This picture book tells the story of the collaboration between choreographer and dancer Martha Graham, composer Aaron Copeland, and designer Isamu Noguchi in the creation of the dance masterpiece Appalachian Spring. It is a lovely topic with illustrations that really evoke the spare simplicity of Martha’s dancing and Noguchi’s set design. The focus on collaboration and the American story are wonderful topics woven into the story of dance.
However, the book’s topic, complex concepts, challenging vocabulary, small print, multiple paragraphs, and detailed information do not lend itself to the picture book format. A great book for older readers, particularly teens and even adults being introduced to Appalachian Spring for the first time, the book seems to miss its mark with kids. There is no glossary of terms, despite the particular vocabulary and the larger words, yet there are two pages of research notes, as thought this was a serious book designed for adults that ended up a picture book. But since it is a picture book and has a simplistic title, this book could sit on shelves unread and unnoticed by people who could really enjoy it if they knew whom it was intended for.
(Reviewed for Puget Sound Council)