Tall Tales and Whirling Gales

It has been an extremely busy year for illustrator Josée Bisaillon.  There have been a number of gorgeous books released recently with her incredible illustrations.  Another to add to the mix is Dancing with Daisy written by Jan L. Coates, published by Running the Goat Books and Broadsides. A wonderfully tall tale about a life altering storm.

Grandparents are a fountain of wisdom and most importantly…stories.  In our house we like to call tall tales “whoppers” and we have a special Gramps who just loves to regal us with the biggest whoppers you will ever hear.  The Bear and The Bee really enjoyed Dancing With Daisy not only because of the beautiful illustrations because the grandfather in the story reminds them of Gramps.  When Liam finds an old picture of Grampy on his boat, Grampy explains to Liam there is a story behind that picture. He then regales Liam with a brilliant tale about a girl (the storm Daisy) looking for a dance partner and having her sights set on Grampy.

It’s a wonderfully engaging story.  There is dialogue back and forth between Liam and Grampy, Liam asking questions and Grampy embellishing the answers along the way.  Liam trying to make sense of the differences between Grampy in the picture and the Grampy who he sees before him. Liam trying to understand the aging process and Grampy placing all the blame on poor Daisy.  Dancing with Daisy is another lovely inter generational story filled with humour and whimsy that will captivate readers young and old.