As its title suggests, the text of this board book for the very young is about dancing. In it, Baby is urged  to dance – with sister, Teddy, friends, the sun and the moon, in the garden, in the winter, in the rain, down the road, and into the park. As the photo illustrations make clear, however, Baby’s dance is always supported by the loving arms of parents, grandparents, and other family members who delight in showing Baby the world, and seeing Baby’s own delight in it.

The photos, credited to various image agencies, show a charming variety of babies and toddlers learning to explore and enjoy their surroundings. The babies are of different ethnic backgrounds, and are photographed not only with family members, but with pets and appealing soft toys.

Spalding, a prolific West Coast children’s writer and a musician, handles the rhyming verse with ease, varying the metre just enough to keep things interesting but without interrupting the pleasing flow. The book offers reassurance – perhaps to the adult reading it aloud as much as to Baby – that the world is a pleasant and loving place in which Baby is free to explore, play, and develop.