Dancers of the World

Gr 3–6—Fifteen young women worldwide enthusiastically describe the dance form they love and practice. Each one talks about the music, the steps, and the dance's history, and imagines herself in a particular role. In some cases, she describes a real performance. The styles vary greatly-ballet, ballroom, folk, Kabuki, Senegalese, Flamenco, Tahitian, etc. The text is written in a casual, diarylike format that is appealing. The colorful double-page illustrations with some foldouts feature elongated figures with the same idealized dancer's body in attractive costumes and appropriate settings. The text is often on colored pages that sometimes seem a bit opaque for the print to be able to stand out. A useful addition for collections that need more information about the various forms of dance.—Carol Schene, formerly at Taunton Public Schools, MA