“What are the best Children’s books about or featuring Dance?” We looked at 177 of the top Kids dance books, aggregating and ranking them so we could answer that very question!
The top 29 titles, all appearing on 2 or more “Best Children’s Dance” book lists, are ranked below by how many lists they appear on. The remaining 125+ titles, as well as the lists we used are in alphabetical order at the bottom of the page.
Also see our article of The 18 Best Dance Books!
Happy Scrolling!
Lists It Appears On:
Angelina loves to dance and wants to become a ballerina more than anything else in the world.
Lists It Appears On:
For babies who are responding to music and movement, here’s a playful poem that has father and child dancing lovingly across the pages.
Lists It Appears On:
After seeing a ballet performance, Nate decides he wants to learn ballet but he has doubts when his brother Ben tells him that only girls can be ballerinas.
Lists It Appears On:
In this contemporary retelling of the fairy tale “Twelve Dancing Princesses,” an African-American reverend in Harlem endeavors to discover why the shoes of his twelve sons are worn to pieces every morning.
Lists It Appears On:
At the time of the Impressionists, a young ballet dancer races around Paris searching for Monsieur Degas, who accidentally took her bag–and the tutu she needs for the recital in which she is to perform that night.
Lists It Appears On:
Selected by Chairman Mao’s officials from among millions of children to become a dancer, Li’s new life began as he left his family behind. At the Beijing Dance Academy, days were long and difficult. Li’s hard work was rewarded when he was chosen yet again, this time to travel to America.…
Lists It Appears On:
Frank the monster indulges his love of dancing by strutting his stuff on stage until his head unzips, his brains flop out, and he continues to lose body parts.
Lists It Appears On:
Two sleepy children sneak out of their beds to watch as their parents, who love each other very much, break into a dance while washing the dishes.
Lists It Appears On:
Ballet instructor Miss Lina has a solution when her eight students, who always dance in pairs, are distraught when a ninth girl joins the class.
Lists It Appears On:
A ballet dancer recalls how she and her mother would welcome each season with a dance outdoors.
Lists It Appears On:
In illustrations and rhyme describes the dancing of Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, one of the most famous tap dancers of all time.
Lists It Appears On:
Grandpa demonstrates for his visiting grandchildren some of the songs, dances, and jokes he performed when he was a vaudeville entertainer.
Lists It Appears On:
On her first day of first grade, despite the objections of her older sisters, Suki chooses to wear her beloved Japanese kimono to school because it holds special memories of her grandmother’s visit last summer.
Lists It Appears On:
When four young girls meet in dance class, it takes time for them to find a way–and a reason–to pull together as one, but Emily helps them realize that, just like a bag of jellybeans, they can be different and still go well together.
Lists It Appears On:
A young dancer finds confidence in herself in this picture book about dance, individuality, and self expression
Lists It Appears On:
A young zombie gives a haunting performance in her first ballet dance recital.
Lists It Appears On:
Describes the life, dancing, and choreography of Alvin Ailey, who created his own modern dance company to explore the black experience.
Lists It Appears On:
Sassy tries out for a summer dance festival in Washington, D.C., despite the other girls’ taunts that she is much too tall.
Lists It Appears On:
Jenna, a member of the Muscogee, or Creek, Nation, borrows jingles from the dresses of several friends and relatives so that she can perform the jingle dance at the powwow. Includes a note about the jingle dance tradition and its regalia.
Lists It Appears On:
In 1908 a baby boy was born in Culiacan, Mexico, kicking like a roped steer. BAM! BAM! BAM! His name was Jose Limon. Though he and his family fled civil war in their homeland by escaping to the United States when Jose was just seven years old, he would never forget the sounds and movements of his birthplace. Then Jose followed his heart to New York City. He fell in love with the shimmering city that towered above him: marble, stone, brick, and steel. He wanted to give a gift to the world and discovered the world of dance. There was no stopping Jose Limon, who went on to become one of the greatest modern dancers who ever lived.
Lists It Appears On:
Max finds a new way to warm up for his Saturday baseball game–his sister’s dancing class.
Lists It Appears On:
The world is big. Anna is small. The snow is everywhere and all around. But one night …One night, her mother takes her to the ballet, and everything is changed. Anna finds a beauty inside herself that she cannot contain. So begins the journey of a girl who will one day grow up to be the most famous prima ballerina of all time, inspiring legions of dancers after her: the brave, the generous, the transcendently gifted Anna Pavlova. Beautiful, inspirational, and triumphant, Anna Pavlova’s life is masterfully captured in this exquisite picture book.…
Lists It Appears On:
Meet William, Harold, and Lew Christensen, three small-town Utah boys who caught the ballet bug in the early 1900s. They performed on vaudeville and took part in the New York City dance scene. Russian immigrants shared the story of The Nutcracker with them, and during World War II, they staged their own Christmastime production in San Francisco. It was America’s first full-length version and the beginning of a … holiday tradition
Lists It Appears On:
Determined to make a name for themselves, three adopted sisters living in London train for the ballet and the stage and in the process discover that each has a special talent.
