Got to Dance

by M.C. Helldorfer, Hiroe Nakata (Illustrator)

It’s a hot summer day in the city—and with Momma off to work, and big brother off to day camp, the little girl of this joyous story has the summertime blues. The remedy: dancing—and lots of it! Whether flipping pancakes for breakfast, wandering through the zoo, riding the city bus, or enjoying a sudden shower, the little girl dances her way to a fun-filled day. And Grandpa is her lucky companion.


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

32 pages, Library Binding

First published May 11, 2004

About the author

Mary-Claire Helldorfer has written numerous books for children and young adults. She lives in Baltimore, MD.

She also writes under the pseudonym of Elizabeth Chandler.

Reviews

[Jj]

The text is admittedly no great shakes, but I like the idea here. Also, you really can't go wrong with Hiroe Nakata's art in a jovial picture book for the little ones, especially seeing as it's about DANCING.

[Josephine Burks]

This was cute. My son seemed to like it at baby storming yesterday. Beautiful pictures.

[AMY]

A beautiful celebration of life in a little girl's dance. Highly recommended for Grades K-2.

[Camiah Mcneal]

1. Two to three sentences summarizing the plot/info presented in the text you are reviewing. 2. Three to four sentences discussing the role of the images in your text. 3. Three or more sentences connecting some literary element discussed in class (e.g., race, culture, class, gender, war, the child, childhood, narrator, voice, mood, etc.).

1.) Got to dance is a fiction book about a little girl who is spending the day with her grandparents while her mother and brother are out during the summer. The little girl dances in different situations.

2.) The images look like water color paintings, but very kid friendly. When comparing the images to another book that I read for my study, they are much more simple and not as intricate. The images help to tell the story very well.

3.) Looking closely at the images I believe that they embraces more than one culture; the culture of the little girl who is telling the story, and the culture of the world in which she lives in. I am not 100% sure of the race of the little girl portrayed, but if I had to guess, it would maybe be Mexican.

[Terri]

Used for WTBI Movement. Better for a summer movement instead of fall movement.

[Elise]

A story with a bit of rhyme about a young girl who loves to dance. Like the concept, but not crazy about some of the passages.

[Jack]

Read it and then Dance with your little one!
Age Range: 2 - 5 years

[Taylor Kundel-Gower]

The illustrations are cute.