My Friend Maya Loves to Dance

June 1, 2010
K-Gr 3-A delightful story in which a girl, unseen until the end, tells of her friend Maya's love of dance. Whether dressed in a leotard and tutu, or a shirt and jeans, or wearing kente cloth, "Maya dances with grace/And a look of pride on her face." Full-page, fluid illustrations, rendered in oil on watercolor paper, feature a willowy, long-limbed African-American child who dances to the music of jazz, blues, rap, gospel, Bach, and reggae. When she taps "on slick wooden floors," wearing a red vest, gray pants, white gloves, and a hat, she's accompanied by four boys similarly costumed. Maya even performs at the mall for a small audience that includes the narrator, a girl in a wheelchair. The last, touching page reveals Maya and her friend smiling at readers. A simple, sweet story about music, dance, and friendship."Mary N. Oluonye, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2010
Preschool-G Visually, this picture book shines a spotlight on Maya, an African American girl who loves dancing, while the rhyming text tells of Mayas passion for her art. Though usually pictured in ballet class, the girls interests extend beyond the tutu to the kente cloth and liturgical dance robe as she moves to varied types of music. My friend Maya love to tap / On slick wooden floors / To jazz, blues, and rap. / She dances in the hall, / In church . . . And at the mall. / When shes dancing, / Maya has a ball. The last page shows Maya with her friend, a white girl in a wheelchair, who has drawn her own portrait of the dancer. Though the text does not always read aloud smoothly, it does clearly express the childs love of dance. The illustrations, oil paintings, are at their best when interpreting varied styles of music though portraits of musicians and musical groups. Pair this picture book with Debbie Allens Dancing in the Wings (2000).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)