THE GIRL WHO WANTED TO DANCE

Clara is a little girl who loves to dance. Every time she hears her granny’s lilting melodies or the sweet sounds of the larks, her feet long to move. But her father is serious and solemn. He does not allow music or dance in the house. So, like the caged bird hanging in the corner of her room, Clara is trapped, closed off from what she loves most. But one morning a troupe of traveling musicians and dancers come to town. Real, live dancers! Clara has never seen anything like them before. Mesmerized by their graceful leaps and swirling arms, she follows the troupe late at night—daring to dream that she too could some day live a life of dance. The deep shadows of the forest match the sorrow etched on Clara’s father’s face, but a golden glow from Walsh’s brush never fails to break through the darkness. This tender fairy tale of love, family and longing—with a cadence as smooth as the floating waltzes found within its pages—is achingly exquisite. (Picture book. 7-10)