Tessa's Tip Tapping Toes

The summary on the copyright page of Tessa's Tip-tapping Toes reads: "Inspired by the rhythm of the rain, a mouse that loves to dance and a cat with a penchant for singing find that they can no longer control their impulses."

I don't know who wrote that, but whoever it was really got it right! I HATE controlling my impulses. When people say "calm down," "be quiet," or, my all-time least favorite, "shhh," I find myself wanting to SHOUT just to bug them. I can't help it. I have a severe silly streak and hate all the wet blankets out there who are set on reforming people like me.

And yes, I do love dancing and singing and I don't care where the heck I am when I'm doing it. I especially enjoy singing and dancing while I'm driving, which is a good reason to steer clear of me on the road. I play a mean air guitar, if I do say so myself.

The inspiration for this story came to me a few years ago as I was walking from my garage to my house. I spotted a mouse that had obviously been hurt and was doing this jitter-buggy walk. My first thought was, "It looks like she's dancing!" My second thought was, "Boy, is that dangerous." I knew that any self-respecting cat would see that funny little dance and immediately pounce on that poor mouse. Well, by the time I had walked the twenty-five yards to my back door I had the entire story in my head. Two billion revisions later I sold it to my editor.

Can I just tell you how much I LOVE the illustrations for this book? Tessa is such a lively little thing, and Oscar is simply hysterical. When I saw the rich, intense colors Marsha Gray Carrington used I wondered if she had somehow sneaked into my office when I wasn't looking.

And Marsha, if you did do that, could you maybe tidy up a bit next time before you leave?

Reviews and Honors:

Junior Library Guild Selection

Publisher's Weekly, December 3, 2001:
"Crimi's snappy prose finds its match in Carrington's funky
vignettes...Oscar, his head and body composed of two furry
black-and-white rectangles with a pair of swivel hips
that Elvis might envy, is the cat's meow."

Related Home & Classroom Activities:
Dancing Game: Put on some great dancing music and have children stand in a circle. The first player starts by doing one dance move, like tapping her foot. The next player repeats that movement and then adds one of her own. This continues until the last player repeats all of the dance moves and then adds her own.

It's Spring!: When Springtime comes, Tessa watches the dancing daffodils and Oscar listens to the green leaves rustle in the breeze. What are some other things that happen in spring? Have children write and illustrate their own books about spring.

Mouse House: Ask children what they think Tessa's room looks like. Have them create a diorama of Tessa's room using items they find around the house. They can turn spools of thread, baby food jars, and small cardboard jewelry boxes into great pieces of rodent furniture.

Related Books:
Jingle Dancer, by Cynthia Leitich Smith, illustrated by Cornelius Van Wright and Ying-Hwa Hu.

Bravo, Tanya!, by Patricia Lee Gauch, illustrated by Satomi Ichikawa.

Sing Sophie!, by Dayle Ann Dodds, illustrated by Rosanne Litzinger.

Dance With Me!, poems by Barbara Juster Esbensen, illustrated by Megan Lloyd.