Lists It Appears On:
Despite her size and not having the proper footwear, a determined dinosaur pursues her dream of becoming a ballerina.
Lists It Appears On:
The author describes how she first decided she wanted to be a ballerina at the age of six, and how that dream carried her from her home in Puerto Rico to dance class in Boston to performing with the New York City Ballet
Lists It Appears On:
In this wordless book with interactive flaps, a friendship develops between a girl named Flora and a graceful flamingo, as they learn to dance together.
Lists It Appears On:
Tallulah takes ballet lessons and eagerly awaits her coveted tutu, which, she learns, she must work hard to earn.
Lists It Appears On:
American Ballet Theater soloist Misty Copeland encourages a young ballet student, with brown skin like her own, by telling her that she, too, had to learn basic steps and how to be graceful when she was starting out, and that some day, with practice and dedication, the little girl will become a firebird, too.
| # | Books | Author | Lists |
| 30 | A Ballerina Cookbook: Simple Recipes for Kids | Sarah L. Schuette | Barnes And Noble |
| 31 | A Child’s Introduction to Ballet | Laura Lee | Sugar Spice And Glitter |
| 32 | A Company of Swans | Eva Ibbotson | The Guardian |
| 33 | A Dictionary of Dance | Liz Murphy | Goodreads |
| 34 | A Dream of Sadler’s Wells | Lorna Hill | The School Run |
| 35 | A Young Dancer: The Life of an Ailey Student | Pragmatic Mom | |
| 36 | Amalia Hernández and Mexico’s Folkloric Ballet | Pragmatic Mom | |
| 37 | Another Celebrated Dancing Bear | My Son Can Dance | |
| 38 | Arthur Mitchell | My Son Can Dance | |
| 39 | Baby Danced the Polka | Karen Beaumont | Goodreads |
| 40 | Ballerina Birdies | Marina Yamamoto | Goodreads |
| 41 | Ballerina: A Step-by-Step Guide to Ballet | Jane Hackett | Sugar Spice And Glitter |
| 42 | Ballerina! | Read Brightly | |
| 43 | Ballet Boy | Anfaney Gladwin | Goodreads |
| 44 | Ballet Cat The Totally Secret Secret (Ballet Cat, #1) | Bob Shea | Goodreads |
| 45 | Ballet for Martha: Making Appalachian Spring | Jan Greenberg | Goodreads |
| 46 | Barefoot Book of Ballet Stories | Jane Yolen | Sugar Spice And Glitter |
| 47 | Barn Dance | Bill Martin Jr. | Goodreads |
| 48 | Barn Dance! | Pat Hutchins | Goodreads |
| 49 | Barnyard Dance | Sandra Boynton | Goodreads |
| 50 | Bawk & Roll | Tammi Sauer | Goodreads |
| 51 | Bear Dance | Jan Wahl | Goodreads |
| 52 | Beautiful Ballerina | Thought Co. | |
| 53 | Behind the Mask | Pragmatic Mom | |
| 54 | Billie’s Big Audition | Kimberly Wyatt | The School Run |
| 55 | Blues Suite | Pragmatic Mom | |
| 56 | Boring Bob | Anfaney Gladwin | Goodreads |
| 57 | Born to Dance | Jean Ure | The School Run |
| 58 | Bowwow Powwow | Pragmatic Mom | |
| 59 | Boy, Can He Dance! | My Son Can Dance | |
| 60 | Boys Dancing: From School Gym to Theater Stage | Pragmatic Mom | |
| 61 | Brianna, Jamaica, and the Dance of Spring | Juanita Havill | Goodreads |
| 62 | Bunheads | Sophie Flack | The Guardian |
| 63 | Catty Jane Who Loved to Dance | Valeri Gorbachev | Goodreads |
| 64 | Cock-a-Doodle Dance! | Christine Tricarico | Goodreads |
| 65 | Color Dance | Ann Jonas | Goodreads |
| 66 | Dance at Grandpa’s | Laura Ingalls Wilder | Goodreads |
| 67 | Dance Class: So, You Think You Can Hip-Hop (Dance Class #1) | Crip | Goodreads |
| 68 | Dance Is For Everyone | A Mighty Girl | |
| 69 | Dance Me, Daddy | Cindy Morgan | Goodreads |
| 70 | Dance, Pioneer, Dance! | Rick Walton | Goodreads |
| 71 | Dancing Feet | Charlotte Agell | Goodreads |
| 72 | Dancing Feet! | Lindsey Craig | Goodreads |
