TAPPING FEET by Moira Rose Donohue

Creative and Inspiring Chat with Moira!

Join Moira and me for a delightful conversation about history, music, inspiration, dance, hope, rhyme, and more! Moira's conversations are always chock full of useful writing tips, interesting tidbits, and tons of inspiration! Listen in and find out where this book idea came from and how it led to another book, rhyming tips, and some inspiring thoughts about how music and dance plant hope in our hearts. Such a rich and fun conversation!

TAPPING FEET: HOW TWO CULTURES CAME TOGETHER TO MAKE AN AMERICAN DANCE

A book for the ages that weaves history, music, and dance into a delightful tapestry of creativity, telling the story of Tap dance -- an American art form. From Ireland to slave quarters in the South to New York City, the author traces the fascinating history of  tap dance. Tap became a dancing melting pot that echoed the population of the neighborhood in New York where tap dance originated and would take the country -- and eventually the world by storm. Born from challenges and struggles and the joy and hope that are sometimes buried deep in our souls during hardship, tap dance is the perfect style of dance for all the people of America -- the perfect way to express our history, our culture, our heart, and our future.  Kudos, Moira, on a beautiful book that tells an important story!  And kudos to illustrator Colin Bootman on bringing every glorious detail beautifully to life.  Get your tap shoes out and turn the music up for this one!

A Little Jam. . .(The Music Kind)

This is the video I thought of as soon as I read the blurb for TAPPING FEET.  I love it so much. It tells, through dance and music and humor, a similar story to the one Moira and Colin tell with words and pictures.  There is another version that Riverdance did a few years later in the YouTube playlist, along with lots of other resources for all ages. Be sure to check it out in the links section!

​Teacher Tips, Tricks and Topics

• Rhyme -- Since this book has rhyming sections, it's a perfect book to help teach rhyme or provide additional practice
  • Rhyming word scavenger hunt/matching activity (Find the word that rhymes. . . .)
  • Have students create their own rhyming couplets, tercets, or quatrains
  • Find the rhyming section on each spread
  • Distinguish between rhyming/non-rhyming sections
• Features of text/FONT -- One of the ways to find the rhyming sections is to look for the font change, so this book is perfect for looking at how and why authors and publishers use different fonts in the same book
• History!!!
  • History of tap dance in America
  • African-American history
    • slavery
  • Irish-American history
    • potato famine
  • Immigration (and the difference in immigration and slavery)
  • melting pot
• SEL -- the power of welcoming (or not); Compare to how students feel; build empathy and compassion; (Depending on the age), discuss cultural identities that may not feel welcome today and how can we change that?
• Dance -- Love of dance, history of tap dance
  • Venn diagram comparing Irish dance and African American dance
  • Biographies of famous dancers listed in the book
    • Bill "BoJangles" Robinson
    • George M. Cohan
    • William Henry Lane/"Master Juba"
    • John "Jack" Diamond
    • Nicholas Brothers
    • Clayton "Peg Leg" Bates
    • Gene Kelly
    • Fred Astaire
    • Ginger Rogers

​​Tips and Topics for Music Teachers

• Check out the tips above (especially the dance section and biographies, as all of that applies here, too!
• Tap dance
  • History
  • Steps
  • Learning to dance
• Juba dance
• Jazz
  • Jazz music and tap dance
• Compare Irish dance and African juba
• Watch and discuss the "Jam" above "Trading Taps" -- compare to book and discuss
• Watch both versions of "Trading Taps" -- compare to book and discuss.
• Celebrate Irish music and dance by reading the book and celebrating St. Patrick's Day
• Celebrate African American music and dance by reading the book and celebrating African American history month/Black History Month.
• Read and celebrate February into March and celebrate both cultures and their contribution to dance in America!

​​Writing Prompts from Tonnye

1. Write a fictional story about a tap dancer.
2. Write a letter from the African-American dancer to the Irish dancer (or vice versa).
3. Write Moira Donohue an email telling her your favorite thing(s) about the book.
4. Watch the two videos "Trading Taps" and choose the one you like the best. Write the interaction as a story.
5. Write a poem about TAPPING FEET.
6. Write your own rhyming poem about your favorite kind of dance.
7. Choose one of the people mentioned in the book and research more about them. Write a poem or a biography or a report about them.
8. Do you like tap dance? Why or why not?
9. Try out one of the videos for a beginner tap lesson. Write about the experience. Was it hard? Easy? Just right? Something you want to continue?
10. Watch the video from the YouTube playlist with Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and Shirley Temple on the stairs. Write five observations from that video.
11. Watch a movie that features tap dance and write about whether it made the movie more interesting or not and why you think so. 
12. Write a fictional story about two tap dancers that become friends.
13. Write a fictional story about someone who wants to tap dance but doesn't have good rhythm.
14. Write a story or poem titled THE TAP DANCER.
15. Write a story or poem titled TONY TWO TAPS.

​Writing Tips from Moira

Links, More Fun, Extensions for Families and Everyone!
​

YouTube playlist with over 40 videos of tap dance, history, music, activities and more to support the concepts in TAPPING FEET

Pinterest board with lots of ideas for extending the learning with TAPPING FEET (worksheets, coloring sheets, exercises, history, hands-on activities, crafts, music, videos, books, etc.)

Guest Links and Giveaways

Moira's website

Email

Instagram. 

GoodReads page -- purchase a copy, leave a review, find out more!

Moira is generously offering up a copy of TAPPING FEET for one lucky winner!  To be eligible, leave a comment below by 11:59 PM EDT on June 18, 2025.