My Mama Had a Dancing Heart

I first bought this book because I was fond of the author. Reading it the first time to my daughters' first-grade class, I cried. The author, Libba Moore Gray, perfectly captures the dance of the changing seasons and how the mother and daughter celebrate. After I finished the book that first time, a very rough-and-tumble boy asked, "Is that book poetry?" Of course it is! The best kind: the kind that reaches children.

I gave this book to my mother for Mother's Day after being introduced to it in one of my teaching methods classes. Gray uses words like paint on a paintbrush, dipping into serious deep blues and greens while tossing in dashes of bright yellows. Colon's illustrations enhance the carefully chosen and eloquent words, bringing them to life. This is truly a book to be shared by daughters and mothers.

I have a five year old blind daughter who loves this book. We read it every night at bedtime, sometimes 2 or 3 times before she falls asleep. She cant see the pictures but she loves the combination of words. "With a grin and a giggle, a hug and a whistle, we'd slap our knees and mama would say, Bless the world, It feel like a tip-tapping, song-singing, finger-snapping kind of day. Let's Celebrate!" And so we did. I love this book as much as she does, And I love to hear her recite it to me word for word. If your thinking about buying this book, think no more. You wont be dissapointed with My Mama Had A Dancing Heart.

I was immediately captivated by the cover of "My Mama Had a Dancing Heart." Raul Colon uses a unique technique that combines colored pencil and watercolor washes with texture added by using scratching tools. Now that I know that I can look at these gorgeous illustrations and see what that means. I especially like the way in which the scratches add a dynamic sense of motion to the pictures and will make a point of tracking down more of his distinctive artwork. Libba Moore Gray's story here is about the love of dance, passed from mother to daughter as a great gift of love. If you have a daughter who loves to dance, whether she dreams of being a prima ballerina or not, they will love this colorful and enchanting book.

Melodic memories touch a young ballerina's heart as she recalls dancing with her mother through the seasons, stopping for sassafras tea in spring and hot cocoa in winter. Together, author Libba Moore Gray and illustrator Raul Colon mesmerize readers with rhythmic text and surreal paintings, setting the dancing mood. Tip-tapping, plash-splashing, and squish-squashing are the musical words Gray plays for ears, engaging listeners and giving the text a natural flow. Text separated from illustrations allows for appreciative rather than overwhelmed eyes. The text and illustrations follow a seasonal pattern, making the story predictable. Colon effectively portrays the ballerina's fond childhood memories by combining watercolor, colored pencils, and etching, creating a distinctive texture, while his use of cool colors and light hues accentuate the mother-daughter bond. With a white background border for each painting, illustrations resemble a photo album. Reaslistic characters in action result from the incorportated use of curved line and shape. Continutity in artistic elements reflects the serene tone and allows for natural movement from page to page. Share this mother's dancing heart with young listeners. This picture book warms the heart and will be enjoyed by all readers.