• Age: 0 to 4
• Grade: p
• Reading age: 0 to 2

Dance Baby Dance is an enchanting first book for babies. The rolling, rollicking poetry, paired with colorful and diverse photographic images of babies with their friends and families, is the perfect companion to Welcome Song for Baby: A lullaby for newborns (Orca 2007).

Andrea Spalding is a prolific writer for children.
Born in the industrial city of Manchester England, she trained as a teacher. Then, with husband David, Andrea immigrated to Canada in 1967. After living in Alberta for 24 years, Andrea and David relocated to British Columbia and live on Pender Island, one of Canada's Southern Gulf Islands.
Canadian life proved to be rich and varied. Curiosity about her chosen country compelled Andrea to listen to other Canadian immigrants who shared tales that later became her folktale book, A World of Stories.
A love of the outdoors prompted her and David to take their family and travel quintessential Canada. They've skated on frozen lakes, worked on dinosaur digs, and panned for Yukon gold. Andrea has whale-watched on both coasts, enjoyed vineyards and theatre festivals on the Niagara Peninsula, and tapped her feet in Toronto jazz clubs. A highlight West Coast experience was assisting in the carving an Aboriginal Honour Pole with Tsimshian master carver Victor Reece. These experiences provided background for her stories.
Andrea's first children's book, The Most Beautiful Kite In The World, was selected as a Canadian Children's Book Center's "Our Choice." She has garnered awards and nominations ever since. Her fantasy novels - The Summer of Magic Quartet - are avidly read by both children and adults. Her picturebook, Secret of the Dance, is her 30th. Written with Aboriginal Elder Alfred Scow, it has gained accolades from both the aboriginal and white communities.
Andrea gives school presentations across the country, and also teaches writing workshops, and in-service presentations to teachers, librarians, and any one interested in her passion for Children's Literature.

Visit Andrea's website at www.andreaspalding.com.

Andrea Spalding's profile page

• Commended, Canadian Toy Testing Council Top Ten Great Books
• Commended, Resource Links "The Year's Best"

“Show[s] a charming variety of babies and toddlers learning to explore and enjoy their surroundings...The book offers reassurance - perhaps to the adult reading it aloud as much as to Baby - that the world is a pleasant and loving place in which Baby is free to explore, play, and develop.”

Quill & Quire

"An excellent lap book to be shared...A most worthy public library addition and an excellent gift book purchase for parents. Highly recommended."

CM Magazine

"Perfect for one-on-one sharing, this is a great addition to public library board book collections."

Resource Links