Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreo Played the Piano for President Lincoln

(Hardback)

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Winner of the Pura Belpr Illustrator Award
A Kirkus Reviews Best Picture Book

In soaring words and stunning illustrations, Margarita Engle and Rafael Lpez tell the story of Teresa Carreo, a child prodigy who played piano for Abraham Lincoln.

As a little girl, Teresa Carreo loved to let her hands dance across the beautiful keys of the piano. If she felt sad, music cheered her up, and when she was happy, the piano helped her share that joy. Soon she was writing her own songs and performing in grand cathedrals. Then a revolution in Venezuela forced her family to flee to the United States. Teresa felt lonely in this unfamiliar place, where few of the people she met spoke Spanish. Worst of all, there was fighting in her new home, toothe Civil War.

Still, Teresa kept playing, and soon she grew famous as the talented Piano Girl who could play anything from a folk song to a sonata. So famous, in fact, that President Abraham Lincoln wanted her to play at the White House! Yet with the country torn apart by war, could Teresas music bring comfort to those who needed it most

Reviews

* Engle's free verse whirls and twirls, playful and vivacious, while Lpez's vivid, colorful artwork elevates this story to heavenly heights. Like a concerto for the heart. -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Lyrical, imagery-rich text . . . Patterned mixed-media illustrations use color to evoke the lushness of Venezuela, the darkness of war, and the beauty of music. Concluding with a historical note, the biographys vibrant images and language form a melodious composition. -- Booklist
"Lpezs swirling colors, soaring birds, and scattered notes conjure musics transportive powers amid the countries war-torn landscapes, complementing Engles text, and building 'hymns . . . shimmered like hummingbirds.'" -- Publishers Weekly
"Engles writing shines through powerful descriptions and connections between music and feelings. Lpezs vivid illustrations expertly alternate between lush, vibrant hues, and gray, muted depictions of darker times; they evoke characters and historical settings with absorbing detail." -- Horn Book Magazine
"Author and illustrator are well paired in this interesting narrative. Darks and lights, whether representing world events or the colors of the piano keys, are recurring themes that Engle cleverly entwines in her at times poetic writing. Lpezs illustrations practically leap from the page as they mirror the tone of eventsbright and beautiful when the story is light; dark, drab, and gray when echoing conflict." -- School Library Journal

Author Bio

Margarita Engle is the Cuban American author of many books including the verse novelsRimas Rebellion;Your Heart, My Sky;With a Star in My Hand;The Surrender Tree, a Newbery Honor winner; andThe Lightning Dreamer. Her verse memoirs includeSoaring EarthandEnchanted Air, which received the Pura Belpr Award, a Walter Dean Myers Award Honor, and was a finalist for the YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction, among others. Her picture books includeDrum Dream Girl,Dancing Hands,andThe Flying Girl. Visit her at MargaritaEngle.com.

RafaelLpezwas born and raised in Mexico, a place that has always influenced the vivid colors and shapes in his artwork. He now creates community-based mural projects around the world and illustrates acclaimed childrens books including The Day You Begin,Bravo!, Drum Dream Girl, Weve Got the Whole World in Our Hands, Book Fiesta!, and Dancing Hands.Rafael divides his time between Mexico and California. Visit him at RafaelLopez.com.