WHEN LANGSTON DANCES: And Invites Readers Along!

 Picture books like this one make me think that I don't feature picture book celebrations of the arts nearly enough. So, I did some key word searches and found quite a few music-performance, visual arts, and even dance-related posts. across a decade of book love shared here. I felt both pleased and challenged to seek out and share more. At the end of this post I'll link to some of those others, and encourage you to suggest titles in the comments for me to explore- from current releases to long-time favorites.

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Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
2021

WHEN LANGSTON DANCES, written by Kaija Langley and illustrated by Keith Mallett, captures the exuberance and inspiration that dance, music, and other expressive arts serve in our lives. The cover introduces us to Langston in a gorgeously-executed ballet leap. The endpapers and opening pages are subtly-swirling sweeps of intense, passionate color. Then, on the first page of text and image, we learn that "Langston liked basketball, but he adored ballet."  

I urge you to take a mindful pause on that first page, whether reading it for your adult selves or with young company. Appreciate Langston's leaping dunk of the ball into the hoop. Call to mind the muscular grace of athletes. Notice the nuance of Langston's feet and hands and the arch of his neck. The illustration captures Langston's  FEELING about what his body is doing, sharing his joyful self-expression in  movements, and his satisfying results. 

Then, and only then, turn the page to find Langston seated with his mother in the dark, enthralled by an Alvin Ailey Dance Company performance, bodies soaring across the stage. Front and center on that stage is a powerful and graceful, muscular and magnificent male dancer whose skin color resembles Langston's. There, in that darkened venue, Langston's dream glows to life and lights his face. 

He will dance. 

When someone says, "Boys don't dance like that," Langston confidently responds that yes, they do, because he has witnessed the thrill of what dance can be. With a mother who supports his dreams and neighbors who admire his efforts, he arrives at a dance studio. There, he glances at but passes other classes-- tap, hip-hop, African-- until he reaches the ballet room, kicks off his sneakers, and joins the girls at the barre. 

There is so much to love in the characters of Langston, his mother, his instructor, and his neighborhood community that it makes me smile to imagine your own discovery of this book. Young people today have grown up with programming (SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE) and social media (YouTube and TikTok) in which dancing (by any gender or gender expression) is showcased and celebrated. Even so, males are most often featured in modern dance and improvisations as compared to classical ballet. This is a book that could provide a handheld experience, perhaps as powerful as the in-person experience of Langston, the character. Let's make sure that every child, everywhere, can see themselves in the arts. 

Here are some posts from the past that will support that effort:

LET'S DANCE, by Valerie Bolling, Boyds Mills Press, 2020.

BEA AT BALLET, by Rachel Isadora, Nancy Paulson Books, 2012

A DANCE LIKE STARLIGHT, by Kristi Dempsey, Philomel Books, 2014

There are plenty of other posts about dance and other arts, so feel free to use the search box on the right menu bar>>>.

I sincerely welcome suggestions in comments about other favorite picture book titles of yours, of any kind, but most especially about arts, artists, and creative expression. 

Dreaming Beyond Our Limits

A DANCE LIKE STARLIGHT: One Ballerina's Dream

by Kristy Dempsey, illustrated by Floyd Cooper

Philomel, 2014

And… I'm back again. Notice, though, I held out for this post until March, Women's History Month, ended. I've done this in the past, but this title is was such a powerful book it was a struggle not to share it sooner. I'll also mention some related titles I've reviewed in the past. Here's what I had to say about A DANCE LIKE STARLIGHT on Goodreads:

"This is both fiction (the young girl's dream) and fact/biographic  (Prima Ballerina Janet Collins breaking of the color barrier with her performance at the Met). Dempsey's language should be used across many ages as mentor text. It's figurative language ("streetlights spreading bright halos round their pin-top faces") grabs you and lifts you to New York City rooftops from page one. This young "colored" girl's dream of becoming a prima ballerina is firmly anchored in two realities: her frequent exposure to the highest levels of ballet through her mother's job, and her culture-limiting skin color. Together Dempsey and Cooper create a girl so real I was sure that links to her career in ballet would be listed at the back."

Other reviews of this book can be found here from some of my go-to sources: 

KIds Read: http://www.kidsreads.com

A Mighty Girl: http:// www.amightygirl.com

Children's Books Heal: http://childrensbooksheal.com

Kirkus reviews: https:www.kirkusreviews.com

KidLit Celebrates Women's History Month: http://kidlitwhm.blogspot.com 
(Don't miss the "INDEX" tab on this blog. It offers an alphabetized link to all previously reviewed titles for use throughout the year.)

They are universally impressed not only with the strength of the content of the story, but with the lyricism of the language and the illustrations rich with mood, detail, and underlayers of story. Neither is a surprise. Cooper participated in an interview in one of my earlier posts. His comments there and his many books demonstrate his versatility and talent, but are even more revealing of his insight into the richness of the text his illustrations support. 