| 73 | Dancing Larry | My Son Can Dance | |
| 74 | Dancing To America | My Son Can Dance | |
| 75 | Dancing with Katya | Dori Chaconas | Goodreads |
| 76 | Danza!: | Pragmatic Mom | |
| 77 | Deer Dancer | A Mighty Girl | |
| 78 | Dinosaur Dance | Patrick Girouard | Goodreads |
| 79 | Dinosaurumpus | Tony Mitton | Goodreads |
| 80 | Do Princesses Boogie? | A Mighty Girl | |
| 81 | Dogs Don’t Do Ballet | Read Brightly | |
| 82 | Down by the Cool of the Pool | Tony Mitton | Goodreads |
| 83 | Dream Dancer | Jill Newsome | Goodreads |
| 84 | Drumheller Dinosaur Dance | Robert Heidbreder | Goodreads |
| 85 | Duck Sock Hop | Jane Kohuth | Goodreads |
| 86 | Dumpy La Rue (Owlet Book) | My Son Can Dance | |
| 87 | Elephants Cannot Dance! (Elephant & Piggie, #9) | Mo Willems | Goodreads |
| 88 | Ella Bella Ballerina & Swan Lake | James Mayhew | Sugar Spice And Glitter |
| 89 | Everybunny Dance! | Ellie Sandall | Goodreads |
| 90 | Fancy Nancy and the Mermaid Ballet | Jane O’Connor | Sugar Spice And Glitter |
| 91 | Fancy Nancy: Budding Ballerina | Jane O’Connor | Goodreads |
| 92 | Farmyard Beat | Lindsey Craig | Goodreads |
| 93 | First Term at L’Etoile: Book 1 (School for Stars) | Kelly Willoughby and Holly Willoughby | The School Run |
| 94 | Flora and the Penguin | Molly Idle | Goodreads |
| 95 | Flying Feet: A Story of Irish Dance | My Son Can Dance | |
| 96 | Footwork: The Story of Fred and Adele Astaire | Roxane Orgill | Goodreads |
| 97 | Frances Dean Who Loved to Dance and Dance | Birgitta Sif | Goodreads |
| 98 | Giant Dance Party | Betsy Bird | Goodreads |
| 99 | Giraffes Can’t Dance | Giles Andreae | Goodreads |
| 100 | Groovy Joe: Dance Party Countdown (Groovy Joe #2) | Eric Litwin | Goodreads |
| 101 | Gwendolyn, the Graceful Pig | Read Brightly | |
| 102 | Happy Feet: The Savoy Ballroom Lindy Hoppers and Me | My Son Can Dance | |
| 103 | Hen Lake | Mary Jane Auch | Goodreads |
| 104 | Hilda Must Be Dancing | Read Brightly | |
| 105 | Hip-Hop Lollipop | Pragmatic Mom | |
| 106 | How Can You Dance | Rick Walton | Goodreads |
| 107 | How Do You Wokka-Wokka? | Elizabeth Bluemle | Goodreads |
| 108 | I Can Dance | A Mighty Girl | |
| 109 | I Want to be a Ballerina | Anna Membrino | Goodreads |
| 110 | Invitation to Ballet: A Celebration of Dance and Degas | Carolyn Vaughan | Goodreads |
| 111 | James the Dancing Dog | My Son Can Dance | |
| 112 | Jammy Dance | Rebecca Janni | Goodreads |
| 113 | Jazz Age Josephine | Jonah Winter | Goodreads |
| 114 | Jazz Baby | Lisa Wheeler | Goodreads |
| 115 | JITTERBUGS! A dance-along story inspired by real American Jitterbugs | Margot Toppen | Goodreads |
| 116 | Josephine Wants to Dance | Jackie French | Goodreads |
| 117 | Knockin’ on Wood: Starring Peg Leg Bates | My Son Can Dance | |
| 118 | Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina | Misty Copeland | The Guardian |
| 119 | Lili at Ballet | Read Brightly | |
| 120 | Lion Dancer | Pragmatic Mom | |
| 121 | Lola Levine and the Ballet Scheme | Monica Brown | Barnes And Noble |
| 122 | Lola’s Fandango | Pragmatic Mom | |
| 123 | Long Powwow Nights | David Bouchard | Goodreads |
| 124 | Magic Ballerina series | Darcey Bussell | The Guardian |
| 125 | Mama, I’ll Give You the World | Pragmatic Mom | |
| 126 | Mao’s Last Dancer | Li Cunxin | The Guardian |
| 127 | Olga the Brolga | Rod Clement | Goodreads |
| 128 | Oliver Button Is a Sissy | My Son Can Dance | |
| 129 | Olivia’s First Term | Lyn Gardner | The School Run |
| 130 | Papa Lucky’s Shadow | My Son Can Dance | |
| 131 | Peeping Beauty | Mary Jane Auch | Goodreads |
| 132 | Pepito’s Story | My Son Can Dance | |
