweens. Various skin tones are represented, and one dancer uses a wheelchair.

Reviewer: Marva Anne Hinton

(2) K-3 Retold by Georghia Ellinas. Illustrated by Jane Ray. Feste the clown/fool is our tour guide in this retelling of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. He is uniquely suited to this job because, as he says, he's the only person who knows "what is going on and who is fooling whom." In a prose text, he introduces us to the mix-and-match merry-making, love lost and found, cross-dressing, plots-gone-wrong, and general bewilderment of Illyria, as well as tidily conveying not only the hilarity of the story but also some of its darker emotional implications such as the undoing of Malvolio. At the most tangled moment of the Olivia/Orsino/Sebastian/Viola mix-up, Feste declares: "It was difficult to know whom to feel sorrier for as they were all so confused and upset." This genial introduction to the play is a good choice for young theatergoers but is also a fine picture book in its own right, maximizing the theatrical nature of picture books. The watercolor illustrations in jewel-like colors and energetic compositions are reminiscent of the work of Tomie dePaola, and the casual diversity of the characters is a welcome touch. Like the play, the final scene has its lonely note. We see everybody happily coupled except an aging Feste, who sits secluded with his lute, his hand puppet, and his beruffed dog.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2024

(2) 4-6 McCarthy takes readers back to the movies in her latest, visually rich informational picture book. More "a jumping-off point" than a thorough history of the cinema, the book covers the evolution of moving images, the innovators (all white men) who helped push the medium forward, and the amazement and shock the first motion pictures caused ("At the end of the show there was complete chaos"). The book excels when McCarthy uses side-by-side shots to mirror early moviemaking techniques, such as with nature photographer Eadweard Muybridge's series of shots of a galloping horse, and to illustrate how early films inspired later movies. In one particularly effective page turn, McCarthy draws a line from groundbreaking early German film Metropolis to Star Wars and Blade Runner, showing striking similarities between set and (droid) character design. McCarthy employs her trademark big-eyed, smiley characters (Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton are suitably silly, and even beloved Star Wars droid R2D2 hilariously sports a giant goggly eye). Extensive back matter includes an author's note, short entries on related topics from "MGM's Leo the Lion" to "The Beginnings of Hollywood," and a selected bibliography.

Reviewer: Sam Bloom

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Eric Velasquez. In 1948 at New York City's ­Palladium Ballroom a new dance craze--the mambo--was born. Robbins (­Margaret and the Moon) and Velasquez (Octopus Stew, rev. 1/20) team up to tell the story of Latin jazz, dance halls, and some of mambo's brightest stars. We open on the streets of New York with an introduction to dancers Millie Donay ("in her Italian neighborhood") and Pedro Aguilar ("in his Puerto Rican neighborhood") in action, their dance moves exploding off the pages in energetic, realistic oils. What follows is an overview of the segregated status quo of 1940s New York ("Black people danced in Black places. Jews danced in Jewish places"), before the focus lands on the Palladium Ballroom and its ­open-door policy that allowed people of all backgrounds to enjoy the sounds of Latin jazz band Machito and His Afro-Cubans. Meeting there for the first time, Aguilar and Donay would together smash through society's barriers while becoming the best mambo dance team in the country. In Robbins and Velasquez's hands, this early challenge to segregation makes for a lively, compelling piece of history. Back matter includes an author's note with further information about the 1940s, Latin jazz, and mambo--and some of the musicians and dancers that made them famous.

