Dancing marks the rites of passage in a daughter's life and that of the father who loves her. From her first carefree twirling in the flower-dotted yard, to her first solo performance in The Nutcracker, to the waltz of her wedding night, her father is there watching, silent and unobserved. And he smiles.
This tender story of the bond between a father and a daughter, told straight from the heart by the best-selling author of The Christmas Candle and illustrated with exquisite, lush paintings, evokes that bond with powerful poignancy. The Dance will forever resonate with parents and children everywhere.
Though Evans's (The Christmas Box) name is no stranger to bestseller lists, it is the exquisite art from a first-time illustrator that most impresses in this volume. Marked by photographic sharpness, Linton's oil paintings crystallize the emotion in the sparse narrative, which opens with the simple statement "A father once had a daughter." Through the years, the devoted parent smiles as he watchesAfrom a tactful distanceAas his daughter engages in her favorite activity: dancing. In Linton's memorable images, the girl dances in the yard, in a school play, as a soloist in The Nutcracker, on the porch after her first prom and at her wedding. Finally, the ailing, aged father calls his grown-up daughter to his bedside, where she grants his request to dance for him one more time, and he makes a promise: "Though you will not see me, whenever you dance, I will be watching." With its heart-tugging sentiment and adult perspective, the story may find a more appreciative audience among fathers and grown-up daughters than among children. Yet Evans's introduction will give any reader pause; here he notes that Linton painted the book's cover illustration of a golden-haired child from a photograph of a girl who with her mother had been killed in a car accident months before. Included is an affecting religious poem ("I have two angels... that abide with me. It is His way. Two by Two") written by the child's father that complements the life-affirming message of the text. All ages. (Oct.) FYI: The author's proceeds from this book will be donated to the Christmas Box House International, which benefits abused and neglected children. Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 2-5-Throughout the years, the love of dancing fills a woman's life. Whether she is dressed as an ear of corn in her first school recital or a soloist in The Nutcracker, her father is always there watching her and smiling. Years later, as he is dying, he asks her to come and perform for him once more. As she dances, she tells him that she has always danced for him. He tells her that she must continue to dance and that he will always be watching and smiling. This is a solemn, nostalgic story that will appeal to an adult audience. The illustrations are elegant, formal, and muted. Many of them feature the daughter as an adult-at her wedding and visiting her dying father. The almost phantomlike role of the father who never interacts with his child until the end gives the story an aloofness that may confuse children. Neither the art nor the text will keep youngsters' attention. Carol Schene, Taunton Public Schools, MA Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Richard Paul Evans When Richard Paul Evans wrote the #1 best-seller, The Christmas Box, he never intended on becoming an internationally known author.
Officially, he was an advertising executive, an award-winning clay animator for the American and Japanese markets, candidate for state legislature and most importantly, husband and father. The Christmas Box was written as an expression of love for his (then) two daughters. Though he often told them how much he loved them, he wanted to express his love in a way that would be timeless. In 1993, Evans reproduced 20 copies of the final story and gave them to his closest relatives and friends as Christmas presents. In the month following, those 20 copies were passed around more than 160 times, and soon word spread so widely that bookstores began calling his home with orders for it.
His quiet story of parental love and the true meaning of Christmas made history when it became simultaneously the #1 hardcover and paperback book in the nation. Since then, more than eight million copies of The Christmas Box have been printed. The Emmy award-winning CBS television movie based on The Christmas Box starred Maureen O'Hara and Richard Thomas. Two more of Evans's books were produced by Hallmark and starred such well-known actors as James Earl Jones, Vanessa Redgrave, Naomi Watts, Mary McDonough and Academy award winner Ellen Burstyn. He has since written 10 consecutive New York Times bestsellers and is one of the few authors in history to have hit both the fiction and non-fiction bestseller lists. He has won three awards for his children's books including the 1998 American Mothers book award and two first place Storytelling World awards. Evans's latest book, The 5 Lessons a Millionaire Taught Me About Life and Wealth, is now available.
Of his success, Evans says: "The material achievements of The Christmas Box will never convey its true success, the lives it has changed, the families brought closer together, the mothers and fathers who suddenly understand the pricelessness of their children's fleeting childhood. I share the message of this book with you in hopes that in some way, you might be, as I was, enlightened."
During the Spring of 1997, Evans founded The Christmas Box House International, an organization devoted to building shelters and providing services for abused and neglected children. Such shelters are operational in Moab, Vernal, Ogden and Salt Lake City, Utah and Lucre, Peru. To date, more than 16,000 children have been housed in Christmas Box House facilities.
As an acclaimed speaker, Evans has shared the podium with such notable personalities as President George W. Bush, President George and Barbara Bush, former British Prime Minister John Majors, Ron Howard, Elizabeth Dole, Deepak Chopra, Steve Allen, and Bob Hope. Evans has been featured on the Today show and Entertainment Tonight, as well as in Time, Newsweek, People, The New York Times, Washington Post, Good Housekeeping, USA Today, TV Guide, Reader's Digest, and Family Circle. Evans lives in Salt Lake City, Utah, with his wife, Keri, and their five children.
I am a father. My daughter is a dancer. She has just started her freshman year at college. I saw this book mentioned in a mail flyer. I sought it out. I had tears in my eye in the store as I read it. I cried in the car. I like to think that we are at that point in the book where the daughter is dancing with her prom boyfriend.
This is a WONDERFUL touching story. It is exceptional for any father who has a daughter who dances. It is a wonderful book, too, for any father of a daughter. Please spread the word. I loved this book. I am giving it as a Christmas gift to my own daughter. I still smile when I see her dance.
One more thing. The author donates the proceeds from the sale of this book to a home for abused children. You can't go wrong with this book.
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I first came across this book while browsing through the children's section of my local library. I opened the cover and was so amazed by the first picture that I had to stand there and finish it...I never even made it to a table! This tale of a young daughter dancing her way into her father's heart is enough to inspire any young dancer...and her parents alike. I highly recommend it for any age...child or adult.
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Here's an easy recipe to make any father or daughter you know get all puddled up: get them Richard Paul Evans'"The Dance." This short, epigrammatic tale follows an unnamed father as he watches his daughter grow up, progressing from hopping around in the yard to formal dance lessons to being a ballerina. I can't say too much more or I'll give away the tear-inducing ending.
It's short--you can read it with or without a child on your lap in perhaps ten minutes. But the emotions it provokes are powerful, and powerfully enhanced by Jonathan Linton's astonishing paintings. Evans has a note at the beginning of the book saying that although a different illustrator had been selected for "The Dance," he happened to see the cover painting (by Linton) somewhere and felt strongly that Linton should illustrate the book. Thank goodness Evans went to bat for Linton, as the text and pictures mesh beautifully. I can't think of a girl, young or old, who wouldn't enjoy "The Dance"--and I can think of lots of dads who would get a little emotional reading through it themselves. Highly, highly recommended.
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