My Mama Had a Dancing Heart

by Libba Moore Gray, Raúl Colón (Illustrator)

"In spring, summer, fall and winter, a mother leads her young daughter in dancing a celebratory ballet, a hymn to the season. When the girl is older, she is a ballerina and remembers that her mother gave her a dancing heart.... [An] exuberant celebration of dance." - School Library Journal, starred review

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Poetry, Family, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Writing

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Alicia Bayer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book. I even mentioned it on my blog a few years ago when someone else's post went viral about why we shouldn't try to give our kids a magical childhood (I've run a non-profit site and later the related blog called "A Magical Childhood" for nearly 20 years).

In that post, I wrote:

"There is a picture book that I read to my kids at bedtime sometimes that sums up a magical childhood to me. It’s called My Mama Had a Dancing Heart and it’s about a little girl and her mother through the seasons spending time together cutting out paper snowflakes, playing in fall leaves, dancing in the rain and so on.

The last line is, 'My mama had a dancing heart, and she shared that heart with me.'

That’s the kind of mom I have always tried to be...." https://magicalchildhood.wordpress.co...

[Aneesa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the poetry in this kind of annoying but I see a lot of teachers think it's a good example to learn by so... I guess that's why poetry is annoying.

[Julie Fischer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this to my second and third classes and they loved it. The author writes which rhythm that the children would ask me to read it over and over again. This made it one of those books that they would pull off the shelf themselves and read it easily themselves.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gorgeous, whimsical, free-spirited artistry accompanies this lyrically expressive verse. Enjoyed being immersed in the care-less utopia of the mother-daughter relationship. Made me want to cultivate a "dancing heart".

[Christie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a ballet dancer who's mom helped foster her love of dance through welcoming each season with dance. Her mom always found away to spend time with her daughter through dance and they loved to celebrate everything with dance even the changing of the seasons.

The characteristics of this book show that it is a quality picture book because the reader can see: Illustrations extend and/or support the written text (setting, plot, characterization, theme, tone, mood, style). Illustrations are related to the purpose of the piece. The reader can have a significant transaction with the story/piece of literature and the reader can understand/interpret the text and illustrations.

This book could be brought into the classroom for reading or subjects that include: Arts-Dance; Award Winners-ALA Notable/Best Books; Family Life-Mothers; Family Life-Daughters; Seasons/Weather-Winter; Seasons/Weather-Fall; Seasons/Weather-Summer; Seasons/Weather-Spring.

This book has a writing trait of Fluency. You can see it in the way the writers sentence read like "With a grin and a giggle, a hug and a whistle, we'd slap our knees and Mama would say: "Bless the world it feels like a tip-tapping son-singing finger-snapping kid of day. Lets celebrate!" And so we did." This is creating a sense of rhythm with the sentences and a flow that the reader finds enjoyable to follow along. Good sentence fluency stands out when a piece of writing is read aloud.

The AR-Reading level 3.8 for lower level grade (LG K-3rd.)

[Paul Hankins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-read as I found a copy of this book at a resale shop. We'll be looking for a friend with whom we can share this copy. In the writing workshop, the text here is a model for inventive and poetic use of the hyphenated or compound adjective.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful book. Especially for anyone who loves poetry and dance, and who realizes they are connected.

[Danette · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/17/21 Read with Julia

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love everything about this book :)

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful pictures, beautiful, lyrical prose, and an awesome story.

[Amanda L · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poetically written through the seasons of this sweet story

[Lynn Bingaman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this book to my mother 5 months before she died in 1999. I liked what I wrote to her better than the book itself.

[Cassidy Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very sweet book! Can be relatable to the students in different ways. A very nice book before Mother's Day.

[Emma Pasley · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my picture books. This book is full of beautiful and unique writing that makes the book memorable. I will definitely be using this book in my writing lessons as an example of creating words to create a memory.

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Mama Had a Dancing Heart is a touching and joyous narrative poem about a mother-daughter relationship. The narrator of the book reflects upon a childhood spent enjoying, laughing, and dancing with her mother through every season of the year. In spring, the pair enjoys dancing in the rain and “sassafras tea with lemon curls floating.” In summer, they dance across the beach, with kites and balloons tied to their wrists. In autumn, they dance in the leaves, and in winter, they make snow angels and drink hot cocoa. At the end of the book, we see that the narrator has grown up to become a ballerina.

