Boys Dancing

Today, I wanted to share my favorite books that are about male dancers. While I love books that include both boys and girls, I do want to highlight boy-specific books today. 

Jonathan and His Mommy by Irene Smalls and Michael Hays is a joyful book for students 3-6. The child and his mother explore many ways of walking around town (tiny steps, zig zag steps, etc.). The book is a great exploration of pathway, as well as the concept of parent/child moving together.

Brothers of the Knight by Debbie Allen and Kadir Nelson is a wonderful male version of Twelve Dancing Princesses. I suggest this book for children 3-7.

One of my all-time favorite books on dance features the modern dance choreographer Bill T. Jones, simply entitled Dance. Bill T. Jones and Susan Kuklin created the book together. The text is such a beautiful, simple introduction to modern dance. Over the past ten years I have read this many a time to students in kindergarten and first grade. The photos of a strong male dancer are wonderful examples to my young students. I have used the text and images in the book for springboards for activities in K/1 classes. (The book is out of print but you can easily find used copies online.)

Last, I would like to highlight 3 biographical/autobiographical books of famous choreographers Alvin Ailey and Jose Limon, as well as dancer Savion Glover:

Alvin Ailey by Andrea Pinkney and Brian Pinkney

Jose!: Born to Dance by Susanna Reich and Raul Colon

Savion: My Life in Tap by Savion Glover and Bruce Weber

If you have other favorites of books with male dancers, please leave a comment and I will gladly create a second post with further suggestions.