Blog Tour: River's Dreary to Dreamy Day – Once Upon a Dance

By Steph Warren - Bookshine on 28 Aug 2024

*I received a free copy of this book with thanks to the author and Blackberry Book Tours. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*

Blurb: Another rainy day, and River feels particularly gloomy about being stuck inside.
But as the day unfolds, ordinary objects spark River's imagination, leading to a journey of discovery and a happy calm.

Join Ballerina Konora on each page with movement and breath suggestions, making this story an interactive and soothing act-along adventure.

Please note this is a refreshed version of Petunia Perks Up. River has no pronouns, making the book perfect for mixed-gender classrooms. It offers teachers and therapists an easy meditative activity and curriculum addition. Parents and caregivers can use this book to help kids with stress, anger, worry, uncertainty, and frustration.

River creates a positive change in attitude through choices, breath, gentle movement, stretching, stillness, and appreciation.

Themes include managing emotions, stress relief, relaxation, breath management, using imagination, making healthy choices, good habits, and guided imagery. River enjoys memories of ice cream, boats, balloons, yoga, elephants, raccoons, flowers, gardens, and the rain. This book also makes a special Mother's Day gift.

Movement, technique, and dance concepts in this story include:

• sous sus • child's pose • posture • inhale/exhale (coordinated with movement) • shoulder rolls • swings • stretches • sways • weight transfer • energy • small motor skills • naming body parts

Brought to you by the mother-daughter team, Once Upon a Dance, winner of ten first-place book awards and thousands of 5-star reviews.

We have reviewed a few Once Upon a Dance books as a family now and always enjoy the unique combination of story and movement they involve.

This book features River, a child with a BIG imagination, who is able to use it to change the everyday into their own special happy day. It is packed with simple actions to move the body, stretch and breathe, all tied to the story actions and demonstrated in pictures featuring Ballerina Konora. And the illustrations on each page are full of life and colour, and perfectly capture River's mood as it shifts from dreary to dreamy.

Here are Minishine (11) and Babybow's (8) thoughts:

Minishine: I wasn't sure this would be right for me, because it is a picture book and I usually read chapter books now I'm grown-up, but it was actually really fun! I loved being the balloon, swaying from side to side, and my favourite character was the raccoon.

Babybows: I found it really fun to do the actions and my favourites were the animals, like the elephants and the raccoon. I was a bit worried I might not be able to do some of the actions because they sounded tricky—

[I can confirm this, as he started out the story by leaving the room to 'practice' each page without us seeing him!]

Bb: —but then when I tried them, I could do them, easy-peasy, so then I stopped worrying and just did it.

Ms: The breathing bit was really calming and lying on the floor made me all relaxed and sleepy. I think this is a really good book for bedtime or to help calm you down from a sad, bleh mood into a happy, dreamy mood... like it does for River too!

As an adult, reading the story aloud to them both, I found the story a little disjointed as it skipped from elephants, to balloons, to flowers, but when we chatted about it I found that the quick changing from scene to scene was one of the children's favourite aspects of the book and it reminded them of some dreamlike child-targeted meditations they have enjoyed previously.

This is the perfect way to combine a love of story, imagination, movement and meditation in one sweet, colourful tale, suitable from anyone from toddler age to middle-grade (or older!).

Purchase Link: River's Dreary to Dreamy Day on Amazon

About the author

Once Upon a Dance is an award-winning mother-daughter collaboration.

Ballerina Konora climbed the ballet ladder to pro, and she's thrilled to be living her dreams dancing with Ballet Idaho. Along the way, she danced iconic roles such as Sugar Plum Fairy and Cinderella.

Teacher Terrel taught dance for decades and was honored by her City Council for "embodying the spirit of partnership and commitment to children in our community" for her work with young dancers. She's breathed ballet from every angle and worked in early childhood education, for non-profits supporting kids, and as a university English teacher as a Peace Corps volunteer.

Once Upon a Dance 2021/2022 Awards: Mom's Choice Gold Award, Family Choice Award, Royal Dragonfly First Place, PenCraft Award First Place, Firebird First Place, Pinnacle: Best Book Juvenile Fiction, Independent Press Award Winner, International Impact Book Award Winner, Outstanding Creator Awards Winner, Readers Favorite Certified Great Read, Indie's Today 5-Star Recommended, The Wishing Shelf 5-Star, Literary Titan 5-Star Award.