Primary. A young African American boy listens to his father tell the story of the night he was born, which was also the nigh that the Savory Ballroom in Harlem New York opened. This book gives some history of the culture of African Americans in the US in the early 1900s.

I was highly attracted to the illustrations as I flipped through the pages of the book. The mixture of mediums perfectly balances a sense of reality and fiction and captures the fluidity and natural state of the father and son during the time period of the story. I also admired the sentence fluency and slight rhythm captured behind the words throughout the story. For instance, one page states, “It was the day the doors swung open on the earth’s hottest, coolest, most magnificent, superdeluxe dancing palace. The Savoy!” When combined with the illustrations and layout of the text, the reader is forced to read this line with an epic undertone. Finally, I admired the main character’s father’s good work ethic and love towards his family, which is evident through his words and expressions throughout the entirety of the highly natural story. Most of all, I enjoyed the love of dancing that was delivered through the rhythm and illustrations. ( )

This was book about Harlem's most famous dance club called Savoy. It hosted celebrities and royalty and this story is about a boy and his Mom and Dad who own a shoe shining business right outside of Savoy. The story talks about the boy's Dad's story about the night their son was born. He talks about getting to dance in Savoy but his greatest present was the birth of his son. It is a story of family and the bond you will have forever. The boy someday wants to dance in Savoy as his Dad got too. The boy wants to be called Happy Feet and leave a legacy in the ballroom of Savoy. This book is an example of historical fiction. ( )

I really enjoyed reading this book because of the illustrations, the added information in the back of the book, and the language and vocabulary that makes the reader feel as though they are back in the 1920's. E. B. Lewis does a fantastic job with expressing the emotions of the characters as well as the overall aura/feeling in the 1920's and the loving relationship between father and son. For example, on the two pages where people are dancing and having fun in the Savoy, the dance club, E.B. Lewis illustrates the scene as if the characters on the page are actually moving rather than stuck in a picture. The lack of definite lines and edges also accentuates that movement of the characters and creates a moving picture.
Personally, I do know a little bit about the 1920's era from my American History classes therefore I was able to read into the story more than others. However, with the added information at the back of the book, younger students will be able to comprehend the story as well as the history embedded within it. For example, there is a biography on each of the characters as well as their full names rather than just their nicknames, for example Long-Legged George. Finally, the language and vocabulary used within this was extremely engaging and historically correct which made reading this book even more intriguing. For instance, one page reads "The bell jangles and Whitey walks in. He's muggin' as he gives me some skin. All the hep cats come to Pop's". The utlization of the slang and language of the 1920's transports the reader back to that time period and allows them to hear and imagine what conversations would sound like. This is extremely important to students because it also allows them to see how the English language has developed throughout history.
Overally, I liked this book and I would have it as part of my classroom library to use as a read-aloud or have the students read it on their own. ( )

This is a story I would read to kids to get them thinking of what can they create. ( )