DANNY, DENNY, AND THE DANCING DRAGON
A Dance-it-out Creative Movement Story For Young Movers
illustrated by Anka Willems by Once Upon a Dance
A young dancer watches his baby brother summon a talented dragon in this movement-centered picture book.
Danny loves dancing. He’s excited to meet his new baby brother, Denny, hoping they can dance together. Unfortunately, the narrator relates, “it turns out babies can’t even stand! Why hadn’t someone explained this to Danny?!” Despite this setback, Danny likes to be with his cute sibling, and he’s practicing his own moves when Denny’s baby dance and talk summon a dragon. Kadessa is an excellent dance partner; she’s performed with many fantastic creatures. Soon, Danny looks forward to Kadessa’s visits so much that he’s willing to mimic Denny’s baby dance to summon the dragon himself—but mostly he waits to share the magic with his sibling. This simple story by Once Upon a Dance doesn’t deliver much conflict—Danny quickly overcomes his disappointment about Denny’s lack of movement skills—but it offers readers the idea of performing the tale. On each page, White ballerina Konora (her stage name) provides instructions, accompanied by uncredited photographs of the dancer, on how to create the poses in the illustrations. She shows how readers can mimic moving like a dragon, a troll, or a fairy. Willems’ oil pastel images, which cast Danny as a ballet dancer with brown skin and curly brown hair, embrace the tale’s fantasy and practical aspects. Some details, such as eye position, occasionally look slightly off, but these small missteps don’t undermine the whimsical story.
A clever mix of dance, drama, and storytelling.