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Stompin' at the Savoy

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STOMPIN' AT THE SAVOY
By Bebe Moore Campbell and Richard Yarde
Philomel, 2006. Unpaged. Picture Book.

Bebe Moore Campbell's text and especially Richard Yarde's pictures make Stompin' at the Savoy a toe-tapping triumph. Mindy doesn't want to go to her recital because she doesn't want to dance in front of strangers, but when a talking drum escorts her back in time to the Savoy Ballroom in its heyday she comes to know that dancing is the thing and who cares who is watching? Richard Yarde's ziggy-zaggy serrated watercolors give the whole book an electric buzz that, combined with references to jazz and swing greats of the past (and their incomparable music), will have you hopping in your chair before you reach the end. The abrupt ending and a subplot involving a Frankenstein-like bouncer don't work as well as the rest of the story, but don't detract significantly from the fun.

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