Kitchen Dance

Drawn from their beds by noises downstairs, the narrator and her little brother, Tito, peer into the kitchen to find that their parents have turned dinner cleanup into a rambunctious, Latin-flavored song and dance number. Mama swishes her ruffled skirt and Papa croons into a wooden spoon (“¡Cómo te quiero! Oh, how I love you. Umm, hmm”). The performance reaches its peak with a flourish worthy of Fred and Ginger: “My mother twists, and my father catches her by the waist and bends her low,” writes Manning (The Aunts Go Marching ), mixing awe with incredulity. “There is silence for a moment.” As the rounded, sculptural bodies of the couple move about the kitchen with humor and grace, the illustrations take on a cinematic sense of motion and space. This is Manning's most exuberant work yet, a winning tribute to happy feet and happy families. Ages 3–6. (Oct.)