Dance in the Desert

by Madeleine L'Engle, Symeon Shimin (Illustrator)

Describes an encounter in the desert when the animals came to a caravan campfire and danced with a child because fear was absent.

Genres: Picture Books, Fantasy, Childrens, Christmas, Fiction, Animals, Poetry

47 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Madeleine L'Engle was an American writer of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and young adult fiction, including A Wrinkle in Time and its sequels: A Wind in the Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Many Waters, and An Acceptable Time. Her works reflect both her Christian faith and her strong interest in modern science.

Reviews

[Michael Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

L'Engle drops all kinds of hints that we are hearing a story about the Holy Family's exile to Egypt. The basic idea is nice, and the prose is of her typical high quality. I can get with some of the other medieval Christian imagery - the lion, the ass, the unicorn and the virgin, the bleeding pelican - but the dragons and the snake are just not fitting in. At no point does the serpent get a pardon from the condemnation in Genesis: "I will put enmities between thee [the serpent] and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel." Dragons, of course, are also frequently found as representations of Satan in battle with saints. So why we get this mixed message is not clear to me. Maybe I'm not remembering something in her works, but I have the impression that L'Engle tends to forget about the punishment side of things.

[Betsy · Rating 5 out of 5]

To those wondering if this is an allegory about "a family" and "a little boy" in the "dessert".... I totally took this as an imaginative exploration of the journey the toddler-aged Jesus takes with Mary and Joseph as they flee Herod's wrath, traveling from Bethlehem to Egypt. Given L'Engle's religious background, I think this is a fair assumption. And that makes it a truly marvelous story with amazing illustrations. If animals are going to dance with a child--animals which include a snake, a lion, and other fearsome creatures--wouldn't they be dancing with the young Christ? Beautiful.

[Linda Lipko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many know this author for her incredible book series of The Wrinkle of Time.

This book chronicles a family who long ago traveled across the long, scorching hot desert. Their young male child was introduced to ferocious animals, venomous snakes, bandits who robbed and killed. Unable to find a caravan to join, they were forced to travel alone.

Miraculously, the young boy, who one by one encountered all the dangerous animals, his spirit tamed them and no harm occurred.

The beauty of the art is introduced in muted colors of brown, darker almost black, and sand-like tones.

I've kept this book in my library since I had the honor of meeting Madeleine L'Engle in the late 70's. My book is signed.

[Cheryl]

If I hadn't been warned by Michael Fitzgerald's excellent review (which you should go see & like) to know that this was a tale of Jesus I would not have appreciated it all. It's a very long anecdote of one night with a mysterious event... almost a shaggy dog story. Many of the images are lovely, but some are devoted more to the folds of the Bedouins' robes than to actually illustrating the story; I would have loved to meet the scrawny donkey boy with the large horn, but no. He and the boss were the only characters who were interesting at all.

(avl on OpenLibrary)

[Christina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every new library I go to I look to see if they have anything by Madeleine L'Engle and Dorothy Gilman that I haven't read yet. So when I found a new L'Engle book, I was intrigued. But it left me wanting — usually in her other books I can love the story and the mystery and just not pay too much attention to the new cosmology Christianity in the allegories. All the animals in the desert come upon a boy traveling with his parents and instead of eating him, they dance! And then bow to him! Words like "sparkling" and "unicorn" are used. A younger me would have loved this book, I think. Right now in my life it's just too fantastical.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspired by the Holy Family's journey to Egypt, this is a wondrous description of the animals of the desert dancing joyfully before the young child. The text is rich with symbolism, for example the pelican with the bleeding wound, and Shimin's exquisite artwork matches the text beautifully. A powerful and timeless picture book!

"With a toss of his head the unicorn danced lightly across the shining diamonds of sand. As he neared the circle of firelight he bowed his horned head and his flanks quivered with tension as though he were preparing to charge, but he continued lowering his horn until it touched the sand before the child in a gesture of loving reverence. Then he walked past the child to the young mother, lay down quetly beside her, and put his head in her lap."

[Mary Catelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

A nameless account of the Flight To Egypt, or rather, one night thereof, mostly, "where nobody was afraid and everybody danced." The illustrations are striking, and her account is peppered with allusions -- which are actually, more than many adults will recognize.

[Erin Waymel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but Thoughtful. How did creation respond?

Physically, quite an attractive edition and illustrations.

[Heidi · Rating 2 out of 5]

As you can see I was on a L'Engle kick, so I picked this one up just because I'd never heard of it and it was really short. It's supposed to be an allegory, but I didn't get it. A family is travelling through a dangerous desert with a group of merchants, and while they camp at night the animals come and dance with the young child and each other. The end.

Maybe it's about the power of innocence? The beauty of children bringing peace to the world? Is the child supposed to be Christ? Do the animals represent different elements of society? And what's a unicorn doing in the middle of the desert, and why doesn't it dance with the other animals?

Like I said, I didn't get it.

[Zana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read during a silent retreat, on the advice of another retreatant who found it delightful. It was.

The blurb for this book is bizarre and inaccurate. I have to assume that whoever wrote it missed the entire point of the story.

