Kitchen Dance: A Charming Picture Book About Family, Music, and Bedtime Joy for Kids

by Maurie J. Manning

This charming picture book celebrates family, and is full of singing and joy and tenderness.  A little girl wakes in the night to mysterious, inviting noises. She rouses her brother, and they sneak downstairs and peek into the kitchen. To their amazement and delight, their parents are dancing and singing—"¡Como te quiero! Oh, how I love you!"—as they clean up and put food away. Mama and Papa discover the two kids and sweep them into the embrace of a family dance. Slowly, the song changes to a lullaby. . . the children close sleepy eyes. . . then Mama and Papa tuck them into bed again. The story reads like poetry. The art moves from subdued tones to hot tropical colors and back again. And as you turn the pages, you can almost hear the music—changing from a pop ballad to a hot tango to a cozy lullaby. All in all, it's a perfect bedtime book, with a satisfying hugs-and-kisses ending.

Genres: Picture Books, Family, Music, Childrens, Cultural, Latinx, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published October 6, 2008

Reviews

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really good book to show how some families are. Most kids can relate to this a little because of hearing noises when they are heading to bed and being curious and wanting to find out what the sound is. I also really like that the book also has some Spanish phrases incorporated in the story and the illustartions are really nice as well.

[Monique · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspired by her Latin American extended family is created a story of the family gathering in the kitchen. The infusion of Spanish speaking along with the loving exchange of dance shows how families express themselves. The illustrations are a reflection of a strong culture and example of a two-parent household.

[SaraLaLa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book captures a cute scene of a brother and sister who wake up to hearing unusual sounds coming from their kitchen. They peek through the kitchen door to see their parents dancing while cleaning up. The whole thing is fun-loving and sweet and the illustrations are nice. The author includes a lot of onomatopoeia, some similes, and Spanish phrases.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is so adorable! Reading it warmed my heart and brought a big smile to my face. What a sweet, loving family! The author says it was inspired by "the Latino-American branch of the her extended family."

[Kim Foy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute story of two children who hear noises in the kitchen after they go to bed. They find their parents dancing, singing, and cleaning up the kitchen. The illustrations are very colorful and enjoyable.

[Mercedes Arroyo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book. The book is realistic fiction. The story is about a mother and father downstairs cleaning the kitchen at night. Then their daughter and son sneak downstairs because they hear noises and find their mother and father dancing and singing Spanish tunes. So the children join and dance with their parents before they become sleepy. The book connects to my topic because it offers some Spanish language that is relevant in the book. It also points out an important part of Latin American culture, singing and dancing. I also like how the characters are illustrated as not a typical Hispanic family. I believe the book can be very engaging for students. The illustrations have a lot of movement between characters as they dance, and the plot is interesting to read. The students can show their favorite dance and try to infer what kind of dancing the characters in the book are performing. I think it is a great introductory book to discuss on Latin American culture. The problem was the daughter hearing noises coming from downstairs and not knowing what the sound was. The solution was the daughter going downstairs and finding her parents dancing in the kitchen and being able to join them in some late night fun. The characters are very realistic and perform actions any child or parent would do. The text corresponds to the illustrations when the text explains a movement in the dance; the characters are illustrated to perform that movement. The details on the illustrations are great as well. Since this is only about one family, it only represents a small part of the cultural group. However, I like the way they represented the cultural group because their skin and hair tone is different from the stereotypical Latin American character. The lifestyles of the characters are general and realistic, which makes the story seem authentic. The characters will sometimes speak Spanish, which is relevant to their culture. I believe the book shows a value this family has that some children can relate and others can get a glimpse of, which is family and culture. The family shows how much they care for each other and how much they want to keep their culture alive by passing certain customs on to their children. The author/illustrator was inspired to create this book from her extended Latino-American family, so she does have representation and background knowledge on the topic she is writing about.

