Carmina, Come Dance! - Hardcover

Whittington, Mary K.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0689315546 ISBN 13: 9780689315541

Publisher: Atheneum, 1989

Synopsis

Carmina is afraid of her great-grandmother until the old lady plays the piano and Carmina discovers that the music makes a special bond between them

About this title

From School Library Journal:

Grade 2-3-- A little girl is visited by her great-grandmother, who sits down at the piano and begins to play. Carmina, at first frightened by her elderly relative's gray garments and withered appearance, is caught up in the music and imagines herself to be a child in a medieval setting. She fearlessly leaps on the back of a stallion that suddenly thunders by and is off to a misty harbor and on to an awaiting galleon. When the ship arrives at a cloud-shrouded island, Carmina leaves the vessel and enters an ancient stone house. Here she discovers a pretty lady dressed in gray who asks her to dance. They then ride through a fierce snowstorm across the countryside, but all ends happily. The music stops and Carmina's great-grandmother, like the pretty lady in her fantasy, invites her to dance. The music has radically altered Carmina's relationship with her great-grandmother. This abstract concept, while thought provoking, is perhaps too difficult for children to grasp. Also, the intended audience is unclear. Carmina appears to be about six years old, but her adventures seem more in keeping with the experience and knowledge of a much older child. This book attempts to convey a child's flight of imagination while listening to music. It's an ingenious idea and a bold attempt, but the book has the feel of an adult imagining how a child imagines. McDermott's artwork reflects the mistiness and romanticism of the tale which, while intriguing, does not quite succeed. --Phyllis G. Sidorsky, National Cathedral School, Washington, DC
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Atheneum
• Publication date: 1989
• ISBN 10: 0689315546
• ISBN 13: 9780689315541
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 28
• Illustrator: McDermott Michael