Book Review of Dancing with Cara: The Rainbow Stories
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The Children’s Book Review
Written by AC Bradburn
Illustrated by Ivy Trazsi
Ages 4+ | 65 Pages
Publisher: Oxygen Publishing Inc. (2023) | ISBN-13: 9781990093708
What to Expect: Family, Nature, Imagination, and Joy
Following the adventures of four-year-old Cara, this lovely collection of eight stories features simple language, bright colors, and textual effects perfect for supporting beginner readers.
Cara and Grandad are going out for the day, and Cara knows just the thing to stop Granddad from getting tired—they can sing together! Cara’s Mummy and Daddy have warned her not to sing with people she doesn’t know, but Grandad says singing with the plants and animals is just fine—even though he is a little bit surprised she can hear them. On their travels, Cara sings and talks with a mountain, a wave, a butterfly, a crystal, and many other friends from the natural world. She experiences joy, wisdom, and beauty in her conversations with them—and you will, too, as you read her stories!
Each story in the collection takes a complex idea—such as where we come from or learning to deal with separation—and turns it into easy-to-follow fairy tales about the natural world. As abstract natural elements such as waves and mountains become engaging, relatable characters, readers can think about themselves and their world from unfamiliar perspectives. The colorful illustrations have a dream-like quality, adding to the sense of introspection that the collection evokes. The authors have also created animated videos of some of the stories, available on their website, offering readers another medium through which to join Cara on her adventures.
Dancing with Cara is a beautiful, dreamy collection of stories, perfect for shared reading.
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About the Author
AC Bradburn is a husband and wife team that writes short and long stories, sometimes with music, that strives to engage with the natural world in new and ancient ways. They began their working lives as freelance musicians, often combining music and storytelling in workshops with children. Now with a young family, they divide their time between home educating their children, growing vegetables, looking after chickens, and struggling to find time to write!
Discover more of AC Bradburn’s work at www.twistingtherainbow.org, including the Dancing with Cara animated films and their debut middle grade novel, Agent Pangolin: The Mystery of the Shiny Moon.
Read our exclusive interview: AC Bradburn Discusses Dancing with Cara: The Rainbow Stories.
About the Illustrator
Ivy Trazsi is an international illustrator and fine artist working digitally and also with messy paints. Her style is joyfully dictated by bright colors and lots of textures from nature combined with abstract elements. The foundation of her style lies in her rich childhood memories, travels, and endless imagination.
She grew up in a tiny village surrounded by wildlife. As a child, she drew and painted on every surface: the brick walls of her family home, snail shells, and once, she even attempted to color the wind. Later, she moved away and lived in multiple countries, but her love for nature and colors has never changed. Together with her husband, they are raising their children with the intention of being curious and having an open mind for magical stories in their everyday lives.
For more information, visit www.lemoonillustration.com.
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