[Amy Seto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Late one night a little girl wakes up to the sounds of glasses clinking, water running, and muffled laughter. She wakes up her brother and together they creep down the dark stairs and peek into the kitchen. And what do they see? Mother and father dancing, four feet flying as they clean the kitchen! Mother’s bright skirt is swishing. Father croons a tune into a wooden spoon, “¡Cómo te quiero! Oh, how I love you. Umm, hmm.” The children try to sneak away, but their parents see them at the door and sweep them into a joyful nighttime dance. Now eight feet are flying and four voices are singing, “¡Cómo te quiero!” Too soon the children become tired and are tucked into bed, “Besitos, mi’ja. Sweet dreams,” says Mama. “Umm hmm,” replies the girl as she drifts to sleep.

This book has three sections. The first part is full of suspense as the children walk through the shadows of their dark house to find out what is going on in the kitchen. The second act bursts onto the scene with a riot of colors and movement as Mama and Papa are revealed in the kitchen. The third part wraps up the book as the sleepy children are carried to bed and tucked in for the night. The colors come full circle, bringing the children back to the warmth and comfort of their dark and shadowy rooms. The digital watercolor, Conté crayon, and chalk illustrations are soft and round. The characters are not stick thin people; there are curves and substance to these people who radiate joy and love. The text, full of sounds, “Scrape! Splash! Clunk! Clang!” begins in straight rows across the page, but once exposed to the chaos of the kitchen it too begins to swirl and dance. Using a variety of angles, Manning depicts a bilingual family with black hair and glowing brown skin (the exact cultural heritage of the family is not noted). Only three Spanish words/phrases are used in the book, "¡Hola!", “¡Cómo te quiero!” (I love you) and “Besitos, mi’ja” (Kisses, daughter), but they are woven into the text and do not disrupt from the flow of the story.

Full Review at Picture-Book-a-Day: http://picturebookaday.blogspot.com/2...

[Rll595ag_fabiolaginski · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book in my local public library under the multicultural children literature section. I was attracted at first by its simple, yet vivid and realistic pictures. As I started reading the text, I realized that it had a distinctive musical quality I found very appealing. The noises that wake up the little girl are reminiscent of a pop song, the refrain of the Spanish song the parents are dancing to is a lively salsa, and the ending of the book is a gentle lullaby. Even the art work follows this rhythm: soft tones, brilliant tropical colors and then soft tones again. I found this picture book to read like poetry while sounding like a song. I chose it because I thought it would make a good read aloud for younger readers as a celebration of family and diversity. This book can be utilized as an interactive read-aloud with grades K through 1st. The onomatopoeic sounds at the beginning of the story can be acted out by children during the reading. The refrain of the salsa ballad in the kitchen scene and the lullaby at the end can also be utilized for choral and echo reading activities making this book fun and interesting for students, while they are improving their fluency and developing their love of reading at the same time. Most relevantly though, this book can make a nice addition to a unit of study about families and can serve to spark a discussion about how they are both alike and different. Additionally, as this book has three readily identifiable sections, it can also be very useful in teaching students about story plot organization (Beginning, Middle, and End).

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cleaning up the kitchen has never looked so fun! Our unnamed narrator is starting to go to sleep when she hears noise coming from the kitchen. She wakes her brother and they sneak down to discover their parents who are cleaning, singing and dancing! Soon the entire family is involved in the impromptu party until Mama and Papa bring the kids back to bed.

The illustrations, executed in digital watercolor by the author, start out in muted tones of purples and grays perfectly suited to the night time house, but when the children peek into the kitchen, the colors explode into bright yellow, greens, and whites that perfectly match the festive scenes.

Spanish words are interspersed throughout the text, some of them as the song being sung in the kitchen. While the text doesn't rhyme, there is definite rhythm and some subtle alliteration ("Together they tango across the room with the leftover tamales.") that makes this a pleasure to read aloud - brave souls could even make up a tune for the song the family sings together. The text is too long for the very youngest listeners, but would work well for good preschool listeners up through first or second grade at least.

Overall this is a celebration of a lovely evening of family togetherness and could be used for all sorts of storytime themes such as: dance, music, family, cooking/kitchen, or Spanish language. Kitchen Dance would also be an excellent bedtime book.

