Moví la mano/I Moved My Hand

PreS-Gr 1—Luján and Sadat have choreographed a playful ballet starring an inventive preschooler. The dance opens in the child's living room; her smiling parents constitute the audience. Against dramatic black backgrounds and gray, patterned furnishings, the child's magenta tutu and slippers command attention. Eyes closed, she begins the bilingual narration, one sentence in English and Spanish per spread: "Moví la mano y encontré un coco./I moved my hand and found a coconut." As she glides, swirls, and slips through the colored pencil, ink, crayon and digitally designed scenes, the furniture and household objects morph into large scale, colorful elements in her imaginary world. A translucent orange fish (whose face is the moon) spills over two spreads. The girl rides the moon, landing in a yellow landscape, where she reaches and finds a rainbow. Select objects returning to view display a multicolored exterior within the still monochromatic—and now messier—home; the the dancer and her guardians are subtly transformed, each sporting rosy cheeks, as does the fish in its bowl. The wordless spreads that follow feature one of the toys—a newly striped unicorn—taking its place on the circular carpet. Luján's spare, suggestive text leaves ample room for Sadat to create a magical dream world. The girl's giddy logic rings true; the marvelous use of color and expert pacing propel the dance. Sure to inspire fresh flights of fancy!—Wendy Lukehart, District of Columbia Public Library