Dance there upon the shore;
What need have you to care
For wind or water's roar?
And tumble out your hair
That the salt drops have wet;
Being young you have not known
The fool's triumph, nor yet
Love lost as soon as won

-- from Responsibilities and Other Poems: 22: To a Child Dancing in the Wind by W.B. Yeats

Why simply walk and talk when you can dance and sing?

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I am a performer. Music is a very important part of my life. I sing to music. I dance to music. If I am not singing or listening to music, I am singing or composing in my head.

Here now is a variety of stories about singers, some bold, some shy. There's a character who only sings in her school choir, another who wants to be a professional opera singer, and many others who come alive on stage.

For ages 8 and up
Ella of All-of-a-Kind Family by Sidney Taylor
Lucky Stars by Lucy Frank
In the Cards: Love by Mariah Fredericks
The Maggie Valley Trilogy by Kerry Madden
- Gentle's Holler
- Louisiana's Song
- Jessie's Mountain

For ages 13 and up
Diva by Alex Flinn
Pop Princess by Rachel Cohn
Grace's Turn by Christy Carlson Romano
Heart on My Sleeve by Ellen Wittlinger
Plastic Angel* by Nerissa Nields

For ages 15 and up
Adios to My Old Life by Caridad Ferrer
Tips on Having a Gay (Ex) Boyfriend by Carrie Jones
- Sequel: Love (and Other Uses for Duct Tape) by Carrie Jones

For adults
Love Will Tear Us Apart by Tara McCarthy

* I often wish these books came with CDs so I could hear the characters sing. Plastic Angel has a CD with the title track.

Related Booklists:
But I Don't Want to Be Famous!
But I DO Want to Be Famous!
I Am a Dancer
Book Playlists