Barefoot Dancer: The Story of Isadora Duncan (Trailblazer Biographies) [Paperback]

Barbara O'Connor (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Series: Trailblazer Biographies

Describes the life of the modern dancer who created a spontaneous, free-form dance style accompanied by literary readings and non-dance music.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Gr. 5-7. From her idiosyncratic childhood to her dramatic death (she choked to death when her shawl caught in the wheel spokes of a Bugati), Isadora Duncan was unlike anyone else. Illustrated with numerous photographs, O'Connor's biography explains how Duncan's dance and her personal life were unusual for the timesthough they may not seem so to the MTV generation. O'Connor, who does a fair job presenting both, is especially interesting when discussing Duncan's need for lovers and children, and her lifelong financial difficulties. Additional detail about Duncan's dance contemporaries and her method of training dancers would have been interesting, but this picture of Duncan as an artist driven by differences she's unable to nurture leaves a strong and sad impression. Mary Harris Veeder --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Kirkus Reviews

An evenhanded biography of the famed dancer and choreographer, Isadora Duncan. In clear, accessible language, O'Connor traces the life of her subject from her unconventional childhood in 19th- century San Francisco through her many travels, triumphs, and tragedies in both Europe and America. Much is made of Duncan's innovations as a dancer, but a more extensive discussion on ballet dancing at the time would have been helpful to place her achievements in context. The photographs, while excellent, are too sparse and too small; they would have profited from being enlarged in both format and number. Still, a useful text about an important contributor to the rhetoric of modernism. Notes; bibliography; index. (Nonfiction. 9-12) -- Copyright ©1994, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Carolrhoda Books (October 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0876149115
• ISBN-13: 978-0876149119
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.9 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,797,991 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Barbara O'Connor was born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina. She draws on her Southern roots to write award-winning books for children in grades 3 to 6. Her awards include the Parents Choice Gold and Silver Award, American Library Association Notable Books, and IRA Notable Books for a Global Society. Her books have been nominated for children's choice awards in over 20 states and voted as a state favorite by children in South Carolina, Indiana, Kansas, and South Dakota. When Barbara isn't busy writing, she travels to schools to conduct writing workshops with young students, works in her garden, walks with her dogs, and thinks up ways to avoid cooking.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This book is about a girl who is poor and trys everything to, December 31, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Barefoot Dancer: The Story of Isadora Duncan (Trailblazer Biographies) (Hardcover)

This is about a girl whos family dos'nt have alot of money but she struggles to dance. She dances barefoot, because she dos'nt have the money to buy shoes. Her life does finnally change a little bit and you should read this book to find out HOW. I would reccomend this for a 14 and up age group because I read it when I was a little to young and it was boering for me. Read it to find out how her life changes!