Cesaria Feels the Beat - by Denise Rosario Adusei (Hardcover)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

In this powerful and inspiring picture book, a deaf girl stands up for herself and takes off her shoes while dancing at her Carnival performance so she can feel the music through her bare feet.

Cesaria is going to perform for the seaside Carnival. She skips past the beach barefoot, dressed in her favorite peacock leotard.

But when her dance director tells her she must put on her shoes to go on stage, Cesaria signs, "Peacocks don't wear shoes!"

You see, Cesaria hears the music through the soles of her feet, but no one seems to understand...

...That is, until all the dancers take off their shoes, and learn to feel the music, just like Cesaria.

Cesaria Feels the Beat is a lyrical and heartfelt story about deafness, community, and Carnival.

Review Quotes

Four starred reviews
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
A Kansas NEA Reading Circle Recommended Title

★ "A vibrant, poetic celebration of Deafness, dance, nature, and self-advocacy." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review

★ "A lovely book about a child who experiences the world in an atypical way that readers will readily understand." -- Booklist, starred review

★ "Invites everyone into a celebration of dance, life, and being true to oneself." -- School Library Journal, starred review

★ "A Deaf child performer self-advocates in this triumphant Carnival-set work." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review

About the Author

Denise Rosario Adusei's personal mission is to exhibit possibilities and portray different worlds to children. As the Executive Director of the Bronx Children's Museum, she sparks the imagination by exposing children to the arts. When writing children's books, she draws from her experience as a preschool director and former child. Although her children have grown up, Denise remains a child at heart.

Priscila Soares was born in São Paulo, Brazil where she graduated in Art Education. She then moved to San Francisco to study Film Editing at the Academy of Art University. She works across many mediums and disciplines, including paintings, sculptures, comics, stop-motion, photography, design, and book illustrations.