This book packs a lot of positivity and messaging about acceptance and varying intelligence into a small, seemingly simple package.

The premise of the book is great and the author really delivers. Great read. Highly recommended. .

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love the pictures in this book. The story is great too. It's about finding your passion.

This is the perfect addition to our library. So many young students ask for books about ballerinas. Diana and her dancing body fit the bill.

I thought this book was really cute! I've taken ballet since I was 7 years old and I love finding books about it because there aren't many that I've seen (*whispers* If you know of any, let me know!). The artwork was really awesome in this book, too!

I'm honestly not sure if I got the age range right, but I figured around 5 because the language is a bit more advanced in this book. I feel like there are a lot of things that would have to be explained by someone older just because of the terminology that's used. At least, I don't think most young kids know what a psychologist is, or would understand why someone would have to go to the doctor because they were bored in school. That being said, I do think this book is a very good opening for discussions about things like this since children will most likely ask questions about different things within this book.

All-in-all, this book had a really cute story and, while it seems like it would be a bit harder for children to understand, I think the intentions behind it are a great way to teach children that it's okay to need help focusing in school and introduce dance to children who may not have had an interest in it before!

I have 2 little ballerinas at home, so thought I would love this one. I like the core message of finding yourself, finding what works for you, and being true to yourself. But the story was just a bit disjointed, odd, and nothing really happened. There was a random “oh yea she passed her math test” tacked on towards the end. This one just didn’t work for me or my kids.

Thank you netgalley for the book in exchange for an honest review.

Pictures are super cute, simplistic yet detailed. Story line is a bit, odd? But still overall cute book.

Diana needs to move and wiggle and...dance! This is the perfect book for my own wiggle worm. What a (body positive!) book for all the kids who are just a bit different in how they learn.

My first reaction to this book is a positive one. It takes the stance that a number of behavior problems are just misdirected energy and can be corrected by refocusing them. And Diana is by no means a traditional figure, a difference that is highlighted in the cover with tubby little Diana in the midst of largely identical willowy ballerinas. It doesn't matter what she looks like, it's about her passion.

I absolutely love the illustrations. Love them! I also love the message in the story, especially given that I have a young child that has a very similar learning style! I look forward to sharing this book with my kids.

Diana Dances tells the story of a little girl who has trouble focusing in school and is therefore failing. Her parents hire a tutor, and when that doesn't help, they assume there is something medically wrong with her and take her to a doctor and a psychologist. At her appointment, she hears music and discovers a passion for dancing. Once she begins taking dance classes, she learns that she can focus much better while she is moving, and her confidence and math scores improve!
I was reminded of many of my former students while reading this book. While some kids are perfectly comfortable sitting still and working quietly, others who are more kinesthetic learners like Diana, need to move their bodies in order to focus their minds and process information. Some of my former students were diagnosed with ADHD while others just had a lot of energy and needed to get it out! I think this book would make a wonderful addition to a classroom library, and would also make a great read-aloud to show how everyone learns best in different ways. Diana is such an endearing character, and seeing her gain confidence and find her best way to learn might resonate with other students who are feeling the same way that she did at the beginning of the story.

Diana Dances is a cute story about a girl who is just not doing well in school and her parents don't know how to help her until they see her dance! Encourage kids to dance while doing whatever they need to do, like practicing their multiplication tables!

Most educators know a child (or teen), who cannot sit still in a desk and refuses to conform to the standardization of public education. Diana is the embodiment of this student.

Unfortunately, the adults surrounding Diana immediately assume there must be something wrong with her.

A benevolent psychologist intervenes just in time, however, and Diana’s body and soul are rescued.

The illustrations in this title are reminiscent of Hilary Knight and her beloved Eloise, but Diana certainly is her own special character.

There is limited text on each page, which perfectly suits this story. Some pages have no text at all, allowing the reader to interpret for themselves.

Readers of all ages have the opportunity to see their personalities reflected in Diana.

Thank you to Annick Press and NetGalley for the advance copy of this title.

Originally published in Spanish under the title Bea baila by Luciano Lozano, Diana Dances, translated by Yanitzia Canetti is the story of Diana, a little girl who does not like school and often struggles. Mom sets out to find out why Diana struggles. She hires a tutor, takes her to the family doctor and eventually a psychologist to determine why Diana is struggling. Turns out Diana just needs to move. She needs to dance and when she is dancing, it is much easier to remember things like multiplication tables. Diana lives for her dance classes and dance classes have made it so she begins to find success in school.

Such a fantastic mirror book for many children who find school to be challenging, who just can’t sit still and need another outlet to help them learn. We know children learn in many different ways and there is no one way to reach all children. There are times when we need to help children find success in different ways, helping them play to their strengths. I really like the part where Diana visits a psychologist as there are many children who will experience the same thing along their learning path.

