Dancing Words Blog

Category: Preschool Dance Books

  • Chinese New Year and Dragons Dancing

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    I recently pulled off of the shelf two great books on dragon dances.

    Dragon Dancing by Carole Lexa Schaefer, with illustrations by Pierr Morgan, is a great book to read to preschoolers and kindergarteners, to explore the idea of a dragon dance (without it being too scary). Morgan's whimsical illustrations show a class of students pretending to do a dragon dance, and the dragon ventures through forests, marshes, and meadows.

    For students in grades 1-4, I recommend The Day the Dragon Danced by Kay Haugaard, with illustrations by Carolyn Reed Barritt. The story is of a young girl and her grandmother, waiting for the Chinese New Year Parade in their community. The girl, known as Sugar, has learned about the celebration in school and is sharing the details with her grandmother. Finally the dragon appears, and Sugar saves the dragon dance by tying her father's loose shoe. (Her father is one of the community members under the dragon.) It is a unique tale of how people of all ages and cultures participate in celebrations.

     

  • Time for Ballet

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    Time for Ballet by Adele Geras, with illustrations by Shelagh McNicholas, is another great find to read to your child (age 3-6) who loves ballet, getting dressed for class, the classroom environment, and  "performances."

    Shelagh McNicholas offers joyful illustrations of young children, both boys and girls, in class.

    While I was at first concerned about the "ballet class stereotype," I do feel that the book does a nice job sharing a story common for many young children. It is a great book to check out of the library or keep on your shelf at home. It will support a young dancer's love and curiosity of the art form. 

  • Dance Explorations with 2 Year Olds

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    A dance friend was recently asking me about what to explore in a dance class with 2 year olds. Many classes for young ones are best with a parent or caregiver dancing hand in hand with the toddler. And, if you are heading into a daycare setting with 2 year olds, consider short explorations anywhere from 10-30 minutes in length (with a nice variety of open ended activities, music, props, and books).

    Listed below are some great books to have on hand to explore in these classes, as well as some of the classic books on dance education and early childhood education to give you ideas for your classes.

    Many books can be found used on amazon.com or at your library.

    Books to Explore with 2 Year Olds

    • From Head to Toe - Eric Carle (available in Spanish and English)
    • Wiggle! Like an Octopus – Harriet Ziefert and Simms Taback
    • Swing! Like a Monkey – Harriet Ziefert and Simms Taback
    • Watch Me Dance – Andrea Pinkney and Brian Pinkney
    • Dance with Me – Charles R. Smith Jr. and Noah Z. Jones
    • Bouncing Time – Patricia Hubbell and Melissa Sweet
    • Bounce – Doreen Cronin and Scott Menchin
    • I Love to Dance – Anna Walker
    • Kid Moves Series – Michelle Wing

    Books for Dance Teaching Artists

    • Creative Dance for All Ages - Anne Green Gilbert
    • Body, Mind, and Spirit in Action – Patricia Reedy
    • Goodnight Toes! – Anne Lief Barlin and Nurit Kalev
    • Dance and Grow – Betty Rowen
    • Wonderplay! – Fretta Reitzes and Beth Teitelman
    • Wonderplay, Too! – Fretta Reitzes and Beth Teitelman
    • Dance for Young Children – Sue Stinson
    • Why Motor Skills Matter – Tara Losquadro Liddle with Laura Yorke
    • Diez Deditos and Other Play Rhymes and Action Songs from Latin America – José Luis Orozco and Elisa Kleven

    Other Resources

    I also wanted to take a moment to suggest reviewing the National Dance Education Organization's Standards for Dance in Early Childhood, which does include working with 2 year old children. And, the Luna Dance Institute in Berkeley, CA offers numerous workshops on related topics, including developing parent/child dance classes. For some of their workshops, you  can even Skype into the conversation from around the globe. Find out more on the Luna Dance Institute website. 

