Read to Me Wednesday

I meant to share this book last week, but, I didn't get around to getting this post up. So, I'll share it this week. We, the children and I, were listening to and studying jazz last month, as part of our music time together. And this was a charming little book we found at the library. I was not familiar with this story, but, we all fell in love with it. Here is a little synopsis of the story.

On a beautiful evening, Miz Mozetta puts on her red dress and blue shoes and dances the jitterbug just like she did many years before.

Lively, colorful illustrations and a rhythmic text make for a jazzy dance party that readers will delight in attending again and again.

I love the language in this story. Miz Mozetta looks in the mirror at her red dress and says, "My best color, if I do say so." She puts on her hat and says, " Now this hat is sayin something." Then she sashays down the stairs and across the street. When she asks her friends to go dancing with her, one of them replies, "My dancin' days are done, honey dear." The story is set in Harlem, but, if I didn't know better, I'd say it could also be set in the deep south.

When I was growing up in Louisiana everybody was honey child or ma shay, meaning sweetheart or my dear. And then we moved to Mississippi, where everyone is darlin, sweetie, sug or hon. I'm used to terms of endearment used in everyday language. It's part of the culture. So, I immediately took to this and my children loved the story asking me to read it to them again and again. So, I am recommending this little treasure we found, because it's always nice to find something new. -Enjoy!