TOO BIG TO DANCE

A brother-sister team turns to the bayou for a jazzy jambalaya of colorful cut-paper art and rhyming text. Debut author Doug Anderson sets the tale in fictional, Spanish moss–laden Crawdad County. Postcard-size spot art introduces the main characters: Woo, the empathetic armadillo; Cecil, the "gracious gator"; and Eloise, an out-of-place zebra. As the three eagerly strike out for the Crawdad County dance (Eloise's "heart set on romance"), the illustrations enlarge to eye-pleasing spreads, black borders thinly framing the vivid scenes and backing the orange typeface. Sara Anderson's (Pumpkin Shivaree ) jaunty illustrations evoke a magical nighttime backdrop of purple skies, black water, blue-green moss and golden stars. Her angular cut-paper arrangements achieve an informal balance of color and shape, while a myriad of small details add humor (e.g., a turtle dances atop the upright piano). The rhyme often wobbles—when Eloise turns out to be too big to fit through the dance hall door and sadly shies away from the zydeco scene ("Up the hill she walked away, wondering what to do/ While down below the dance went on, her heart was feeling blue")—but the art is poignant: Woo glimpses Eloise through a window as she stands alone, wearing her three strands of Mardi Gras beads and feathered party hat. As the friends resourcefully remedy the situation, the illustrations carry the story to a rousing finale. Ages 4-7. (June)