[Cynthia Egbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are few stories of Christ as a child. This sweet offering is one that I would love to imagine occurred as one of his earliest miracles. So beautiful.

[Gheeta · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it. I got the allegory. Loved the illustrations.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neither the text of the book (not the Goodreads description) gives the reader any hint that the young family is Mary, Joseph, and the young Jesus, although the blurb on the cover does elucidate this. An interesting, if somewhat fantastical imagining of what might have happened on the road from the Holy Land to Egypt.
I don't know why the editors decided to abridge the text of this newest version of the book. I went to Open Library to read the original, which added some foreshadowing and other details missing in this edition. I liked the original text better, but I preferred the more colorful illustrations in the newer edition. In the original edition, I had a better sense that these animals were worshipping their Creator.

[Priscilla Luther-Heft · Rating 5 out of 5]

Madeleine L'Engle's Dance in the Desert is a children's book for adults, like so many of her works. Share it with children, but keep it for yourself. Dance in the Desert magically illustrated by Symeon Shimin, plays off themes of desolation and fullness, darkness and light, longing and fulfillment in reimagining the danger-filled escape into Egypt in the shadowy but mighty presence of the Lion of Judah.

[Damian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Story is OK- didn’t find the prose that enticing nor was the story that special although perhaps I should give L’Engle more credit for crafting this in such a short book. The ending was also abrupt. It was likable as a Toddler Jesus allegory and thinking about each animal dancing with Jesus redeems it.

But my main problem was with the illustrations. I didn’t like the yellow hue that saturates all the pictures. I felt like they could convey the scene better but easier said than done.

[Broheros · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read on August 11, 2024.

A beautifully illustrated story that’s allegory is pretty obvious, but isn’t to its detriment.

I enjoyed this short read late last night, and was very confused until about halfway through, when everything clicked. I don’t understand why L’engle felt compelled to make this, but it’s fun nonetheless.

[Elizabeth R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely and unusual "children's Christmas story"

[Becki · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short, insightful, easy to read. I love Madeleine L'Engle.

[Janet Cline · Rating 5 out of 5]

a short story and quite good

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an engaging, excellently written, imaginative account of what might have occurred during Jesus' journey to Egypt as a baby. Very well done!

[Barbara]

Love reading this every so often.

[Andy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not what I have come to expect from her. Definitely written for a very young audience

[Michele Thrailkill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyed this connection to the nativity story

[William Bradford · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful and enchanting story. 5+ stars.

[Maggie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really loved a winkle in time so I figured I'd love any of L'Engle's books. And it wasn't that I didn't like Dance in the Desert, it's that I didn't adore it, probably because it was all about Jesus. And L'Engle was rather sneaky about it to, she acts just telling a story of a "husband and wife" and a boy, but the wife's often called "mother" and the husband is never called "father." And she never called the boy Jesus, but he so is! I just feel like if you're going to tell a story about Jesus you should let the reader know up front so they can make an informed choice to read the book. However my real complaint was that the story was just boring, it's just a long line of animals that present themselves to the little baby Jesus in a long drawn out way. The one saving aspect of this story was the illustrations. The pictures were beautiful, you were simply transported to the desert to hang out with lil' J in these simply breath taking paintings.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book shares a lot of the same problems that I have complained about in L'Engle's works in the past. The writing is beautiful (as are the illustrations), but the symbolism doesn't quite work. The common interpretation of this book seems to be that the child featured in the story is a young Jesus Christ and that his love and gentleness are so powerful that they tame even the wildest animal. All of this works fine, except that little Jesus is able to win over a snake. In Christianity, a snake only represents one thing: Satan. It doesn't make sense to use a symbol like a snake in a book that is so full of Christian allusions and then treat it like any other animal. L'Engle's theology always feels a little vague and touchy-feely to me, so I'm not necessarily surprised, but it is a very annoying mark on a book I otherwise really liked.

[Laura Craner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was cute. I think I would have liked it better when I was younger. It's funny because I can see my second daughter, E, liking it a lot but I can't see my older daughter, N, enjoying it at all. N has a definite aesthetic that I don't think mingles well with L'Engle's aesthetic. . . so, if you like L'Engle's other stuff you'll like this. But if you don't, you won't.

[Sara Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fantastical, whimsy story about a young family traveling through the desert once upon a time. The spiritual implications are evident, much more central and present than in many of L'Engle's works, but they don't detract to the story. L'Engle is a pro at such things, and this simple book compliments all the other books I've read by her. A fun, quick read.

[Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful Christian allegory. Not being Christian myself, it's not as touching to me as it would be to a Christian. That being said, this reads like a fairy tale, showing the nature and power of the Christ child. It even hints at Mary's virginity, by having the Unicorn drawn to her.

This would be a wonderful gift for a Christian family with small children.

[Mckinley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not stated but this is the story of Joseph and Mary's flight with their baby Jesus into Egypt.

For more on the same story but very different illustrations see The Picturesque Ideas On The Flight Into Egypt by Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo; these are lovely woodcuts.