Title: Prancing, Dancing, Lily
Written by Marsha Diane Arnold; Illustrated by John Manders
Published by Fat Red Couch, Inc
Category: Books
Ages: 3-8
Themes: cows, dancing, individuality
Platform: iPad, iPhone, iPod touch – (requires iOS 4.3 or later), and kindle & android devices
Release Date: February 15, 2013
Price: $1.99
App available at: http://fatredcouch.com/
Synopsis: Lily is a spirited young milk cow, who dreams of being a light-hooved dancer. Destined to be the bell-cow and lead the herd, neither Lily nor her herd-mates are convinced that Lily is up to the task. Milking time at Farmer Gibson’s place should find the cows falling into an orderly line to enter the barn. All except Lily manage this. She would rather prance around the pasture. Realizing that she doesn’t fit in with the rest of her herd, Lily hits the road of an artiste, leaving her first letter pinned to the willow tree for her Mamoo. She zips from Square Dancing in a nearby barn, to tap dancing on a cruise ship much further afield. Lily and her prancing escapades tease the reader across the globe. While she makes many friends along the way, her letters to Mamoo and the herd show she begins to miss home and wonders whether a truly cow-appropriate dance exists! Will Lily discover the moves that might just enable her to be that lead bell-cow after all?
Key Features:
- Vibrant, humorous illustrations
- Every page has amusing continuous animal animation and noises
- Awesome multi-voice narration option
- Puzzle at 3 ability levels
- Music to enhance the location of each scene
- Scene selection
Why I like this app:
This is one of those stories that had me as eager as a four year-old to turn the pages and discover what sort of mess Lily had gotten herself into next. The text is lengthy, but so full of lyricism, humour and plot tension, that the story just flies by. The global trot in which Lily lures her readers is just perfect for all, young and old, who have desired and determined to follow their muse. This heifer is not rebuffed by her setbacks, and she manages to combine her artistic expression with her inherited calling, bringing some extra rhythm into her herd’s life as well. It’s a win win all round. The fluidity of the animation is exuberant in this dance-saga. My absolute favorite scene is in New York at Christmas. I had the pleasure of being invited to see the famous Rockette’s Christmas show at Radio City Music Hall last December, and seeing Lily in this fabulous lineup of high-kicking ladies had me in stitches. Also the various narrators/accents are a great asset to the narrated version, to which I happily listened several times to write this review. This is a highly entertaining story with a great message of pursuing one’s dreams.
I asked the author, Marsha Diane Arnold, what inspired this story:
“Of all the characters I’ve created, Lily is one of my favorites. Maybe it’s because she takes me back to my Kansas roots, growing up on the prairie. Or maybe it’s because she reminds me of how I often felt when I was growing up. I climbed on top of our roof and looked over miles of flat land, filled with acres of wheat, and wondered if there was something more. Lily looked over the pasture fence and wondered the same thing.
Resources/Activities:
Visit Marsha at www.marshadianearnold.com, where you can discover several Lily activities.
In my 20's, with only my guitar and a rucksack, I wandered the continents, immersing myself in the lives of some wonderful people, projects and stories, which changed the way I view my responsibility to others and this earth. Right now I'm a European transplant in the US who writes books for children and young adults. Stories can help us not only navigate our world but can connect us to others, and allow us to inspire and help each other. I believe that equity and empathy should be at the core of our all actions, words, and stories.
I am also a school librarian and I get a kick out of book-matchmaking! And I use the pronouns she/her.
Great review Joanna, and I agree that this app is a winner. I was especially impressed by the multiple narrators. I can’t think of one other app that has that feature (although I’m sure they’re out there). It’s a special touch that really brings out the voice in this adorable book.
Glad you love it, too, Julie. I adore all those different voices and accents. It is unusual!
Oh, I’ll bet my kids would love to read this on my Kindle. Thanks for sharing.
Yep, I reckon the twins would get a kick out of this one, Hannah.
What a fun and engaging app. Great idea about a traveling cow wanting to see the world. Loved the pictures. This should provide hours of fun.
It has taken me five tries to get to the coment page. I finally got through. Don’t know why. Wonder if others are having trouble.
Sorry about the comment issues, Pat, I had some problems accessing the page myself today.
Yes, Lily tries out all kinds of dances to find the right fit for her hooves!
I HAVE to get this one! MOM?
LOL!
Thanks so much for this review of my precious PRANCING DANCING LILY, Joanna. Truly, this is one of the best written reviews I’ve read on the book or app. You managed to capture the essence of Lily and include all the nuances. Fabulous writing.
Marsha, thank you so much for your kind comment. I guess Lily just danced herself into the review!
It sounds fabulous, Joanna. Do you need an Apple or a Kindle to get it?
Thanks, Catherine. Marsha here. I’ll answer and then the much more techie Joanna can chime in. All the links for the different devices are here: http://fatredcouch.com/Prancing_Dancing_Lilly . It is for iOS, Kindle, GooglePlay, so iPad, iPad Mini, iPhone, iPod Touch, Android, Kindle Fire and HD devices. Enjoy!
This sounds fantastic, Joanna! And I don’t have to moan (or is that mooooooan) that I can’t have it, because it works on the devices I have! YAY! Great review. Can’t wait to read/play/experience it for myself.
Thanks, Beth, I am glad this one is available on non-Apple devices too.
This sounds absolutely enchanting. AND as a Taurus who loves to dance, I can totally relate to this milk cow. I need to go check it out immediately. This review made my heart smile!
Haha, I do wonder what dance Lily will do when she meets her taurus!
The story does sound like a ton of fun, and I’m particularly captured by the darling illustrations! I’ll bet kids love this App.
John is a brilliant artist, isn’t he, Teresa? He so captured my Lily. When PRANCING DANCING LILY was a book, kids did love it. It was one of their favorites when I visited schools. Lots of conga lines in gyms and cafeterias. I put some of the ways schools celebrated Lily on Pinterest. http://pinterest.com/prancinglily/prancing-dancing-lily-fun/
Thanks Julie for mentioning Joanna’s Review!
Thanks Joanna for reviewing Dianne’s great app!
And I’m really excited it’s available for multiple formats…and I can buy it for my Android-ed NOOK!
Hilarious and fun, can’t wait for my granddaughter to see it. – Damon
Oops…MARSHA Diane…my mind was stuck on the second name. I actually named my sister Marsha Diane, when I was in the 4th grade. (Why Mom let ME name my sister, I can’t tell you.)
Damon, Such serendipity. You named your sister Marsha Diane? Not many of us out there.
I hope your granddaughter loves Lily. Actually, I have never met anyone who didn’t love Lily. 🙂 They’ll be drumming and dancing together soon.
Marsha