Young Adults

SAVION: MY LIFE IN TAP By Savion Glover and Bruce Weber William Morrow 80 pp., $19.95

Young readers will find a good role model in the biography of this gen-Xer known as "the greatest tap dancer ... ever." "Savion: My Life in Tap" tells the story of twenty-something tap artist Savion Glover, whose improvisational hip-hop style has redefined tap and made it relevant to today's culture and youth.

In collaboration with journalist Bruce Weber, Savion tells his fascinating story, and comes across as a hip, fun superstar who's such a good guy you can imagine him just hangin' out. Known to many as the kid who tap-danced on Sesame Street, Savion began his stellar career as a child in Broadway productions. At 12, he danced alongside mentor Gregory Hines in the film "Tap." In 1996, he won a Tony Award for his choreography of "Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk."

Savion compares his dancing to playing drums. And audiences gape at the sights and sounds of his rhythm-making: "You count a dozen or more places on his feet that hit the floor and make different sounds: a whole rattletrap full of thwacks, clacks, tippy-tippies, thunks, sweeps, swishes, and slams." More than telling his life story, Savion conveys a tremendous respect for the legends who shaped the history of tap. The text offers tidbits of African-American history. We learn that "slaves were forbidden drums and musical instruments, so many of them used their feet to speak in rhythms."

Bold red ink, funky graphic design, and more than 50 black-and-white photographs punctuate the text, detailing the varied expressions of Savion's moves. This unique biography will start some feet tappin'.

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