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  • De la cabeza a los pies

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    Today, while browsing the dance resource library at the Luna Dance Institute in Berkeley, I stumbled upon a version of Eric Carle's picture book From Head to Toe, and in Spanish! This simple, delightful book gets young ones ages 1-6 moving and exploring. It is an accessible book to read at home with your child, use during a storytime at a library, or use as a warm up in parent/child dance classes and preschool dance classes.

    Looking at amazon.com, De la cabeza a los pies is reasonably priced in paperback. Used copies are also available. 

     

  • Bouncing with 1-3 Year Olds

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    Today I would like to suggest two fun books to explore in parent/child dance classes or at home with a little one. The action of bouncing is a favorite with preschoolers. How many ways can we bounce – in place, around the room, and with different body parts?

    Both Bouncing Time (Patricia Hubbell with Melissa Sweet) and Bounce (Doreen Cronin and Scott Menchin) are great starting points. Read a book with the kids, and then improvise. 

    There are many ways to use a book in a dance class. With these two books, I suggest sitting down and reading them first, to inspire movement exploration. Then, see how many ways you can bounce. Use the text for ideas, and maybe pull word phrases from the actual text as prompts.

    Have fun!

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  • Top Picks for 2012: Books on Dance

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    As the year wraps up, I have looked back at all of my posts for 2012. Looking specifically at books published in this year, here are three of note:

    Jazz Age Josephine

    Invitation to Ballet

    Bea at Ballet

    The links are back to the original blog posts. Jazz Age Josephine uses rhyming text to tell the story of Josephine Baker. Bea at Ballet is a joyful book for preschool and kindergarten students beginning ballet, and Invitation to Ballet is for students in K-3 interested in ballet.

    Keep adding to your book collections, as many books go out of print quickly. 

     

  • Wiggle Like an Octopus

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    Wiggle Like an Octopus is a great addition to the category of "animal action books." This board book, by Harriet Ziefert and Simms Taback, can be enjoyed at home with a parent and child, in a parent/child dance class, or in a preschool dance class with children ages 2-5. 

    The simple, direct text will get the students up on their feet quickly. "Can you scurry like a crab? Sway like a starfish? Swoop like a seagull looking for fish?"

    Purchase the book here. 

  • Two Books for 3 and 4 Year Old Dancing Girls

    Do you have a preschooler who is just crazy about dancing – dancing at home, dreaming of taking a dance class, in awe at a live performance? Then check out these two books.

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    Dance, Tanya by Patricia Lee Gauch is about 15 years old, but still a great story for young girls. The book is well-done, portraying a little girl in love with dance who is looking up to her older sister who gets to take dance classes. It is about dreaming about what's possible and ahead. 

    The book is out of print, but you can check it out of your library or get a reasonably priced copy on amazon.com.

    DownloadedFile-1As I mentioned in a previous post, Mabel Dancing by Amy Hest is also a great story of a preschooler wanting to dance. You can find used copies here.

     

  • Alphabet Movers

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    Today I would like to share about Alphabet Movers by Teresa Benzwie.  I used it for my opening activity in a preschool creative dance class this morning, with 4 and 5 year old children. 

    Benzwie's book goes through the alphabet, highlighting various action words to inspire young ones to stretch, reach, leap, and dance. For example, the text on the R page is:

    "R is for rolling reaching and running a race

    Are you ready? 

    Get in place"

    Robert Bender's illustrations are a great complement to the text – illustrations of both boys and girls in regular attire moving and dancing.

    For my opening activity, with a group of 8 kids sitting near by, each student got highlighted. I greeted each child and asked the first letter of his/her name. We then read the accompanying page, and then got up on our feet and moved. 

    I did not read the book from start to finish, but simply used it as a springboard for a warm up. The students loved it and eagerly waited for "their turn."

    I purchased this book years ago through the NDEO website (www.ndeo.org), but I also noticed today that Powell's Books sells it as well. 

     

  • Rockets

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    I am the mother of two boys, and they have loved the idea of rockets over the years. I recently found a fun board book called Rocket Town by Bob Logan. The book will easily inspire 3, 4, and 5 year olds to soar into the air, move slowly, move quickly, blast off, and land. Use the book in a preschool dance class as a springboard for improvising and exploring rockets.