Tap Dancing

Children's Literature - Barbara L. Talcroft

Dance is an appealing topic for pre- and early teens. Who doesn't want to make those fabulous moves? This set of "Snap" books explores six forms of movement popular with kids (modern dance being conspicuously absent). In four or five chapters and conversational prose, each volume tells a bit about the genre's history, shows vital steps and moves, and spotlights a successful performer (in this case, tap master and choreographer Savion Glover). Heavy on recommending individuality and confidence, the authors also stress taking classes and lots of practice. "Tap dancing is all about sound," says author Graves, and she does make the crisp sounds and even the basic step, hop, and shuffle sound like fun. Aspiring tap dancers will be led through increasingly complex combinations, demonstrated by teens who certainly look as if they are having a wonderful time. All these smiling tappers in the classroom are girls, while, interestingly, the famous professional performers shown are all men. In this volume, there is more dance history than in the others, including a time line of tap development and a marvelous sepia photograph of the exuberant Nicholas Brothers in 1941. For those with dreams of performing, Graves recommends a private teacher and attending master classes when possible, then trying to join a tap company like the National Tap Ensemble. A friendly format, lots of color, and encouraging words will attract middle readers—just so they do not forget the endless practice and grueling work behind the dreams. Reviewer: Barbara L. Talcroft

School Library Journal

Gr 2-4- These unremarkable books cover three types of dance. In Ballet and Tap , the focus is on technique with a small amount of information about their history and some professional performances. In Ballroom Dancing , the emphasis is on explaining the different dances such as the quickstep and rumba. There is enough clearly written information to provide an introduction and an adequate number of color photographs to support the explanations. It appears that no effort was made to include different ethnicities in the young amateurs in the photographs. In fact, except in Ballroom , in which boys appear as part of a dance couple, the children featured appear to all be Caucasian girls. There are a few photographs and some brief information featuring some ethnically diverse professional dancers. Many other resources provide the same basic information.-Carol Schene, formerly at Taunton Public Schools, MA