Another lovely story from Once Upon a Dance encouraging movement and creative expression. Dayana is delighted when she finds out her new brother is here and can’t wait to play and do her favourite thing with him: dance! But babies aren’t the best dance partners and Dayana gets to learn new ways of moving with him. Then something magical happens. The focus of this book is moving, dancing and performing. This is the second story that I’ve come across from Once Upon a Dance and again I really enjoyed the concept of a storyline with accompanying movements and actions. ‘Dayana, Dax, and the Dancing Dragon’ is a lovely and simple story about the excitement of a new sibling as well as a magical mini-adventure. The story is well written and I think it could be enjoyed without the actions. I liked the illustrations, throughout, they are bright and colourful and I think that young readers will enjoy looking at the illustrations in between having a go at the actions. I also like the ribbon detail present to separate the story and the actions, it’s a little detail that adds a really nice finishing touch. I found that the actions and photographs were clear but also encouraging for any reader that wanted to try out their own move or adapt it to fit them. I liked the positivity throughout that suggests that the actions can be performed for another or done in your own space, and the brief safety reminders to be careful of what’s around you when performing the actions. I think that this book will be well-loved by any budding young performer.
Charlotte Walker, A LoveReading4Kids Ambassador
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