The search for personal identity and young people dealing with modern challenges figure prominently in notable new books for children and teens, including several by local authors. (Disclosure: the Bay Area children's writers community is small and collegial. I know the writers and illustrators.) Listen up, parents: these books are not just for kids.
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The Cambodian Dancer: Sophany's Gift of Hope
by Daryn Reicherter, illustrated by Christy Hale; $15; Tuttle Publishing; ages 4-8.
Stanford psychiatrist Daryn Reicherter gracefully tells the story of a Cambodian dancer and survivor of the Khmer Rouge who now teaches ancient Cambodian dance to children in San Jose.
Sophany was a premier dancer in Cambodia before the Khmer Rouge took over her country. Dr. Reicherter and award-winning Palo Alto illustrator Christy Hale convey the horrible history of that takeover with honesty and sensitivity, then show the healing power of dance and how it can instill hope in refugees and cultural continuity for their children.
"The Cambodian Dancer" includes a Khmer translation of the text and an explanatory author's note.
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Swan: The Life and Dance of Anna Pavlova
by Laurel Snyder, illustrated by Julie Morstad; $18; Chronicle Books; ages 5-8.
Before Sophany, there was Anna Pavlova, a Russian prima ballerina who had a major impact on ballet. In poetic text and stunning illustrations, "Swan" shows how attending a performance of "The Sleeping Beauty" inspires the daughter of a single mother laundress not to give up trying to get into ballet school even though she's too thin and her feet are all wrong. Yet she works hard and changes dance to fit her style. Anna dances for royalty, but also for those in remote areas of the globe poor people, as she once was until a train accident in the snow gives her a chill that leads to her death.
This lyrical biography is enhanced by a note from the author filling in the details of Pavlova's life and influence.
