Common Sense Media Review
By Jan Carr
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Endearing tale of exuberant twinkle toes and a dancing cat.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 3+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
Mandy is an exuberant and joyous young dancer, and when Rupert, her cat, watches her, he's inspired to dance, too -- though he does so secretly, when she's sleeping. When Mandy tries to teach Rupert some actual steps, he hides under the bed: "The fun in dancing was to do it his own way. In secret. And without having to take lessons." Rupert is, after all, a cat. So Mandy devises a plan. She pretends to have trouble with a step and asks for help. When Rupert emerges, we're treated to pages of the two dancing, and told that they continued dancing together "for years." On the last page, we see them all grown up, happily dancing on a professional stage.
Is It Any Good?
Author-illustrator Jules Feiffer is an expert at depicting the joy of movement; his iconic modern dancer was always expressively joyous. Now that she's pictured as a young girl in RUPERT CAN DANCE, there's an additional youthful buoyancy, and she seems to fly off the page. Mandy's dancing is infectious, and there's sly psychological insight in the observations about cats being free spirits and therefore not liking lessons.
The last page, with the two dancing together on the big stage -- Mandy grown up and Rupert in a top hat and tails (referencing another classic Feiffer character) -- is shiver-inducing and feels perfectly right.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about dancing. Do you like to dance? Do you prefer to dance privately like Rupert, or do you like taking lessons? Or both?
What do you think of how the drawings work with the story? Does author Jules Feiffer capture the ways cats and dancers actually move?
The book describes cats as free spirits and says dogs and cats have different personalities. Do you think that's true? What about people you know? Are some people more like cats? Are others more like dogs?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Jules Feiffer
- Genre : Picture Book
- Topics : Arts , Animals , Friendship
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Michael Di Capua
- Publication date : August 5, 2014
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 3 - 6
- Number of pages : 32
- Available on : Nook, Hardback, Apple Books
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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