Dancing with Daddy

My 2nd grade class loved to read this book! The story caught their attention and they loved all the colorful pictures! A great story to read every year!

Everything about this is beautiful. This book is a loving tribute to the author’s own daughter, and a celebration of the lives of very special children and their families who face unique challenges in life. It adds much to the story to read the Author’s note at the beginning.This is a story about a little girl with Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome who is going to her first dance; her father is taking her. Her emotions are perfectly captured, her anticipation of going, her fears of disappointment, her joy in the event. I love how she is the center of this story, and also the supporting roles of every family member who love and care for her.The illustrations in this story are expertly crafted and spot on. The depiction of Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome are seamlessly integrated into the story including the craniofacial dimensions of children with this syndrome, tube feeding, use of a PODD book, and the wheelchair. This is a wonderful way for their parents and me to introduce this subject to my grandchildren, and talk with them about children they will meet who have additional needs and challenges in life, and to understand that in all the most important ways, they are children very much like themselves, who should be treated with love, friendship, honor, and respect, and who experience life with the similar emotions, hopes, fears, and aspirations as themselves.The best way to read this book is on a portable device, in landscape mode and in full color. I used my Fire 10 tablet the first time I read this, which was perfect. This was so good I have already re-read this through three times; I will be sharing it with my grandchildren, and I will be buying extra hard copies to give away as gifts. If I could give this book 10 stars, I would.

This book is packed with tenderness that both parents and children will adore. A must-have for teachers and speech pathologists, DANCING WITH DADDY gently introduces concepts such as alternative communication and feeding tubes in the context of a story about love and the fulfillment of a dream. Highly recommend DANCING WITH DADDY, a beautiful book that won the Christopher Award and the Dolly Gray Children's Literature Award!

Sweet and simple love between father and daughter. Not on the nose about disability. Inviting illustrations help you feel the emotions.

This book is a purely sweet story whose plot line will appeal to all young children: will the father-daughter dance be cancelled due to snow?! Meanwhile, the main character is in a wheelchair, is unable to speak with her voice, and eats both by mouth and by G tube. There is no preachy education, just a character with different abilities shown living her life, just like we all live our lives. For my 6-year-old son to see a child "with so many things in common!" with him made him full of joy. What I think is amazing about this book is that it would be equally interesting to a typical, able-bodied child who would barely notice that the main character is disabled, and to a child with disabilities who sees someone like him or her living out normal childhood drama.

Great story of Elsie, a young girl who is "differently-abled". (I used to have a video of this amazing song, and everyone in the band was differently-abled including the drummer with no arms. I loved the message and the idea that we all have different abilities. It isn't that some are DISABLED: they are simply DIFFERENTLY-abled!) It is obvious that Elsie's family love her just the way she is. As a parent of a differently-abled child I enjoyed this very much. Everyone needs to be loved and appreciated for themselves no matter who they are or what they can and cannot do.

This is such a cute book. The little girl, Elsie, is just adorable.The story is about Elsie going to a father-daughter dance.Elsie uses a wheelchair because she has a chromosomal abnormality that affects her walking and her speech. But she doesn’t let that stop her.Like any other girl she is practicing her dance moves for the big night. She is working hard on her moves.But unfortunately a big snow storm is happening. Will it spoil the big night?The three and five-years-old barely notice the wheelchair, so I didn’t elaborate on her illness.

This is a beautifully written and wonderfully illustrated story about a girl named Elsie who has Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome. Anitra Rowe Schulte and Ziyue Chen superbly depict the importance of inclusivity and accommodations for people with disabilities. This is my daughter's favorite book to read and a must-have for all bookshelves.

If you've read any of my other recent reviews, you'll already know that I start them all the same way - every book starts off with the full five stars and I'm always hopeful that the book will finish with them all still firmly in place too.I'm guessing this book was written by an American-educated author 'cos she mentions "soccer" as opposed to "football" and "Mom" instead of "Mum" which might confuse young children but other than that, this book is truly incredible and a must read for any family, especially families who have a young, wheelchair user in their family.The illustrations are the perfect addition to the words and really made me feel involved in Elsie's life and it was a wonderful way to be introduced to Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome and I've learnt so much from the main character especially, but also her dad and sisters. The addition of the plastic feeding device and the authors description right at the start is truly incredible and children who use PODD books/tablets and a feeding device into their stomach would feel so much better about themselves and their needs after listening to this book being read to them!This is a truly incredible read for everyone, not just young listeners!

I imagine all the little girls dream of dancing with their daddies, their mummies or anyone from their family. All dancing and twirling like the little girl in our story. Beautiful illustrations too 🌹📚

This is a wonderful book that really highlights, in the best way possible, that people with disabilities have hopes and wishes just like everyone else. It showed so much with just the really well drawn pictures and a few words. A book that hopefully will reach out and improve inclusivity!

A heartwarming short tale about a little girl with a condition I had no knowledge of before reading this. Recommended.

This story full of lovely illustrations and is very nice. The way it follows the main character and how her family support her is lovely. A good one to share with little Strictly fans too.