Dancing - Hardcover

Cazet, Denys

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0531094669 ISBN 13: 9780531094662

Publisher: Orchard Books, 1995

Synopsis

Alex's father sings a song to reassure him that he is still loved, even though there is a new baby in the family. Words and music included at the end of the story.

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Reviews

PreSchool-Grade 2?Alex is unhappy with his new baby brother, so he slams out of the house and sticks out his tongue at the stars. When his dad joins him on the front steps, Alex suggests that they send the baby back. Dad, however, pulls out a pink slip and explains that they can't?they've already paid for him. The man then sings a loving song that links the boy and his new sibling to the moon, which shares the sky with the stars (and, in particular, with a rising star featuring an infant's face): "They'll be dancing forever/through all the heavens,/dancing forever and ever." Then parent and child dance beneath the starry sky. Cazet skillfully evokes a warm father-son relationship through both text and watercolor illustrations. The youngster's emotions?anger, jealousy, insecurity?are readily apparent from the first time readers see his small figure dwarfed by an immense, star-filled firmament. Dad reassures him that he is still loved, that he will always be a part of the family, and even suggests that he will grow to love the new baby. A lovely book to share with children facing a new family addition.?Marilyn Taniguchi, Santa Monica Public Library, CA
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A disappointing offering, Cazet's ("I'm Not Sleepy") slight, sentimental story focuses on Alex, a boy disgusted by his noisy newborn sibling. "Maybe we can send the baby back to the hospital," he suggests to his father. But Father shows the boy a slip of pink paper and answers, "Paid in full... we own him." The man turns his son's attention to music that is playing, saying "I think this song is about you." As Father sings Alex some wishy-washy lyrics?"Maybe the moon/ knows just how you feel,/ sharing the night/ with the stars./ They'll be dancing forever/ through all the heavens, / dancing forever and ever"?a bizarre series of illustrations show a night sky populated by an oversized star with the face of a baby and a fat full moon with an adult physiognomy. Alex then asks his father to dance with him, and the man picks him up and vows that he will catch him if he falls ("'Always?' asked Alex. 'Always,' says his father. Always"). Craig Bond wrote a score for the song, which is reproduced at the book's end. Ages 3-6.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Ages 4^-6. On a warm summer evening, Alex's father finds him on the porch, driven out of the house by his screaming baby brother. As the wails from inside the house subside, Alex's father begins to sing a song meant to soothe away Alex's newfound insecurities--" Maybe the moon knows just how you feel sharing the night with the stars." The complete lyrics of the song are nicely woven into the text of the story, with the father singing a line or two and Alex responding with a funny, often sarcastic comment about his new sibling. Striking watercolor illustrations provide a vivid portrait of a compassionate and nurturing dad as he dances with his son "under an indigo sky" ablaze with stars. For the musically inclined, the words and music to the charming song are included at the end of the story. Lauren Peterson

Edition details

• Publisher: Orchard Books
• Publication date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0531094669
• ISBN 13: 9780531094662
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32