Used for dance themed storytime March 2009; Terrific Ts (3/24), Preschool (3/24), and Family (3/26).

[Rebecca Tenbrook · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent book that should the love and bond between mother and father and their children. I enjoyed the Spanish flair this book had. The book is written primarily in English but every couple of pages the author throws in some Spanish words as well. The author also includes things like tamales that they must have just eaten for dinner and tango which is what the mother and father were doing in the kitchen that woke the children up. My favorite part in this book was when the mother and father finally saw the children peeking into the kitchen and instead of sending them back to bed, they let them join in on the fun and took it as an opportunity to bond with their children. I think this book sends such a strong message of love and a strong family bond that hopefully many children can relate to. I would love to use this book as a read aloud in my classroom. This book could help us discuss families and Hispanic culture. The only thing I wish this book had was a section about the author. I don't know anything about the author from this book and I would really like to know if he has any special ties or knowledge on the Hispanic culture before writing this book.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Kitchen Dance" is a 2009 Americas Award Commended Title. The illustrations in the book are vibrant and grab the readers attention. In the story, a young girl and her brother Tito awake to hear noises coming from their kitchen. They sneak out of bed to find their parents spinning, laughing, and twirling to a Latin song while cleaning up the kitchen at the end of the day. The parents see their children have awoken, and they include them in the dance party as well. This book encompasses the Latin culture using illustrations and music while telling a story that most children can relate to or long for, a happy family life. This book would be best fit for beginning readers, or would be a great bed time story for young children.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kitchen Dance is a delightful, family-friendly story of two loving parents who care as much for their kids as they each other. After the kids are put to bed, the couple 'dances' their way through the drudgery of dishes...making it an enjoyable activity in which they spend time together. They laugh, they dance, they sing, and the kids are woken up to unusual sounds. They sneak a peak and see how their parents laugh, dance, and sing in the kitchen. A wonderful, inspiring story and one that certainly could be used for a dancing or bedtime or chore themed storytime.
Used for Music and Dance Storytime.

[Ashley Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book could be used when doing math with students grades 1-2. In the book the children talk about seeing 4 feet moving because their parents were dancing. When they joined their parents they talk about eight feet moving. If another child joined in how many feet would we see moving, would be a question I ask. I would use this book at the beginning of a lesson on wrod problems. If there are 4 feet moving to the music, how many people are dacing? I would allow the students to draw realistic picture of people and they would be able to use those people as manipulatives to solve the problem.I would also focus on different activities that students do with their parents.

[Lyndsey Hurm · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book to use to teach students about different writing crafts. You can talk about how it is a circular text because it begins and ends in a similar way. This book also does a great job using descriptive language and really making you feel like you are there in the story. I would use this book in my classroom to teach about different ways to use words to enhance your story. I would have my students tell me some things that they noticed about the author's writing. They also speak in Spanish a little bit throughout the story so it would be a great book for ELL's as well.

PS) The illustrations are great in this book! :)

[Nashiea Edmiston · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book reminds me of myself. I am half Puerto Rican and cannot seem to clean without some salsa music playing in the background and dancing going on, just a parranda every time. This little story is about a couple kids who are awakened in the middle of the night from the banging of pots and pants and the clanking of heels. They discover it's their loving parents singing and dancing as they share in the chore of putting away the dishes. Dad sings a lovely tune and mother dances away. In English but with an occasional Spanish word, this book would be a great read to any child, not just bilingual children.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This exuberant book shows two small children sneaking downstairs to check out some noise in the kitchen. It turns out to be their parents, dancing up a storm as the clean up. When the children are discovered, they're welcomed into the fun, and now there are 8 feet instead of 4. Although this foray into a touching family moment is great for kids of all colors and cultures, it is a rare and welcome look at a Spanish-speaking nuclear family, just having fun. Great, lively, warm, colorful illustrations by the author.

