BY: Kaija Langley
PUBLISHED BY: DENENE MILLNER BOOKS/ SIMON & SCHUSTER
YEARY: 2021
GRADES: P-3
AGE: 4-8
PAGE: 40
I love so many things about this story. This is the energy I want to bring to my own writing. This is a story about a young black boy doing something not considered entirely “masculine” or “black” but doing it through the blinders of youth and thoroughly mesmerizing passion.
There were a handful of things I regret allowing others to discourage me from doing. I wish I’d had Langston’s backbone back when I wanted to try playing in an orchestra or take gymnastics. But money and pride being what they are I never got a chance to taste those alternate lives. Perhaps if I'd been exposed to a book like this as kid, or perhaps if my parents had heard of black orchestra performers different choices may have been made.
Here we see a boy totally engulfed in passion and ready to try something outside of the “norm”. We also see a mother who is fully willing (and I suppose able) to fund her son's desire. I love this energy! I love this reality and I want more of it.
Keith Mallett’s illustrations are beautiful – photographically stunning at time - so as usual with our breakdowns let’s remove this lovely distraction and focus on Kaija Langley’s writing to see why the story works so well for young readers and listeners.
"When Langston Dances" begins on page six after title, copyright and acknowledgements. It's important for new writers to note that when plotting out your future books you must take those three pages into account at the start of every story. Word count is very important and in picture book page count is too!
P6-P7
Langston liked basketball, but he adored ballet.
For my readers who don’t write picture books it is important to understand that brevity is key.
Author Kaija Langley
This is a one-sentence introduction that tells us everything we need to know about Langston with as few words as possible. This book reaches forty pages, where as most picture books try to stick around 32. However Langley maintains roughly 25 words per page throughout.
P8-P9
He fell in love the first time his mother took him to see the Alvin Ailey Dance Company. So many bodies soaring across the stage. Spinning, leaping, twirling dancers everywhere.
P10:
“Do you think I can dance like that?” Langston asked his mother.
“You can do whatever you set your mind to doing.” His mother said.
And just like that we are at the end of the first Act and the beginning of the middle. Page ten I’ve observed is usually where this takes place in most picture books and that is what happened here. The inciting incident occurred for Langston when watching dancers perform for the Alvin Ailey Dance Company. I love the specifics here. It will encourage parents, maybe even their kids, (perhaps their black sons) to look up this troop and see what inspired Langston. Perhaps even be inspired themselves. I’ve noted several other picture books that give specific art references like this, the Olivia series by ___ for example.
On with Act two:
P11
From that day forward, Langston practiced in front of his bedroom mirror. Finally, one Saturday morning he felt ready for his first day of school.
P12
“Today is the day I dance,” he told his mother as he double tied his sneakers.
“And you can dance to your heart’s content, his mother said.
P13
On the way to his new school, Langston told everyone he met, “Watch me dance!”
P 14
He dipped for the mail carrier putting letters in the box . . .
P15
And kicked for the police officer helping them cross the street.
P16
And spun for the barber sweeping his sidewalk.
P17
Langston waited for his applause, Instead, a kid passing by said “Boys don’t dance like that.”
P 18
Langston huddled closer to his mother, but he replied “They do too. I’ve seen them!”
Drama! A lot of these concept books I’ve noticed try to avoid the drama, but there needs to be a little. It’s brief but it’s important to telling a good story.
Now our little protagonist knows what people will say about him before they understand him. I’m happy the writer inserted a little bit of the negative eye in this. It was sort of the elephant in the room and needed to be addressed in some way. I’m happy also it was just some boy on the street not a parent or adult friend. Langston will likely get more pushback in his future, but not today! I’m even happier that it was Langston himself who countered the attack.
For those writing picture books like me it’s important that we remember to let the main character solve his/her own problems. Langston’s mother, who was present in the illustration, does not charge forward to defend her son. This would have come off odd anyway. Instead Langston uses her for support as he reaffirms himself that yes, boys do dance this way and I’ve seen them do it.
I know there will be parent readers out there who will scoff at this book. It might even be banned in Florida by now, but it takes a lot more guts to be different than it does to do what is expected of you. Even if the young reader isn’t himself into ballet dancer or something non-traditional it’s good to see characters in their stories stand up for the things they are passionate about.
P19
When he arrived at Ms. Mare’s Dance Studio, Langston felt nervous. Would the other students like the way he moved? Was he dressed properly in his basketball shorts and sneakers?
A gentle push from his mother, and Langston set off to find his class.
P20
The first room was a class of students learning how to tap.
Shuffle, shuffle, tap, tap. Shuffle, shuffle, tap.
P21
Langston wandered to the net class. He felt the “boom” from the music beneath his feet as students practiced hip-hop dance.
P22
Another class of students clapped their hands and stomped their feet, keeping rhythm with a man beating a drum. They were learning African dance.
