Jeet and Fudge: Dance! Dance! Dance!

.-Gr 3–Jeet and Fudge and their diverse group of friends are preparing a dance for their school talent show, but their friend Davina, who is depicted wearing a cochlear implant, cannot hear; so the friends come up with a solution to include her in the routine. Davina teaches them a few relevant signs, like “spin” and “jump,” so they can sign while Jeet plays his dhol, which is defined on the bottom of the page as “a double-headed barrel shaped drum from India,” and stomps so she can feel the vibrations. When they get to the show and the music won’t play, they quickly use more problem-solving skills to pull off a crowd-cheering performance. Readers will delight in seeing the friends’ pets—two dogs, a cat, and a goldfish—moving along to the dance, and they’ll also enjoy the clear illustrations of Davina teaching the signs so they can learn them as well. Short sentences with repeated words such as “dance” and two to five sentences per page in large text are perfect for beginning readers. Back matter includes information on American Sign Language, with directions for saying six words. This is a worthy addition to the series, which that spotlights Sikh culture.