Libba Moore Gray uses narrative verse that dances along through the pages in much the same way as the characters. Dances are described using a string of hyphenated words, creating a barrage of images and sensations in the mind of the reader that are appropriate to the season being discussed:

“When a warm spring rain
would come pinging on the windowpane,
we’d kick off our shoes
and out into the rain we’d go.

We’d dance a frog-hopping
leaf-growing
flower-opening
hello spring ballet.”

Gray also makes use of rhyme to add a songlike quality to the verse, as seen above in “spring rain” and “windowpane.” Another technique that is used to create interest and add rhythm to the text is the inversion of word order. The young narrator notes that they liked to “drink lemonade cold”, and “drink hot tea spiced”. In these examples, the word order is contrary to expectations, and thereby draws attention and interest to images that might otherwise not have been as intriguing.

Throughout the book, dance is used as a metaphor for embracing life. As the narrator states in the opening line: “My mama had a dancing heart, and she shared that heart with me.” The two find joy and exuberance in simple pleasures and manage to find things to enjoy year round. The book comes full circle after it addresses each season, and ends with the same line. As Publisher’s Weekly asserts, “Gray has crafted a genuinely affectionate, personal tribute to someone who embraced life wholeheartedly” (Amazon.com 2004).

While Gray’s text does much to express the vibrancy and love of the mother-daughter relationship, it is not complete without Colon’s artwork. Words describe a love for dance and good times, but these qualities are given depth and spring to life when we see the mother and daughter, gleefully bounding across the grass, their arms crossing together as they perform a dance in perfect synchronicity.

Colon’s illustrations were created with watercolor washes, colored pencils, and litho pencils, a mixed media technique that lends a sophisticated, complex beauty to the subject matter. An etching technique is also used to give the artwork texture and a sense of age and reverence. One gets the feeling of looking into the pages of a treasured scrapbook or photo album, as the images in the narrator’s memory come to life in the artwork. The feeling of the artwork is mostly one of warmth – even the white snow seems to have a tannish tint that exudes warmth and good feelings. Shadows are created using blues and purples rather than blacks, softening their impact. Backgrounds are less realistic, paying less attention to perspective and linearity than to the central human figures.

This book is a perfect choice for reading out loud and should be enjoyed by a wide range of children.

[English 212 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is beautifully written. It tells of the four season and what a daughter and mother did in each one. It followed a pattern of dancing in a certain season, followed by an activity they did and a drink that she associated with it. For spring they drank sassafras tea and read poems. In summer they would drink lemonade and make piles of seashells they collected. In autumn they drank spiced tea and pressed leaves, and in winter they drank cocoa and made snowflakes. It all revolves around dancing in the rain, the sunshine next to the ocean, in the leaves, and in the snow. Her mother teachers her to dance and do all of these activities that make her nostalgic in those months for those drinks and those activities that they did together after they danced. This book has beautiful art, although i think as an adult, i appreciated this book more, because i am close to my mother and can see the value of the things she did with me as a child. As a young child, it still gives shows the value of our mothers and how much we love them by what they have taught us, but i really think i have a greater appreciation for this book because i am an adult and i have learned to appreciate my mother more now than i did as a child. I think this makes me sad because at the end it gave me this feeling of my mother gave her a dancing heart, like she was no longer their but had passed on her traits. That does not necessarily mean that she was no longer around, but it made me think about losing my own mother and the things she has taught me that will stick with me throughout my life. I really enjoyed this book, and i am glad i picked it up, not knowing how it would effect me even though it is children's literature. I think this project is teaching me how extremely important it is for children's literature to be good literature, because it can teach adults a lesson as well if written correctly.

[Jessie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This conveys setting and season so well. The words and traditions match the different seasons (and Colon's illustrations go along beautifully).

The voice of the girl's mother here is really strong. This is about seasons and joy, but it's also about tradition and love and what our families pass on to us.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes you just need to cut loose. That is what brought me to this book. Feeling a need to read aloud to my students, I just grabbed this off the bookshelf. I read it cold. Teachers aren't supposed to do that, but I'm shaking up my routines. :)

This was better than my initial reaction was. The rhythmic nature of the text takes the reader on a woman's reminiscence of her youth. Her mother had a "dancing heart" and led her to joyous adventures. Balanced in tales of the four seasons, this story provided an easy structure for students to follow as a read aloud. There were common elements to each season's dance that led for lively discussion.

The takeaway is that because of her mother's lessons, the girl grew up to be a dancer. That is a powerful expression for children to hear.

The illustrations were colorful and captured the movement of the text.