I know there are some readers who nit-pick that a dance studio usually doesn’t have several classes going on at once. Hush! This is purely to show off that there are types of dance classes kids can try. Be inspired!
P23
In the last classroom, the music was so quiet Langston could barely hear it. He watched excitedly as little girls stood in a line along the barre in front of a mirror and praced the ballet positions as the dance teacher called them out.
Act three begins quietly. Langston as arrived at his destination. He’s been unmoved by the other classes with possibly more acceptable forms of he dance he could try. He has found the place where he belongs. He’s not deterred that it’s full of girls. He is amazed by the movements and flows into it naturally.
P24
“First position,” she called.
When the girls moved their feet into the shape of a V, Langston held on to the door frame and followed their lead.
P25
“Second position,” the teacher announced next. When the class slid one foot away, so did Langston.
P26
Finally, Langston kicked off his sneakers and darted into the class to take his place at the barre. He closed his eyes and remembered the Alvin Ailey dancers.
P27
The teacher clasped her hands to bring the class to attention. Langston opened his eyes and realized he stood alone in front of the mirror.
Drama! It may not seem like it to an adult but see this from a kid’s point of view. He was so excited that he just jumped in and when he when he opened his eyes he was alone. Everyone was looking at him! Had he done something wrong? The shame! The fear! The cold silence! And all in so few words!
P28
“Welcome to ballet. I am Ms. Marie,” said the teacher, “I’ve been expecting you, Langston.”
P29-P30
Langston took a bow
“In this class we wear shoes.” Ms. Marie floated gracefully towards the closet.
P31
She rummaged through a box and mumbled “No. No. No.” before exclaiming “Yes!”
P32
She handed Langston a pair of black ballet slippers. They were different from the other students’ slippers, but he tried them on with delight. They fit him perfectly!
P33
Overjoyed, Langston took off running and leaping across the room.
P34
He spun and jumped, dipped and kicked. The girls gasped in wonder.
P35
Ms. Marie nodded her approval. Then she clapped her hands again. “This is serious business. You must work very hard to be a ballet dancer. You’ll have to earn those shoes, you know.”
I love this. Langston like most kids, approaches a new skill like it’s all fun and games. This gives young readers a hit at the seriousness of being good at something. Langston seems to be naturally graceful, but even so hard work is required to master any skill.
P36
“I will,” Langston said, standing taller than before.
P37
The class lined up again along the mirror, and Langston took his place. He promised to work hard in every class. And Langston danced . . .
P38
And danced . . .
P39 – 40
And danced.
The resolution is so satisfying. Langston has found his place and we get to watch him grow into it. The illustration really brings it home as well. I wonder if Langley gave a lot of illustration notes or if these drawings were Mallett’s interpretation of the last two pages.
Again most picture books try to wrap up by page thirty-two or less, but a strong story like this one is occasionally given a pass if the editors see potential letting it naturally end longer. But I rarely ever see a book go beyond page forty.
Robyn Re-Read
This is where I go and re-read the story to my daughter to see how my perspective of the story changes as a parent reading to a child. Often my adult lens falls away and I can appreciate the story 's nature as a book for kids learning to read and love books.
For this story however my daughter, who is only two, wasn’t very interested. Instead I tracked down my four year old niece for story time. My niece declared that she didn’t want to read a book about a boy. Then when I read the title she said “Boys don’t dance!”
“Everybody dances.” I told her and threatened to break out my moves, thus realizing that I’ve become that adult person already. As I recovered from this existential horror I began to read the book despite her protests. She giggled at the first picture of Langston dunking a basketball with ballerina flair. It had not occurred to me to think that was funny, but she did.
As I read the girls got quiet. Until the boy on the street told Langston that boys don’t dance like that. My niece said “That’s what I said!” To which I repeated “Every body dances.”
When Langton got to school the girls were thrilled at the different types of dances in the different rooms. My niece informed me that hip-hop is what boys do. And I showed her that there were girls in the classroom too.
When she saw the African style dances my niece said “That’s what black girls do.” and I pointed out that there were white girls in the class too.
When we got to the ballet room there were black and white girls in the room. My niece said “I’ve never seen black girls dance ballet.” I had the pleasure of informing her about Misty Copeland, the new Prima Ballerina performing Swan Lake. She didn’t believe me, so when I finished the story I showed her.
Both girls are light skinned and they marveled that she looked like them. Now they are dancing around my living room pretending to be ballerinas.
However, for Langston, and boys like him, the stories of Melvin Lawovi, Naazir Muhammad, and Calvin Royal III - brilliant black men who dance ballet like angles - may better reflect their story and feelings. For more on them check out this blog by Nicole Swiggard. Nicole discusses the lives of black boys learning that they can be beautiful and strong at the same time creating their own verison of masculinity.
Please support these wonderful artists for creating this amazing story! You can learn more abut Kaija Langley on her website here.
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