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

This is such a beautiful book! Not only does DANCING HANDS introduce a Teresa Carreno, a Venezuelan musician, but it shows an intimate time in Abraham Lincoln’s life when he is grieving the death of his son while trying to abolish slavery. Poet Margarita Engle’s language soars in phrases including:"hymns that shimmered like hummingbirds,""clouds that bucked and kicked across the wild sky like angry mules,""and notes that rose, swayed, rippled, and dipped like a bird in a blue sky above a green forest."The illustrations, painted Rafael López, are the perfect accompaniment for the rich language in this biography. The mixed-media illustrations use color to evoke the beauty of Venezuela, the dark despair of the United States at war, and the joy of music which swirls across the pages. This is a book that will inspire everyone who reads it.

During troubled times performing with excellence can be the best practice and blessing to others. "Dancing Hands" winner of Pura Belpre's Award, a prestigious gold seal. Finding courage, with a heart for blessing others, Teresa learns to give her best, blessed her with courage and now confidence. I love the last line, "...simply by letting her fingers travel arouse all the beautiful dark and light moments of hope."

Lovely book-handles the dark topic of war beautifully for children. The illustrations are stunning. Definitely a new favorite!

Our book arrived looking perfect, however upon taking the book jacket off (as we do with all book with a toddler in the home) I noticed the pages are upside down to the cover. Doesn’t impair our ability to read it just a little frustrating.

This beauty of a book take us through a difficult time in history. Teresa must leave her home because of war, she is devastated and scared and through it all she is extremely brave. Her story takes us on a beautiful journey of acceptance and courage. The illustrations are absolutely stunning. I strongly recommend this book.

Still true today that musicians (and everyone else#) have been fleeing Venezuela. Touching story about a young female pianist who played for Lincoln. Very colorful and evocative illustrations.

This story has a great message! It mentions the war, death, and sadness that Teresa experienced and saw others go through, but, she saw beauty in music. She saw how it could help life the spirits of others. The illustrations were just gorgeous! So excited to share this book with my class!

A must have for elementary classrooms. A beautiful and heartbreaking story that highlights the power of music to heal.