OnlineBookClub.org

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Rainbow Dancer" by Allan Hirsch.]

What an enchanting tale! When I started reading the book I thought it was just another run-of-the-mill book, but boy was I in for a big surprise! The Rainbow Dance by Allan Hirsch is an awesome children's book, following the adventures of a young girl named Asia in the fairy world. This book has it all: a vivid imagery, colorful cast, compelling tale, and good writing, all the necessary ingredients of a good book.

Allan Hirsch has created a whole new take on fairy tales in this imaginative yarn. Follow six year old Asia on her quest to save a magical kingdom from the clutches of evil witches. One night the Sandman pops up in Asia's room and sprinkles magic dust over her. Soon after seven laughing kids come in, wake up Asia, and whisk her into a magical cave through a pop-up window. While there an old lady storyteller takes Asia on a raft ride through the cave and tells her magical stories about a fairy kingdom and its Inhabitants. There are stories about unicorns, dragons, a prince on a quest, a mysterious prophecy, curses and much more besides. Where there are fairies there are witches as well, and this story has three of them no less. The plot thickens as Asia finds out she has to undertake a quest in order to save a princess under a spell. She and her beloved doll, Belinda, face many exciting adventures, and they meet new friends along the way.

The author weaves vivid images and important life lessons into this endearing tale. Kids will enjoy the story and will learn that good can conquer evil. To summarize in the words of G. K. Chesterton: "Fairy tales do not tell children that dragons exist. Children already know that dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed." The book also emphasizes qualities such as compassion, empathy and kindness.

The author interjected into the tale some whimsical poems and rhyming dialogues. The stories and poems follow the same basic structure and themes, not a bad thing as kids like repetition. The author uses poetic devices such as rhythm, repetition, alliteration, and rhyme, which greatly enhance the story. Some of the tales are uplifting and humorous, while others are dark, and I loved every one of them!

The book has a natural, flowing style. There are also some lovely illustrations at the beginning of each chapter (black and white on my kindle). The writing style is easy to understand, but by no means simplistic. Speaking of that, there were some misplaced possessive apostrophes, or missing altogether, but other than that the grammar was fine. The language used is appropriate for young readers or for a preschoolers read-aloud. Overall it was a fun read which I enjoyed immensely, so I rate it 4 out of 4 stars. I would recommend this book to young readers, or to parents seeking a good book to read with their children. This bedtime story will delight kids and adults alike!

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The Rainbow Dancer
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

Like gali's review? Post a comment saying so!

What a great review! You did a nice job of highlighting all the things that made the book shine. I agree that kids like repetition so it's a plus that the little poems and dialogues have the same basic structure and themes. By the way, the cover artwork is gorgeous.

bookowlie wrote:What a great review! You did a nice job of highlighting all the things that made the book shine. I agree that kids like repetition so it's a plus that the little poems and dialogues have the same basic structure and themes. By the way, the cover artwork is gorgeous.

Thank you. I enjoyed reading this cute book.

I hope this is the correct place to respond to gali's review of my book. I wanted to thank you for such a stunning review. As the author I thought that the book is a good creation but receiving confirmation in this way is thrilling! This is my first book so I barely understand what's involved with advertising and publishing nevertheless I feel encouraged to take steps towards reaching many young children with these stories.

Interesting, detailed review! I especially love a rhymed story or rhymed dialogue within a story when it runs smoothly and reads like prose, although has rhyming elements in it-- rhymical and yet not sing-songy. This book sounds like it's extremely well done on all counts, with the exception of a few small punctuation errors.

I saw this on bookshelves a while back and had to look it up because of that beautiful cover

ahirsch wrote:I hope this is the correct place to respond to gali's review of my book. I wanted to thank you for such a stunning review. As the author I thought that the book is a good creation but receiving confirmation in this way is thrilling! This is my first book so I barely understand what's involved with advertising and publishing nevertheless I feel encouraged to take steps towards reaching many young children with these stories.

Thank you for your kind words.

I enjoyed reading your book and wish you success with it! I would advise correcting those few grammar errors first. Other than that, the book is awesome!

-- November 8th, 2015, 5:43 am --

Ramona wrote:Interesting, detailed review! I especially love a rhymed story or rhymed dialogue within a story when it runs smoothly and reads like prose, although has rhyming elements in it-- rhymical and yet not sing-songy. This book sounds like it's extremely well done on all counts, with the exception of a few small punctuation errors.

Thank you and it is!

-- November 8th, 2015, 5:44 am --

Graverobber wrote:I saw this on bookshelves a while back and had to look it up because of that beautiful cover

I loved the cover as well.

This sounds like exactly what my kids would love me to read to them! Thank you for this wonderful review, Gali! Congrats, ahirsch on receiving such a great recommedation on your book!

anonanemone wrote:This sounds like exactly what my kids would love me to read to them! Thank you for this wonderful review, Gali! Congrats, ahirsch on receiving such a great recommedation on your book!

Thank you for your kind words. Enjoy!

I've been enjoying saying anonanemone over and over. It would be a great name for a fairy or elf. I might have to write another book. I never got to use another name that would be fun to use: weebadeebadoo. Just thinking out loud... I hope you read the book to your children and I would love feedback to see how they respond. One change I am making besides the few apostrophes I need to fix is that the cover image of the goddess I might not be able to use. So you will see a different cover if you go to amazon. I am not a graphic artist so creating images is a difficult task for me. However all the other images except the very first one in the book are mine. The goddess image perfectly reflected what was in the book. I'll have to find an artist friend to recreate a similar theme.

I liked that quote you used, until the last line. How dark, but so true. Anyways, awesome review! Sounds like a wondrously imaginative book.

Tanaya wrote:I liked that quote you used, until the last line. How dark, but so true. Anyways, awesome review! Sounds like a wondrously imaginative book.

Thank you.

Great review! I love fairy tales and I surely would love to read this book. I'm into dragons and unicorns, witches and fairies, not much into princes, though. Moreover, I appreciate books that are easy to understand. It makes me feel as if I'm talking face-to-face with the author. Congratulations, Allan Hirsch for a wonderful book!

kimmyschemy06 wrote:Great review! I love fairy tales and I surely would love to read this book. I'm into dragons and unicorns, witches and fairies, not much into princes, though. Moreover, I appreciate books that are easy to understand. It makes me feel as if I'm talking face-to-face with the author. Congratulations, Allan Hirsch for a wonderful book!

Thank you. I love fairy tales and enjoyed reading the book.

Thank you for this review. This really sounds like a very imaginative book. I hope I will get the chance to read it to my own child someday.