Giant Dance Party

Yesterday after a long day of work (right now they all seem long as I am weeding and inventorying my entire collection along with running a book fair) I was happily surprised by a big box of books from Harper Collins.  Every title elicited a smile or an "ooh" from my girls, but it was Giant Dance Party by Betsy Bird that we sat down to read at bedtime.

I'll admit, I was a bit skeptical. The idea of giants dancing didn't sound very promising to me. But....I loved this story. 

Lexy has decided she no longer wants to attend dance lessons. It isn't that she doesn't like dancing.  She does. But she hates performing in front of people.  Instead she decides to give dance lessons which will allow her to pursue her passion while not having to perform.  Although it is hard at first to find any lesson takers, soon a group of fuzzy blue giants show up ready for Lexy to teach them.  And when it is time for their big performance, they, like Lexy, are a bit shy.  Except that this time Lexy, who is now their teacher and in charge, must help them get over their stage fright.

Cute, cute, cute.  Bright illustrations by Brandon Dorman bring this story to life.  This is a fun story to read, while still giving a message about overcoming your fears.  

Incidentally, Betsy Bird is the author of  Fuse8, a childrens literature blog hosted at School Library Journal. I've been reading Bird's blog for several years now, and although I don't know her personally, was excited to see this book by someone I "know."