I Will Dance

by Nancy Bo Flood, Julianna Swaney (Illustrator)

Overview

This poetic and uplifting picture book illustrated by the #1 New York Times bestselling illustrator of We Are the Gardeners by Joanna Gaines follows a young girl born with cerebral palsy as she pursues her dream of becoming a dancer.

Like many young girls, Eva longs to dance. But unlike many would-be dancers, Eva has cerebral palsy. She doesn’t know what dance looks like for someone who uses a wheelchair.

Then Eva learns of a place that has created a class for dancers of all abilities. Her first movements in the studio are tentative, but with the encouragement of her instructor and fellow students, Eva becomes more confident. Eva knows she’s found a place where she belongs. At last her dream of dancing has come true.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781534430624
Publisher:	Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	05/26/2020
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	753,239
Lexile:	AD520L (what's this?)
File size:	31 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Nancy Bo Flood has a PhD in experimental psychology and child development and is the author of several books including I Will Dance, Warriors in the Crossfire, and Soldier Sister, Fly Home. She lives in Colorado. Visit her at NancyBoFlood.com.

Julianna Swaney is the illustrator of #1 New York Times bestselling We Are the Gardeners by Joanna Gaines and several other picture books. She lives in Portland, Oregon. Visit her at JuliannaSwaney.com.

Editorial Reviews

"Flood’s text avoids sentimentality and taps into a longing that many youngsters have shared, and the description of the girl’s participation in the dance classes and eventual performance lyrically conveys the sublime possibilities of art."

BCCB

I Will Dance” puts us in this child’s chair, in her tiny yearning body and in her mind, which is mobile and alive. ...It’s not that she wants to dance, it’s that she will. ... We see the power and harmony that builds from dancing bodies in Julianna Swaney’s illustrations, which glide across the page lending innocence to lightness, effervescence to urgency. “I Will Dance” rides on the sensation of movement; it’s simple yet sophisticated."

NY Times Book Review

★ 2020-03-15
A girl who uses a motorized wheelchair longs to dance.

The 10-year-old narrator can’t blow out the candles on her birthday cake, but she has one wish: to dance. But how can she “swirl, leap, twirl” when she can move only her head, arms, and fingers? Pretending isn’t enough. At breakfast one morning (a spill-proof cup at the child’s place adds cozy realism), one of her moms reads that the real-life company Young Dance is auditioning dancers of “all abilities, all ages.” Though apprehensive, she needs to try. At the instructor’s balletic welcome, she “swirl[s]” her fingers, joining a multiracial circle of dancers. Some dance unaided; some use “canes and crutches, / walkers and wheels.” One wears a prosthesis. Their dancing is emphatically “not pretend”—neither imaginary nor relegated to a form of therapy. Eva’s narration brims with elation as together they “create space, / create shape, / create dance,” culminating in a triumphant performance. The text itself dances across the page, lines tiptoeing phrase by phrase and echoing the shapes of dancers’ movements. Swaney’s simply drawn dancers are rosy-cheeked and cheerful; magic shimmers from their fingers, proudly joining them “[a]s one, / as us.” An author’s note explains that Eva is based on a real dancer; a note from Young Dance’s executive director describes the company. Eva presents as a child of color and wears glasses; her moms present white.

A gorgeous, immersive celebration of dancing and the grace within all bodies. (Picture book. 6-10)

Kirkus Reviews