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Must read book about believing in yourself, listening to your inner voice and ignoring those who discourage you.
The fate of a drought-stricken town rests on a brave, empathic little girl, and her ‘terrible’ dancing.
米娜喜欢跳舞但是是一个可怕的舞者。她我s even banned from dancing in the end-of-year performance. Mr. Brady’s problems are even worse. The drought means no one is buying his umbrellas, and now he can’t afford Christmas presents for his children. Can Mina use her ‘terrible’ dancing skills to make it rain and save Mr. Brady’s Christmas?
Mina’s persists against the odds in helping Mr. Brady and his children. In creating her rain dance, Mina learns to ignore her critics and listen to her inner voice, accepting herself for who she is, and continuing to dance from her heart. Themes of kindness and self-compassion will also show the importance of embracing our imperfections and finding great joy in small pleasures and gestures of kindness.
Mina is also biracial, (this is not expressly stated here but will emerge in future stories). As a mother whose children are biracial one of the goals in writing this story is to have young diverse readers see someone who looks like them not to impart a social lesson but simply as a matter of everyday life.
Mina’s Rain Danceis a wonderful story about believing in yourself, listening to your inner voice and ignoring those who discourage you.
Mina is a little girl who loves to dance. She dances to and from school, passing by Mr. Brady’s umbrella stand and Ms. May’s sunflower garden. Her favorite activity of the week is attending her ballet class.
But Mina is a terrible dancer! When everyone moves left, she moves right. And she constantly bumps into her fellow dancers. She does not remember her steps and makes them up as she dances.
Her fellow dancers laugh at her and her teaches sighs and shakes her head as Mina dances. However, regardless of how she dances, her mother always encourages her and tells her to “dance from your heart.”
When Mina learns she will not be able to participate in the year end ballet performance, she is very upset and runs home crying. On her way, she notices Mr. Brady is crying. She forgets about her problems and asks him why he is crying. Mr. Brady explains that since there has not been any rain in months, he has not been able to sell umbrellas and will not have enough money to buy Christmas gifts for his kids.
Hearing this makes Mina feel horrible and she thinks about Mr. Brady’s situation all through the weekend. She wants to help him and decides that she needs to make it rain. Mina reads as many books as possible about how to make it rain. With her mom’s word of encouragement, and with the help of her best friend Ollie (and eventually the whole town), Mina listens to her inner voice and dances to make it rain. And it does!
This is a well-written and beautifully illustrated story every kid (and adult) should read. Children will relate to Mina and will understand what she is going through. Many children may have an interest or passion but are not encouraged to pursue it. Adults will learn to support their children’s interest because it makes them happy.
As you read the story, you will feel Mina’s emotions and you will feel happy for her when she is successful in making it rain and helping Mr. Brady buy gifts for his children.
A must read!
I am an independent author of children's books, Instagram book reviewer and lover of books. I have written three books to date and have recently discovered my love of reviewing pictures books that are not only fun to read but teach child important lessons. Fan of Berenstain Bears and Amelia Bedelia.
The fate of a drought-stricken town rests on a brave, empathic little girl, and her ‘terrible’ dancing.
米娜喜欢跳舞但是是一个可怕的舞者。她我s even banned from dancing in the end-of-year performance. Mr. Brady’s problems are even worse. The drought means no one is buying his umbrellas, and now he can’t afford Christmas presents for his children. Can Mina use her ‘terrible’ dancing skills to make it rain and save Mr. Brady’s Christmas?
Mina’s persists against the odds in helping Mr. Brady and his children. In creating her rain dance, Mina learns to ignore her critics and listen to her inner voice, accepting herself for who she is, and continuing to dance from her heart. Themes of kindness and self-compassion will also show the importance of embracing our imperfections and finding great joy in small pleasures and gestures of kindness.
Mina is also biracial, (this is not expressly stated here but will emerge in future stories). As a mother whose children are biracial one of the goals in writing this story is to have young diverse readers see someone who looks like them not to impart a social lesson but simply as a matter of everyday life.
Sarah wrote Mina’s Rain Dance after the severe drought and devastating bushfires in Australia in 2019. When she isn’t writing children’s stories, Sarah loves spending time with her 3 children (2 kids, 1 dog) and works as a psychologist specialising in adults who have survived trauma.查看配置文件
Published on May 31, 2021
1000 words
Genre:Children's
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