[Scott Houston · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I read this text it was touching to see the lessons the narrator's mother taught her being upheld despite her passing on. I would use this book in classroom instruction to ask students some of the lessons or experiences they have had with their parents, with the end goal being to ask them what those lessons and experiences have done for their life. I would recommend this book for classroom instruction because it models initiative in students, in that the main character became a great dancer like her mother and remembered the life lessons she taught her even though she is no longer alive. This book is important for educators because it shows that if children can get inspired they can gain power and drive to reach new goals.

[Alise Durkota · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Mama Had a Dancing Heart is a poetic memoir about a young girls mother and the adventures that they had together as the seasons changed. She provides great example of craft as she creates adjectives using hyphens. This could be used as an example for students as they learn to read as writers and glean ideas from other authors. It also rhymes and could be used to practice rhyming. I suppose that if a stuent had a loss, it would provide a way for a teacher to interject some comfort to the student, encouraging them to remember positive things about their time with their parents.

*Excellent source of examples of craft
*Excellent resource when practicing poetry

[McKenna Crimmins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book because the writing was very descriptive and included a lot of detail about how each new season the mom and daughter would go outside and celebrate the changing of the new seasons. The pictures were very happy and made me think of a calm yet excited state of mind. The story made me realize how important it is to have a close relationship with family and how much impact each day with your loved ones has. I thought this book was entertaining and should be read more often.

[Tori Biles · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an inspirational story of a daughter and her mother. It showed the positive influence this girl's mother had on her life and how she took that influence and made a life out of it. It stars and ends in the same way, which I think is a good way for children to see what the author was trying to get across. I think kids will like the fun and flowing illustrations that fill practically the whole page. I also think that it would get them, maybe more older children, thinking on their mothers and what influence they have had on their lives.

[Heather Rodriguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

The beautiful language of the book was useful in teaching word choice to my fourth graders. The sequencing and parallelism was also significant. However, I enjoyed it even more as a daughter and a mother; it was a poetic reminder of the strength and influence our relationships can have when they're open, genuine, and sincere. The artistry of the book reinforces that time and experiences together create the background knowledge and security that are forever meaningful to our kids.

[Ann Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The language in this book is vivid and wonderfully specific. I used it to teach a writing lesson today that encouraged students to use alliteration, hyphenated adjectives (i.e. toe-tapping), and strong verbs in their own writing pieces. It's a solid book that merits repeated readings. I placed it in my "Read Alouds" bin in class and I think it will be a title that the students enjoy revisiting.

[Shelbi Bishop · Rating 5 out of 5]

With the wonderful writing in this book, Libba Moore Gray paints a wonderful mind picture about the seasons.

With this book, you could do a choral read by providing copies of the text to the students. Then the students could write down their favorite line of the text on to a sentence strip (limiting their choice to a maximum of about 15 words) and then use the words to create a poem. You could also incorporate movement into the activity by having the students put movements to the poem.

[Meghan Brigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Mama Had a Dancing Heart is a beautiful story of a mother instilling the love of dance in her daughter. Every season mother and daughter would dance to celebrate the changes taking place in nature. The combination of words are catchy and fun. This book is for children age four and up. It is a traditional story of a mom who had a grand impact on her daughters life. The rthym of the words makes me want to dance. It also makes me think of all the traits my mother gave me.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

The words in this book are beautiful! I can see this book being used for so many thing in the classroom. The book creates strong mental images that could be used for visualization. I can also see this book being used as a model for a mini lesson on using descriptive verbs to strengthen students' writing. It's also a great read aloud book and I can't wait to read it in my own classroom. This book would be great for the make-a-scene strategy as well.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a 'delicious' type of book; I enjoyed rolling the lyrical words around in my mouth. The spirit of the seasons, the spirits of the girl and her mother, the spirit of the love and kinship between them were all illustrated wonderfully in this book in both the words and in the expressive pictures. I felt a little sad, however, as the mother is referred to in the past tense. I was left hoping that the mother did at least get to see her daughter soar on the stage...

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations, word rhythm and conversation book. It was recommended to me and I subsequently purchased it as a gift to a classroom: a classroom whose children's lives don't include cultural events such as ballet. I particularly like that it shows the connection between a type of dance and the rhythms of life.

[Courtney Sharpton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Katie Wood Ray talks about this book so highly in her book that I had to read it. I loved it! I had a personal connection with the book, however I loved the work craft Gray uses here. It is really beautiful and unexpected and I will definitely use this in my classroom to encourage students to think of new ways to words things.