Words that bop and pictures that spin make this book so close to dance, readers won't be able to keep their feet from tapping. Roberts's (Sticks and Stones: Bobbie Bones
) Miz Mozetta, whom Morrison pictures as a youthful grey-haired, ample-bosomed gal, digs out a fabulous red dress one night ("My best color, if I do say so") and goes out in search of dance partners. Her friends Mister Brown, Miz Lou Lillie, and Mister Willie shake their heads ("My dancin' days are done, honey dear," Mister Brown says), while teen break-dancers Cap and Rudy model moves too tough for the heroine. When Miz Mozetta heads home, Willie and the rest reconsider and show up at her door, dressed to the nines, ("Lightnin' Lou Lillie kicked off her skippers and stomped. Wildcat Willie whirled"). Cap and Rudy hear the fun and beg to join; now the old folks snub them, then think better of it. As he did in last season's Sweet Music in Harlem
, Morrison once again calls to mind the characters of Ernie Barnes with his comfortably-padded women and skinny men whose arms and legs stick out at impossible angles as they start to dance. Three side-by-side time-lapse images show "Downtown Brown" spin, come around with his head thrown back, then whirl so fast he becomes a blur. The urban setting, a close-knit community whose elders tell the young folks what's what, adds zip to Miz Mozetta's beat. Ages 4-8. (Oct.)
