A bird-filled, dance-filled picture book about friendship and finding your groove. Written by Frances Watts, and illustrated by Judy Watson

SELECTED AS A WHITE RAVEN 2020 BY THE INTERNATIONAL YOUTH LIBRARY (Internationale Jugendbibliothek)

Written by Frances Watts and published by ABC Books
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All the birds are excited about the Big Beaky Bird Ball – except Leonard. His warble-warble waltz with the magpies is more wobble-wobble, and his caw-caw can-can with the crows is a can’t-can’t. The puffins are prancing, the rosellas are rocking and you should see the flamingo go-go-go! Everyone is jumping and jiving, but not Leonard.

Leonard doesn’t dance. 

Then an unexpected encounter changes everything …

From the award-winning creators of Goodnight, Mice! comes a toe-tapping story about finding your own rhythm.

Reviews

‘In a mixed-media technique that involved »printmaking, painting, drawing, collaging, and digitising«, Judy Watson has created vibrant pictures that explode with jungle plants, birds from around the world, colour, and humour. The feathery fellows’ spot-on facial expressions and expressive postures provide such fitting and imaginative interpretations of Frances Watts’s entertaining text, which is brimming with puns and alliterations, that adult readers will enjoy this story about self- confidence, loyalty, and finding your own style just as much as their small listeners.’
2020 THE WHITE RAVENS – A Selection of International Children‘s and Youth Literature

‘Bursting with deep tones and striking colour Judy Watson’s illustrations are rich in detail and texture making the birds and surroundings seem almost alive. It is a visual delight!

The central themes of creativity and individuality offer some wonderful opportunities for classroom discussion about being proud of one’s individual talents and accepting our unique differences. Some book bird-spotting could be on the cards too!’ READING TIME

‘With stunning illustrations that take you straight to the Australian bush even though there is a range of birds from around the globe, this is a glorious story that rollicks along on the rhythm of the alliteration with a surprising and funny twist that will have the young reader’s feet tapping in anticipation.  How would they dance if what happened to Leonard happened to them? An invitation to get up and move and try all the dances for themselves!

Dance, like music, is an innate human expression and this is a celebration of that.  Everyone can dance, even those for whom movement is tricky, and Leonard shows that you just have to find out what works for you!’ BARBARA BRAXTON, THE BOTTOM SHELF

‘The story traverses a huge emotional landscape; from Leonard’s initial hope to disappointment, to despair and sorrow, right back to ecstatic joy. The text is extremely witty and playful and it reads deliciously out loud. I must say it’s so good to read a text that at no stage condescends to the reader. And the illustrations are a revelation! Such gorgeous line work from Judy Watson, with a breathtaking colour palette that is exuberant and jewel-like and immensely generous, which speaks so subtly to the fundamental themes of the book. The endpapers are to die for (swoon) and the book feels and smells good.’ LISA SHANAHAN 

‘This is a book to delight everyone, from the tongue-twisting text (Come do the caw-caw can-can with us) to the illustrations, like a double white page covered with a whirlwind of woodpeckers and a solitary Leonard, saying glumly, I don’t dance.’ MOIRA ROBINSON, MAGPIES

About illustrating this Book

For this book, I wanted to dive into the theatricality of a story about birds performing dance moves. So I simplified and stylised the background elements such as plants and boulders, hoping to evoke stage flats for a ballet. I used a mixed media approach and combined different techniques as needed for each scene. Monotype prints were a great way to create the sinuous texture of bark on tree trunks and foam prints were useful for the spiky or decorative patterns of smaller plants. In the image below, watercolours were used for the sky, and charcoal to create the texture of the earth.

The book was set almost entirely at night time, which was challenging from the point of view of avoiding a very dark book. So the night sky is very blue, and the other colours are highly saturated. After all, our feathered friends really are all the colours of the rainbow.

Most of the birds in this story were drawn with pencil and coloured digitally, but Leonard was painted with a brush, a suitable treatment for a big feathery fellow such as him.

Leonard Doesn’t Dance is a fun and reassuring read for families. Readers can revel in Frances Watts’ love of alliteration and enjoy her unique ability to evoke the warmth of family and friendship. While many books highlight teasing or bullying, rest assured that Leonard’s friends are the most supportive feathered folk around, modelling empathy and kindness for readers young and old.

Warning to bedtime readers: children may want to try out their dance moves!

Teachers’ Notes for Leonard Doesn’t Dance available here.