Footwork: The Story of Fred and Adele Astaire Book

This is a children's book that tells the story of Fred Astaire and his sister Adele, his first dancing partner. They had a career that spanned almost 30 years, starting in small time vaudeville, then big time, then they became huge stars on Broadway and in London's West End. When Adele got married, they split and Fred went on to make movies.

The book starts out well, and along with the gorgeous illustrations, it's really quite cute. It reads a bit like a fairytale. The huge jumps in time between the pages are no big deal, but what's more bothersome is that there is very little detail. Of course I wasn't expecting an academic text or anything, but still it lacked depth. It somehow feels quite superficial.

Then it ends very abruptly, closing the story with Adele getting married and Fred going to Hollywood, and that's it. It would have been nice if the book somehow could have portrayed how close they remained even after they parted ways professionally. Their unique relationship was generally not highlighted enough. I am certain that children would respond much more to this story if it conveyed how symbiotic and inseparable these two were. As it is, it lacks an emotional core, thus missing an opportunity to connect to the reader on a more personal level. While you do get a glimpse into their very different characters, it's way too subtle for them to appear like fully fleshed-out personalities.

I also found it a little odd that this children's book ends with a list of recommended books on Astaire that are only of interest to adults. The author seems uncertain about her target audience.

The highlight here, without a doubt, are the beautiful illustrations by Stephane Jorisch. Sadly, the text wasn't quite on that level. At least it contained no misinformation, which is often the case with books on Fred Astaire.