Dalila wants nothing more than to dance and find her rhythm. Her grandma takes Dalila around town to see all different types of dancers. Dalila comes home each day and tries to recreate their dancing. Dalila falls short each time and is sad, but not discouraged. Finally, her grandmother takes her to see the West African Troupe. The drumming excites Dalila and she becomes inspired watching the dancers. The dancers invite the audience members up to dance to the akpasa. Dalila dances what she feels in her heart and inspires everyone to go up and dance with her. Dalila found a dance that made her feel like a star.
This book does a good job depicting many forms of dance as well as introduce the many types of dance communities around town. I love that Dalila was determined to find a dance that best fit her, but I do wish that she would have perused the other dances longer too. No one is a perfect ballerina from one try. I appreciate Dalila's spirit and am so happy that she had such a supportive Grandma that appreciated her passion. This would be a good book to introduce some of the many different types of dances in the world. ( )

I liked this book for a few reasons. For one, I liked that it was written in first person. I think by having the book written in first person, makes it easier for students to put themselves in the main character’s shoes. Also, I liked the characters in the book. I liked the main character because she was very persistent. She tried all different types of dance until she found the type that she was most comfortable with. I liked that she is the age that most of the students who read this book are. I think that helps students relate better to characters who are around the same age as them. Also, I like the grandmother in the story because she never discouraged the main character, Dalila from trying different types of dance. She also never told Dalila that she could not dance. Finally, I liked the illustrations because they helped to create a “dance” mood. The lines in each of the illustration are drawn curved and none of them are completely straight. It is as if they are drawn in a dancing motion. The big message of Can You Dance, Dalila? is that in order to find what you like, you must try new things. In the story, if Dalila did not try different types of dances, she may have never found which kind she likes the best. ( )

It is about a girl named Dalila who loves everything about dancing. She tries the jig, ballet, and tap but she is no good. She then goes to a concert where there are drums and she is the center of attention with her good dancing. ( )