I really enjoy my job as a staff member of an independent bookstore. You never know what you will find on the shelves (for sale and reader copies, where I found an ARC, Juba! by Walter Dean Myers, that had introduced me to a few names shown here). Or in the emails we receive saying, “Hey we have these reader copies and if you’re interested email me and I’ll send you something.” In early August I had asked for a finished copy of Tapping Feet by Moira Rose Donohue and I was granted one. All I am going to say is, does the author have more titles and can I get them now?
Okay, I probably should say more like how Tapping Feet was an amazing introduction to how the tap of today came to be. Starting in the 1800s, African-Americans and Irish-Americans found that dance could bring them together. Sure the tensions of racism were not completely erased, the Civil War was around the corner, slavery still happening, the “have and have nots” were more obvious every day. There were signs for fugitive slaves and “Irish need not apply.” And Five Corners was not immune to hardships and racism, nor did it lack people who wanted to express themselves by dance. And we see how the people of the time (black and white) would take a little of this, and a little of that, and make something new. Things as simply moving your arms differently or picking your feet up and not shuffling could change everything. And we see how it transformed over the years. You will meet people that were lost to history, who were busy making history, and then the people of today keeping it moving and grooving.
While this is not for everyone, and an interest in dance would be helpful, this book should be incorporated into studies of New York and New York city history, dance history, Irish-American history, black history, and just in general American history. The illustrations would be a draw to people who are into art or for people who appreciate good illustrations. They are clever, promoting the story and supporting it by bringing the people and dances alive. Colors and details are perfectly paired to allow the emotion and atmosphere of things.
Thank you Reycraft publishers for allowing me this opportunity to read Tapping Feet. I am now looking into Donohue’s other titles and your catalog of goodies.