A review by ec_dee13
Dancing Hands: How Teresa Carreño Played the Piano for President Lincoln by Margarita Engle

5.0

This book, found on the 2020 Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People list published by the National Council for the Social Studies, details the life of Teresa Carreño, a Venezuelan pianist. After learning to play piano and compose her own songs, Teresa’s family fled Venezuela to the US during the US Civil War. This charming biography would be best suited for 2nd/3rd grade and up, because it is very approachable in language. I think it is absolutely amazing to tell a story about an underrepresented group, and that many students would be able to make some connections to her story.

I watched this in a video book format on Hoopla, which enhanced the experience by accompanying the story with piano music. The moving visuals also really brought the story to life.