TANYA AND EMILY IN A DANCE FOR TWO

The little girl first introduced in Dance, Tanya (1989) isn't the most talented member of her dance class, but she's the most exuberant; she dances always and everywhere, even in bed at night. Then Emily joins her class and sets a new standard: Her arabesques, her pirouettes, even her cabrioles are perfection. ``A prima ballerina!'' whispers Tanya's toy bear. Still, going home through the park, Tanya dances as blithely as ever, imitating zoo animals. Emily—also alone—is curious. Soon the two are taking turns: Tanya dances a flamingo and Emily a penguin, Tanya a leopard and Emily an antelope, then both dance giraffes, and Emily shows Tanya that a cabriole is really ``a leaping, wild goat.'' And at the next recital, they do a spirited (if not perfectly matched) pas de deux. Ichikawa's rhythmic compositions subtly contrast Tanya's childish charm with Emily's more polished performances while deftly capturing the grace of both and the animals they mimic. An unusually appealing book with an unobtrusive message: Tanya may never match Emily's achievement, but when she shows her friend the playful side of their art, both are enriched. (Fiction/Picture book. 4-8)