Dempsey's line quoted in my review above offers only a sliver of her mastery and economy of language. That should come as no surprise once you click over to her website here and see that she is, first and foremost, a poet. Her home page says it best:

"Welcome! This site is for people who love words –

Words that call you like a whistle to come and listen…

Words that bounce you up and down and across a wondrous path called Story…

Words that make you never, ever, ever want to leave…"

See what I mean? An art form with the strength, delicacy, control, and power of ballet (and of dreams) could be in no better hands than with Dempsey and Cooper. 
Except, perhaps, when those creators are Rachel Isador and Tomi DePaulo.

In a much earlier post I featured three ballet titles and hope you'll take the time to read that now, if you haven't before. Just in case you're in a rush I'll provide the titles here so you can jot them down and find them later. Seriously, they're worth the effort. Each also pays homage to the importance of children's dreams.

Nancy Paulson Books, 2012 

First, BEA AT BALLET, with story and art by Rachel Isadore.
 In this little beauty, Bea is only one of a highly diverse group of toddlers participating in first experiences with the world of ballet. Apart from the beauty and grace of the story and images, the inclusion in this group of wee ones of  every race, ethnicity, and ability is understated brilliance. Every child has dreams, each can and does have innate appreciation of movement and music, of group interaction.

Greenwillow Books, 2003

An earlier offering from Isadore is ON YOUR TOES: A Ballet ABC. It does what only the best concept books do, it generates underlying themes and suggests worlds within worlds in each image. Alphabet books are particularly challenged by this, since the purpose of the book is to associate a distinct item to each letter, not to muddy the waters with irrelevant details. Isadore's book presents tones, word choices, and relationships in the art of ballet that infuse it with the dignity, value, and inspiration of dreams.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1979

OLIVER BUTTON IS A SISSY by Tomi DePaulo, involves tap dancing, not ballet, but it is a perfect pairing with A DANCE LIKE STARLIGHT. Oliver Button is a boy in school in the days nearly as restrictive in gender-expectations as the color barrier was in those same days. His dream of dancing, though, is one he refuses to deny, as is the case with Starlight's young girl. 

These titles illustrate (no pun intended), the REAL importance of sharing themed titles throughout the year better than any arguments I might profess. In the case of Black History, Women's History, Hispanic Heritage or any other topic, the unifying element found in the best selections is that model of someone, somewhere who has a dream. It's generally a dream that circumstances would deny, or at the very least suppress. None were written to "teach a lesson" or "instruct", but each offers quality literary and visual experiences, entertainment, emotional engagement. The featured individuals who stand tall as examples of dreamers with the determination to push open doors, make their voices heard, and take up any gauntlet thrown in their path. 
If that doesn't merit year-round reading, what does?

And if you're not in a mood for dreams but love humor, check out this prior post featuring an interview with Molly Idol about FLORA and FLAMINGO. Ballet, friendship, and just plain fun.

Bea At Ballet... and Beyond!

Recent posts have focused on just a few of the incredible picture book portraits of performers from the past. (Read that sentence aloud, fast, but not after snacking on crackers, please.) When the Olympics opened just two weeks ago, the elaborate productions featured an homage to children and children's literature. The closing ceremony is another extravaganza of music, song and dance for all ages. After turning to thoughts and books about the place of arts in young lives in my last post, I'm eager to share a remarkable recent release. 

BEA AT BALLET, by Rachel Isadora,  is much more than a ballet primer for the preschool set. True, it includes clearly labeled items, from clothing to equipment to positions,  simply but appealingly portrayed on wide white spaces with accurate terminology. Etiquette and expectations during lessons are conveyed as are a genuine fascination and love of ballet. But it is much more. This is a lovingly told story of how Bea and her friends view ballet.

Isadora blends her Caldecott Honor-winning black lines from BEN'S TRUMPET and pastel palette from ON YOUR TOES: A Ballet ABC in this story of a ballet class with young Bea. Mocha the well-mannered dog observes Mr. Paul and Ms. Nancy teaching a diverse troupe of toddlers who engage, body and spirit, in a life of ballet. The gently curved lines, expressive features, subtle gestures and shading, delicate patterns and soft edges all create impressively competent round-bellied dancers floating in an almost magical white space. Their earnest efforts include pointed toes, graceful hand extensions, and utterly believable spins and stumbles. From cover to cover it is evident: Bea and her friends LOVE to dance.

Add this to your collection of alphabet books!

Bea's class includes young boys whose enthusiastic efforts show great promise. Here's hoping the current popularity of dance in mass media will provide cultural acceptance of that interest, rather than resulting in the teasing depicted in OLIVER BUTTON IS A SISSY, by Tomie dePaulo, a reaction more typical in the past.
A review of OLIVER BUTTON can be found , along with an annotated list of children's literature, at Social Justice Literature for the Elementary Classroom.

So, should we be fostering decathletes or dancers, ball players or ballerinas? Bet you've already guessed my take on the question. Let's just say that each child's life holds possibilities as expansive as an Olympic stadium or a concert stage and beyond. Today's plugged-in preferences tend to tether the natural impulses of childhood, and educational imperatives further restrict exposure and opportunities for arts and athletics in their daily lives. More than ever we need to foster interests and activities that allow kids to see themselves in those arenas, to discover and explore their passions. Picture books like these are fine first steps.

(While I await your comments, I'll be seeking treatment for my recently acquired  alliteration addiction.)