My Mama Had a Dancing Heart (Orchard Paperbacks)

Used in a Kinder classroom. Nice to read around mothers day

This is a beautifully written story in memoir form. I purchased it for my daughter-in-law to share with our granddaughters. She is a former dance major who has ignited the fire-for-dance within her two little girls. The illustrations have a soft, almost ethereal, quality to them and coordinate wonderfully with the author's descriptive language. This book presents an excellent opportunity for communication between generations and makes a strong case for the role of the fine arts in the lives of every person---not just recognized artistes. Although the targeted audience for this book is 6-9 year olds, I think the appeal of this book transcends delineation by age. Its appeal is quite timeless and I think it has a place in every home library. Treat yourself to this treasure: it is well worth the investment of dollars and time.

My Mama Had a Dancing Heart written by Libba Moore Gray and illustrated by Raul Colon Is an uplifting, circular story that captures the love and memories between a mother and daughter throughout the seasons.The poetic language and fun phrases such as, “We’d do a seabird-flapping dolphin-arching hello summer ballet…” engages readers from beginning to end.The poetic language, alliteration, imagery, and illustrations make this a must-have book for any classroom.

This is a beautiful book that any mother would want to read to a daughter, or even a son. It is full of joy, lilting, musical, and poetic. After reading it, a quick dance around the kitchen or family room or back patio, with a child in your arms, is definitely in order. I have purchased several of these, since I want any mother that I know with a young daughter to have it. Rachel

This book captures the delight of mother-daughter fun in all seasons.It is a beautiful poem with lovely, painting-like illustrations that my daughter kept requesting from the library, so we finally had to buy our own copy to treasure. And you don't have to be a dancer to identify with their fond memories.

I found this book and gave it to my mother 12+ years ago because she was this kind of mom. She recently passed away. I see the same beautiful soul this book explains in my daughter and that is only because my mother taught me how to have a dancing heart.

Sweet story! Good for getting kids to think about their own memories. Used it to start 4th graders writing about one specific memory.

An amazing picture book to read aloud for great words! Encourage writing with this story with such titles as "My Dad Had a Sporting Heart" or "My Grandma Had a Musical Heart"....the possibilities are endless!!

What a delightful book! I bought this for my daughter to read to my granddaughter. They both loved it. The quality of the second hand book was exactly as described.