Dance with Me

by Charles R. Smith Jr., Noah Z. Jones (Illustrator)

Young readers will find their groove with a spirited tale sure to tickle their toes and have them slapping their knees to the beat.

Two kids bopping down the street get the whole town moving in a lively tale for emerging readers. Noah Z. Jones's bright, energetic illustrations tell a parallel story, while Charles R. Smith Jr.'s rhythmic, rhyming text is guaranteed to get children shake, shake, shaking.

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Childrens, Fiction, Cultural

24 pages, Hardcover

First published September 9, 2008

About the author

Charles R. Smith Jr. is an award-winning author, photographer, and poet with more than thirty books to his credit. His awards include a Coretta Scott King Award for illustration for his photographs accompanying the Langston Hughes poem "My People" and a Coretta Scott King Honor for his biography of Muhammad Ali, Twelve Rounds to Glory. He is the author of Rimshots, Hoop Kings, Hoop Queens, Tall Tales, Short Takes, Diamond Life, and I Am America. A father of three himself, Charles brings his love of basketball and baseball right down to the toddler set in Let's Play Basketball! and Let's Play Baseball! His recent work celebrates subjects he's been interested in since he was a kid, such as The Mighty 12, which honors Greek gods and goddesses. He currently lives in Poughkeepsie, NY, with his wife, Gillian, and their three kids. You can visit him online at www.charlesrsmithjr.com.

Reviews

[Denise]

This book is simple, rhythmic and fun and I'd use it with toddlers. It's marketed as a "super sturdy picture book" and I agree, the pages are a little thicker than usual.

[Jennifer]

Simple, rhythmic text combined with bright, fun illustrations - a great read aloud at my preschool and toddler story times!

[BiblioBeruthiel]

0-2 ST

[Kate Nichter]

I love how this book opens up different perspectives of dancing. The pacing is quick, the tone is fun, and it gets the kids shaking to the rhythm of the words.

[Ruth Ann]

Cute rhyming story begs for an interactive storytime.
I do not think I could pull this off. The types of dancing/movement are too similar to one another.

[Fatima Seraj Alam]

I am lying in bed sick with covid and my daughter doesn’t want to distance herself so this high energy dance to the beat book did not match the vibe that was us on the bed🥲

[Virginia]

3.5 stars?

[Earl]

A fun bop of a read perfect for a movement themed storytime.

[Cassandra Gelvin]

Decent book that might inspire dance moves.

It's cute, but there's not really much to it. It kind of sounds like lyrics to a song, all about moving. "Dance with me/twist with me/wiggle, move and bounce with me." Different ways of dancing, and that kind of thing. Two kids go through the town and dance with everybody and then they go home. That's it. There's no story. It's very short. There are very few words to it.

The pictures are cool. It's a cool book. The version I have has nice thick pages. It's pretty modern looking, from 2008. It's very colorful, and all about moving, but doesn't have a real plot. It's pretty to look at. Younger kids would like this book. It probably would get them to move around a lot.

For more children's book reviews, see my website at http://www.drttmk.com.

[Library Quine]

This is a really cute book for a lively storytime for little ones. I encouraged the mums and babes to move along to the words and they went for it! There is lots of wiggling and twisting, and some repeated phrases too, "Shake it, shake it, shake it baby!" is such fun. It has extra sturdy pages, and would be a good focus book for slightly older ones, but needs to be in board book format to be a true focus book contender.
Read in Baby Rhymetime 17/Jan/2012.

[Isela]

This book has "super sturdy" pages because they are thicker than other pages. It is easy to read with colorful pictures. In addition, this is a book with lots of action words. I would recommend this book to pre-kindergarten students.

[Katrina]

This book is simple, rhythmic and fun. The pages are a little thicker than usual which makes this a good gift for toddlers as well.

[Tina B]

"dancing, birthday"

[Danielle]

This is a book to read while standing up and with some music so you can dance together.

[Inma]

Impossible not to sing along and dance

[Anna Fillmore]

This worked well with both the baby storytime and toddler storytime.

[Miss Kelly]

Board book with big bold pictures. I was going to use this interactive picture book at Camp Y-Noah.
Okay book. Good book for wiggly kids.

[Fluxbrarian]

pre-school movement storytime

[Helena]

GREAT DANCE BOOK FIR CHILDREN OF ALL AGES