| 133 | Pete the Cat and the Cool Cat Boogie | James Dean | Goodreads |
| 134 | Peter Penny’s Dance | My Son Can Dance | |
| 135 | Roadrunner’s Dance | Rudolfo Anaya | Goodreads |
| 136 | Rock War | Robert Muchamore | The School Run |
| 137 | Ruby Rose: Off to School She Goes | A Mighty Girl | |
| 138 | Rupert Can Dance | Jules Feiffer | Goodreads |
| 139 | Sailor Boy Jig | My Son Can Dance | |
| 140 | Samba Sensation (Strictly Come Dancing) | Chloe Melody | The School Run |
| 141 | Savion!: My Life in Tap | My Son Can Dance | |
| 142 | Secret Of The Dance | Andrea Spalding | Goodreads |
| 143 | Sparks Fly High: The Legend of Dancing Point | My Son Can Dance | |
| 144 | Sus-sous at The Ballet | Collette Ritz | Goodreads |
| 145 | Swine Lake | James Marshall | Goodreads |
| 146 | Tanya and Emily in a Dance for Two | Patricia Lee Gauch | Goodreads |
| 147 | The Barefoot Book of Ballet Stories | Thought Co. | |
| 148 | The Boy Who Wanted to be a Dancer | My Son Can Dance | |
| 149 | The Cambodian Dancer: Sophany’s Gift of Hope | Pragmatic Mom | |
| 150 | The Dancer Who Flew: A Memoir of Rudolf Nureyev | My Son Can Dance | |
| 151 | The Dancing Tiger | My Son Can Dance | |
| 152 | The Last Dance | Carmen Agra Deedy | Goodreads |
| 153 | The Only Boy in Ballet Class | My Son Can Dance | |
| 154 | The Paper Crane | Molly Bang | Goodreads |
| 155 | The Red Shoes | Hans Christian Andersen | Goodreads |
| 156 | The Scarecrow’s Dance | Jane Yolen | Goodreads |
| 157 | The Secret Hen House Theatre | Helen Peters | The School Run |
| 158 | The Swish of the Curtain | Pamela Brown | The School Run |
| 159 | The Twelve Dancing Princesses | Marianna Mayer | Goodreads |
| 160 | The Wolf Wilder | Katherine Rundell | The Guardian |
| 161 | Thunderstorm Dancing | A Mighty Girl | |
| 162 | Underpants Dance | Marlena Zapf | Goodreads |
| 163 | Vampirina Ballerina Hosts a Sleepover | Anne Marie Pace | Goodreads |
| 164 | Waltz of the Snowflakes | A Mighty Girl | |
| 165 | Watch Me Dance: Family Celebration Board Books | Andrea Davis Pinkney | Goodreads |
| 166 | What If They Saw Me Now? | My Son Can Dance | |
| 167 | When Dinosaurs Go Dancing | Judy Cook | Goodreads |
| 168 | When Stravinsky Met Nijinsky: Two Artists, Their Ballet, and One Extraordinary Riot | Lauren Stringer | Goodreads |
| 169 | Wiggle | Doreen Cronin | Goodreads |
| 170 | Zen Socks | Jon J. Muth | Goodreads |
| 171 | Zombelina Dances The Nutcracker | Kristyn Crow | Goodreads |
| Source | Article |
| A Mighty Girl | Dancing Her Heart Out: 19 Picture Books About Mighty Girls Who Love |
| Barnes And Noble | 10 Beautiful Ballet Books for All Ages |
| Goodreads | Picture Books About Dance |
| My Son Can Dance | Books for Young Boys Who Dance |
| Pragmatic Mom | Top 10: Multicultural Dance Picture Books |
| Read Brightly | Ballerina Books for Your Tiny Dancer |
| Sugar Spice And Glitter | 18 Ballet Children’s Books |
| The Guardian | World Ballet Day – eight books that bring ballet to life |
| The School Run | Kids’ books about dance and drama |
| Thought Co. | Best Children’s Books About Ballet and Ballerinas |
"What are the best Science Fiction And Fantasy books released in 2023?" We looked at…
"What are the best Graphic Novels And Comics books released in 2023?" We looked at…
"What are the best Science And Nature books released in 2023?" We looked at 278…
"What are the best Mystery, Horror, and Thriller books released in 2023?" We looked at…
"What are the best Nonfiction books released in 2023?" We looked at 428 of the…
"What are the best Fiction & Literature books released in 2023?" We looked at 448…