Stompin' at the Savoy: The Story of Norma Miller

Through extensive interviews with jazz dancer Norma Miller, acclaimed author and filmmaker Alan Govenar captures the vitality, wry humor, and indomitable spirit of an American treasure.

When she was just five years old, in 1924, Norma Miller knew just what she wanted to do for the rest of her life: she wanted to dance. It was the Jazz Age, the Harlem Renaissance, and Norma lived behind New York's Savoy Ballroom, the only dance hall in a still-segregated America where blacks and whites could mingle on the same mahogany floor. It was in this majestic "home of happy feet" that twelve-year-old Norma first brought the house down, swing-stepping with Twist Mouth George, one of the premier dancers of the day. Before long, the feisty Norma would rise to fame as one of the first performers of the Lindy Hop, an acrobatic dance style named for Charles Lindbergh's first solo flight (or "hop") across the Atlantic. With the celebrated dance troupe Whitey's Lindy Hoppers, a teenage Norma would cross the Atlantic herself on a tour of Europe and even strut her stuff on the silver screen.

In this invigorating, humorous, and thought-provoking oral autobiography, Alan Govenar captures the sound and spirit of Norma Miller's voice as she recalls her early years and coming of age as a determined young dancer during the heyday of swing. Augmenting her lively narrative are Martin French's jazzy, singlecolor illustrations, evoking the vibrant style of vintage poster art.

Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)
Published: 01/24/2006
ISBN: 9780763622442
Pages: 64
Weight: 0.62lbs
Size: 9.28h x 6.78w x 0.47d

Review Citations: Booklist 02/01/2006 pg. 66
Kirkus Review - Children 02/15/2006 pg. 183
School Library Journal 03/01/2006 pg. 210
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 04/01/2006 pg. 366 - Recommended
Horn Book Magazine 05/01/2006 pg. 341
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2006 pg. 425 - Superior,Well Above Average
Multicultural Review 06/01/2007 pg. 83

Accelerated Reader Quiz #/Name: 103957 / Stompin' at the Savoy: The Story of Norma Miller
Reading Level: 4.9 / Interest Level: Middle Grade / Point Value: 1