Reviewer: Eric Carpenter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2021

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Luciano Lozano. Presented by the American Ballet Theatre. Seven boys (four with brown skin, three with light skin) participate in a dance class as a rhyming text comments on the dancers' athleticism and skill: "Training hard, you'll break a sweat / while you rehearse your pirouette." The class practices various positions and movements; posters in the studio feature male dance stars for inspiration. The dynamic illustrations emphasize the dancers' joy in movement and show that dance transcends gender. Eight male dancers from the ABT are profiled on the final two spreads.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Rachael Dean. Presented by the American Ballet Theatre. "E's for épaulement, which makes a simple stance impressive. / Just turn your head and shoulders, and a pose is more expressive." Each letter of the alphabet inspires a rhyming couplet highlighting a dancer (Copeland), dance (The Nutcracker), pose (jeté), or other related subject (leotard, orchestra). Some examples may be obscure (e.g., "T's for Mr. Tudor's work..." refers to choreographer Antony Tudor); thankfully, the back matter provides information about the wide variety of ballets, choreographers, and dancers mentioned or featured in the color-rich accessible illustrations. Balletomanes will enjoy losing themselves in this picture book.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Mark Siegel. This special edition of the graphic memoir about Cherson Siegel's youth as a School of American Ballet student effectively embodies ballet's paradox: every moment of seeming effortlessness on stage is the product of years of grueling work. Softened outlines and delicately hued watercolor washes depict young Siena's long-cherished dream and the ethereal-looking dancers; extended, well-paced panel sequences convey training's tedium and immense physical toll. A spacious redesigned layout heightens the emotional effect. Six new pages of photos and ephemera are appended.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2006; November, 2019

(3) K-3 Follow four boys as they rehearse for the National Dance Institute of New Mexico's multi-school literature-themed recital. Ancona shows the joy, as well as the hard work, discipline, and strength of this art form. Large color photos of the boys at practice and in costume closely follow the brief, factual narrative. A great (and refreshing) introductory photo-essay about male dancers.

Reviewer: Amy Seto Forrester

(3) YA Hip-Hop Insider series. This title, ideal for student research, explores hip-hop dance in historical, political, and cultural context. The clean layout employs a large font, wide margins, plentiful color photos, and informative sidebars. Overall, this series celebrates hip-hop as the voice of urban and marginalized populations while also objectively addressing concerns such as commercialization. Reading list, timeline. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Amy Seto Forrester

(3) K-3 Dabble Lab: Sock Puppet Theater series. After a quick summary of the source material, each book instructs children in making sock puppet characters and props and also provides a script (with a few contemporary touches) for putting on a play of the folktale. Material about staging, voices, and extending the stories into original scripts (reusing the same puppets) adds to the fun. Illustrated with clear color photos. Reading list. Glos. Review covers these Dabble Lab: Sock Puppet Theater titles: Sock Puppet Theater Presents "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" and Sock Puppet Theater Presents "Little Red Riding Hood".

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(3) K-3 Dabble Lab: Sock Puppet Theater series. After a quick summary of the source material, each book instructs children in making sock puppet characters and props and also provides a script (with a few contemporary touches) for putting on a play of the folktale. Material about staging, voices, and extending the stories into original scripts (reusing the same puppets) adds to the fun. Illustrated with clear color photos. Reading list. Glos. Review covers these Dabble Lab: Sock Puppet Theater titles: Sock Puppet Theater Presents "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" and Sock Puppet Theater Presents "Little Red Riding Hood".

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) 4-6 Snap Books: Top Sports Tips series. This volume focuses on the ins and outs of types of dance, from "the basics" to specific training techniques to advice about taking one's skills "to the next level." The text is upbeat, if occasionally vague, with select (bolded) vocabulary words defined at the bottom of the page. "Tip" sidebars appear throughout. The many photographs mainly show young women. Reading list. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz

(3) 4-6 Writing and Staging Plays series. The series imparts a decent variety of information and focuses on producing one's own plays rather than analyzing professional productions. Touching on writing (e.g., characterization, dialogue) and production aspects (casting, lighting), the texts address young playwrights as well as directors and other theater roles. The clean page design includes informative sidebars, photos, and case studies; improv games appended. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers the following Writing and Staging Plays titles: Writing and Staging Funny Plays[cf1 and Writing and Staging Real-Life Plays.