Illustrated by Luciano Lozano, the illustrations are at times pretty retro, especially the illustration of the psychologist. They are also full of life, movement and detail making this an inviting and fun read.

Diana Dances by Luciano Lozano is a darling picture book! It tells the story of Diana, who struggles with Math. She is going to fail if she doesn't learn her multiplication tables. When a specialist recommends that Diana join a dance group, things begin to look up. She is able to find a hobby she really enjoys and is able to study her math facts while moving. As a result, her math scores improve.

This book was very cute, with excellent illustrations, and shares a great message about the importance of arts education. I highly recommend it!

In Diana Dances, we follow a young girl as she struggles to pay attention well enough to keep up in school. Concerned, her parent hire a tutor, take her to a doctor, and eventually visit a psychiatrist to try to find a reason why Diana might be so distracted.

The psychiatrist eventually diagnoses her as just needing to dance. From then on, Diana dances while learning and lessons become a bit easier.

I really like the illustrations that have a really retro feel to them that makes me think of illustrations from the 60s. I also like the idea that the solution to distraction may just be as simple as needing to move around a bit more instead of being stuck in a chair all day.

I can see why this book might raise flags for some for some for various reasons, since the message could be interpreted in different ways depending on how you read it. But, as someone who has a little one close to me who has gone through the ordeal of being labelled by the school as "problematic", I can see how this book could be really helpful to certain kids.

Sometimes adults get very caught up with trying to fit problems into boxes that have perfect off-the-shelf solutions. The kids, though, don't usually fit so neatly into those boxes. Finding the right answers can take months or years filled with appointments with zillions of different specialists. It's not difficult for these kids to get the message that there is something very wrong with them, and that perhaps they are even unfixably broken.

What I like about Diana Dances is that it offers some hope to those kids who are labelled "bad", "disruptive", or "troubled". Although it's not likely most of those kids will get a prescription for "dancing more", maybe some of them will feel a little less alone and "weird" if they can read a book about a kid like them. Who knows, maybe even the parents (or teachers!) reading this book *will* get the message that a distracted/active child is not necessarily a "problem" child who needs "fixing".

Thank you to NetGalley and Annick Press for providing me with a DRC of this book

Diana cannot learn math. Diana cannot sit still. What is wrong with Diana? Not one thing. Diana can learn math, but not by sitting still. This book does an excellent job of describing what it means to be a kinesthetic learner, without once referring to the concept of learning styles or learning disorders. The engaging illustrations are unique and colorful, and capture the delightfulness of Diana’s story.

As a whole, I really like this story. The end and the illustrations make it worth it. However at times it seems to drag, and like she has an over worried mother. Because he daughter can not concentrate she takes her to the doctor, and then a shrink. It makes a kid feel bad about themselves. Everything works out in the end, but to me that section drags the story down.

This is an interesting little book. I wanted to read it because the cover definitely gives off the idea that the book will be about body image. However, it is more focused on Diana's difficulty focusing on math and how a physical outlet impacts that struggle positively.

The art style is very cool, but this has some weird stuff in the writing. For one thing, I need another picture book about a GIRL who doesn't like math like a need a hole in my head. For another, this kind of makes psychiatry look really really bad and gives a VERY wrong idea to kids about why their parent would bring them to a psychologist. Telling children that psychiatrists are only there because there's something wrong with them is such a very very toxic thing, as is giving kids the impression that physical activity is the answer, or at least the ONLY answer. One the opposite end, a picture book about a girl displaying what seem to be symptoms of ADHD is a pretty good thing (as these indicators are so often missed in girls). I just wish it wasn't weirdly demonizing of parental concern and psychiatry.

This book has a special place in my heart. Being a retired teacher as well as a grandparent, I certainly want to promote individuality, positive self-esteem, various learning styles and developing ways to motivate and stimulate today's children. When Diana is having difficulty concentrating and getting motivated in school, her mother is worried. She takes her to the family doctor and in turn he sends her to a Psychologist. It is only when they realize that Diana needs to move, has natural rhythm and is able to concentrate when she is allowed to move, that she becomes successful. This is a cute little book. Empowering kids to overcome their difficulties in school by exploring some non-traditional activities is a nice thing to see in a picture book and hopefully in real life. The illustrations, are wonderful. They look like pencil drawings and are very sweet. I loved looking for her dog in any of the pictures of her at home or outside playing. He is so cute. All in all, I was pleasantly surprised. This would be a great book to read with kids who might be struggling with paying attention, and it might give parents some ideas on new ways to help deal with the problem. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book upon request. The rating, ideas and opinions are my own.