Dance Like a Leaf

by AJ Irving, Claudia Navarro (Illustrator)

Overview

“This beautifully balanced picturebook’s rich colours dance alongside its intricately clear-eyed narrative, sensitive but never sentimental…. Certain to become a classic” – Inis magazine, Children’s Books Ireland

As her grandmother’s health declines, a young girl begins to lovingly take the lead in their cozy shared autumn traditions. Poetic prose paired with evocative illustrations by Mexican illustrator Claudia Navarro make for a beautiful celebration of life and a gentle introduction to the death of a loved one.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781646860586
Publisher:	Barefoot Books
Publication date:	08/21/2020
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	121,311
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 10.75(h) x 0.14(d)
Age Range:	4 - 9 Years

About the Author

AJ Irving grew up in Boise, Idaho and received her BA in Journalism and Women’s and Gender Studies from the University of Oregon. She now lives and writes in Seattle, Washington, USA with her husband, two children and their pets.

Claudia Navarro studied at the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas UNAM in Mexico City, and has illustrated for clients around the world. She lives in Mexico City, Mexico.

Editorial Reviews

This beautifully balanced picturebook’s rich colours dance alongside its intricately clear-eyed narrative, sensitive but never sentimental…. Certain to become a classic” – Inis magazine, Children’s Books Ireland

“A paean to autumn, love, and loss.... This evocative pairing of story and art creates a tone poem and lesson, a lovely reflection on the seasons of life, and a gentle lead-in to discussion of death and renewal” – School Library Journal

From the Publisher

★ 07/01/2020

PreS-Gr 2—A paean to autumn, love, and loss. A young girl treasures the beginning of fall with her grandmother, drinking tea and dancing together among the colorful trees. As the days pass, the older woman, with tan skin and dark textured hair, grows more tired and forgetful. Irving's spare, poignant text pairs the season's changes with the grandmother's decline, previewing her passing with the cycle of the leaves. The young girl persists in sharing their favorite fall activities, adapting them for her grandmother's needs. Expressive acrylic paintings retain a vibrant palette throughout the story, punctuating the rich, autumnal colors with teals and purples. But the emotional weight of the impending loss emerges clearly in the two characters' body language; the grandmother grows more hunched and withdrawn, while the girl's posture signals increased anxiety, until the page where she sits on the bed, alone. By the following autumn, the girl goes out to dance in the trees, accompanied by a joyful image of her grandmother in the swooping leaves. Less specific than Jessie Oliveros's The Remember Balloons or Pat Mora's My Singing Nana, the book does not provide details about loss but highlights the girl's resilience. VERDICT This evocative pairing of story and art creates a tone poem and lesson, a lovely reflection on the seasons of life, and a gentle lead-in to discussion of death and renewal.—Robbin E. Friedman, Chappaqua Lib., NY

School Library Journal