[Monalisa Johnson-brown]

Tito sister wake him up because she was awaken by the sounds of pots, pans and steps made by his mother and father. They were having a good time dancing and singing when they saw the children peeping in on them. They allowed the children to join them and dance. The children danced until they fall asleep. they were taken to their room by mummy and daddy after wards they went back to dancing and singing.

[Carman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A husband and wife shoe their affection for each other as they dance and clean the kitchen. Soon it is a family affair as the children wake and join the festivities. Just a wonderful tale of family. There are some parts of Spanish which many students would know and identify with, this could encourage their participation. A great read aloud for many reasons, but I especially love the action (mama's hips swinging the cabinet closed and papa dippin' mama).

[Latise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun book to share that teaches children diversity and about different families. This book provides a fun way for children to see how families from different cultures express their love and affection toward one another. I would share this book in my class and ask students if this family participates in similar activities as their family. I would ask them to share the similarities and differences between this family and there's.

[Jelisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has great illustrations that capture the dynamic of this loving family as they clean the kitchen. My first thought would be to have this in my classroom for Ell (spanish speaking students) because of the spanish phrases used in the text. This book would also be classified as a circular text which means that the story begins and ends in a similar manner. The book could also be used to teach students to write like poets as well.

[Vanessa Holzknecht · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was adorable. It shows so much love between the mother and father as they dance late at night together doing something simple: cleaning dishes. It takes this simple moment and turns it into an entire story about a dance that becomes a family bonding moment. It really shows how the little things make days better. It also adds a little diversity because the family is Hispanic and has phrases in Spanish. I would use this book for a rainy day or just for fun.

[595AJ__Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a playful bedtime story that children will love. It is a story about a young girl who awakens during the night to unusual noises coming from the kitchen. She and her brother sneak down to investigate. As they peer into the kitchen they discover their parents dancing and are welcomed to join the fun. This book is filled with love and happiness. Both words and pictures paint a joyful family moment that will make you smile.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a wonderful celebration of love! It is good to see parents who obviously love each other and love their children, expressed through the simple pleasure of dancing together while doing the daily task of dishes. Fun doesn't have to cost money; working together can be joyful and fun. The illustrations are bright, warm and fluid. This book is a gem!

[Marguarite Markley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be a great book to recommend to teachers doing a unit on families. After reading it aloud to the class, the teacher could have students write their own stories about a fun event or tradition in their house. In addition, it contains alot of spanish phrases that build cultural awareness. It is a nice addition to any collection.

[Julian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun book! Kitchen dance provides many fun ways for children to interact while reading this book, would be great for a read aloud and children would have an opportunity to play with the anapestic beat that exists throughout the book. A wonder and positive reflection of the sweet harmony a family creates. K-2.

[Nanee Zogaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ideal for kindergarten and first graders. The author makes good use of using adjectives and verbs to create a sense of feeling so that the actions, such as the pots banging, creates both imagery and vivid sounds that will make reading the story aloud even more rewarding. The author also uses rhymes!

[Jodi Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one of my favorites now! It was a very cute story. In my class I would use this book as a fun read or as a book we read before movement in the classroom. I would also use it to discuss similies, onomatopoeias, and adjectives! It was very descriptive and I know the children will appreciate it as I did.

[Crystal]

Illustrator - Maurie Manning
Award - Latina Book Award Honorable Mention
About a mom and dad having fun in the kitchen. Children are sleeping at first then children get awoken and they sneak to see their parents having fun and they start to sneak off and their father pulls them in to join the fun til they fall asleep and their parents put them to bed.

[Tonia Holloway]

This is a great book that deal with music. I would have the kids make their own instruments and have a session of "kitchen dancing". I would bring the plastic and paper form of kitchenware and they will use these things to create their instruments. The kids would each make up moves to go with their instrument, put on some music and have a jam session.

[Camille · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two kids are awoken by noises in the kitchen and they discover their parents singing and dancing. they find themselves dancing with their parents until they fall back asleep, again. The library that I borrowed this from had labeled it African American, but it is really a Latin-American book especially with the sprinkling of Spanish language and food items throughout the story.