Aunt Elaine Does the Dance from Spain - Hardcover

Komaiko, Leah

3.06

16 ratings by Goodreads

9780385306744: Aunt Elaine Does the Dance from Spain

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0385306741 ISBN 13: 9780385306744

Publisher: Doubleday Books for Young Readers, 1992

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Eager to see Aunt Elaine perform her Spanish dance, dressed in colorful clothes with a flower in her hair, Katy waits in the wings and accidentally finds herself in the spotlight.

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From School Library Journal:

Kindergarten-Grade 3-- Katy is thrilled to accompany her Aunt Elaine to the theater for the first time to watch her dance. She meets the other dancers and watches her aunt put on her make-up and dress for the performance. When the child gets lost backstage and tumbles into a closet full of costumes, she comes out dressed like a Spanish dancer herself. The company invites Katy out on stage with them to discover the magic of the dance. A glossary of the Spanish words and phrases (and the one Yiddish phrase) used in the book are provided before the story begins. The exuberant watercolor and ink illustrations, saturated with color, are well balanced by the white space surrounding the text, and the slim borders of red roses, like those Elaine wears in her hair, tie the text and the illustrations together nicely. Mathers has done a splendid job of conveying Katy's parents' drab air of responsibility in contrast to Aunt Elaine's free spirit. However, Komaiko's stilted, forced verse is disappointing and meager by comparison. For wonderful picture books on dancing, stick to Patricia McKissack's sparkling Mirandy and Brother Wind (Knopf, 1988), illustrated by Jerry Pinkney, or James Marshall's hilarious The Cut-Ups Carry On (Viking, 1990). Amy Hest's Fancy Aunt Jess (Morrow, 1990), illustrated by Amy Schwartz, or Just Us Women by Jeannette Caines (Harper, 1982), illustrated by Pat Cummings, are better stories about aunts. --Sharon Grover, Arlington County Department of Libraries, VA
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly:

An eccentric relative introduces her young niece to the creative worlds of dance and theatre in this peppy picture book. Before her Spanish dance performance, Aunt Elaine brings Katy backstage, where the girl watches her aunt--who "thinks she's from Spain / But she and dad were born in Maine"--transform herself into Elena. In all the excitement, Katy gets comically tangled in a jumble of hanging costumes and misses most of the show, only to appear onstage with the company for an encore. Komaiko's ( Annie Bananie ; Earl's Too Cool for Me ) frenetic verses, though funny, occasionally strain for effect. Their suitably relentless flamenco pace is enhanced by intermittent Spanish words and phrases, explained in a glossary at the front of the book. Mathers's ( Sophie and Lou ; Little Love Song ) characteristically bold, zany watercolor and pencil illustrations adroitly expand on the action, portraying a troupe of colorful amigos and a hectic pre-performance atmosphere. A familial tenderness and understanding pervades the portraits featuring Elaine and Katy. Those readers with a kooky relative will call Ole! for this collaboration. Ages 4-8.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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