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

The historical annotation in the back is key to understanding the story. I have read it to ages K - 6 and they enjoyed it. Especially the illustrations. Great music book with beautifully written imagery as well. It touches on the civil war and immigration.

As an elementary music teacher, I structure many of my units on various appreciation months, and Latinx is one of my favorites. The beautiful story and illustrations of Dancing Hands is favorited by myself and my students.

This is a well written biography about the child prodigy Teresa Carreno from Venezuela. Her piano playing brought joy not only to herself but also to many others in many countries. President Abraham Lincoln, who was mourning the loss of a son, invited her to play for him at the White House. The illustrations by Rafael Lopez are warm, vibrant and exquisite. They compliment the text instead of overpowering it. The two seem to flow together like harmony and melody. In the text by Margarita Engle there are many analogies to music, nature and human feelings. I think this makes the book special. The author highlights the struggles and successes of Teresas' life in a clear and straightforward poetic manner which I think is age appropriate for youngsters 6 to 10 years of age. This is a stunning and informative book that would do well to be in any library ( school, home, or public). It certainly has its place in my home library.

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.

I purchased this to share with my students. It was a pleasure to read to them in honor of National Hispanic American Heritage month. Beautiful story and 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!

My 2nd grade students enjoyed this book immensely. They had lots of questions about several aspects of the book….war, money, presidents, music and so on. We had a great experience with it.

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.

Une tres belle histoire qui nous apprendre que la musique nourri l'ame et le coeur!