A Dancer’s Tale: The Story of Phyllis Spira – An inspiring tale about the life of Phyllis Spira, renowned South African dancer, who dedicated her later life to free dance programs for underprivileged children. Another great Creative Commons book from Bookdash.
By: Samantha Cutler, Thea Nicole de Klerk
Text and Images from A Dancer’s Tale: The Story of Phyllis Spira
Once upon a time,
in Joburg’s Orange Grove,
a little girl called Phyllis
was born into the world.
Two people in love,
hugged their sweet little babe.
No-one knew then,
what a dancer they’d made.
By the time she was four, she had learned very quick.
She impressed all her teachers, with her ducky feet flicks!
Before school and after, she danced everyday.
Nothing pleased Phyllis, more than ballet.
When the world was ready
for Phyllis at fifteen,
She arrived in big, old London,
ready to live her dream.
She said goodbye to all her friends.
She was ready to start fresh.
Watch out Royal Ballet School!
Phyllis is here to impress
When Phyllis danced Swan Lake, it was fit to show the Queen!
After years of pirouetting, she was ready to be seen.
Dancing for the audience, she turned and twirled about.
Look! Everyone is smiling! See how they clap and shout!
<end of sample>
You can also read along with the video below
About Book Dash
Book Dash gathers professional creatives – writers, illustrators, designers, editors – who volunteer to create high-quality children’s books that anyone can freely download, translate, print and distribute. Most of the work is done
on a Book Dash day, when small teams work for over twelve straight hours, each producing a new book.
Why Book Dash?
Books purchased from publishers cost too much. In order to distribute more books for South African children, Book Dash participants work as publishers in a single day, having a book with no publishers mean the book will be a lot cheaper the only cost will be printing the books. With these, anyone can run sponsored prints and the finished books can be handed to children.
Every child should have a hundred books when they reach the age of five. that means handing down 600 million free books to South African children who probably could not afford to buy them, More children grow up not learning how to read and write well, and every day we lose more of these children. Let us not neglect these children and help them overcome poverty by first teaching them how to read and to enjoy the worlds that a book can open up.
About Creative Commons
Content under Creative Commons licenses can be downloaded, translated and can even be used to create new stories ‐ provided you give appropriate credit, and indicate if changes were made. To know more about this, and the full terms of use and attribution, please visit the following.
See more Inspirational books below
The Pottering Pig - The pottering pig causes all sorts of chaos, but did she break the potter’s pots? A cute whodunnit, when the Pottering Pig is accused of a crime she may or may not have committed. Sample Page from The Pottering Pig: Spread the love
How to Help Your Child Become a Disciplined and Self-Motivated Learner - The ideal learner is someone who’s self-motivated by their genuine love for learning and has the self-discipline to follow through and achieve their learning goals. This is a dream for all parents with children in various stages of their educational journey. The good news is that while not all children are born with this mindset, ...
Three Billy Goats Gruff – CKF - This classic tale is told with some beautiful imagery combined with some comprehension questions. Creator: Core Knowledge Foundation See more from CKF on FKB here: https://freekidsbooks.org/publisher/core-knowledge-foundation/ This book is also available in an editable version (created using Open Office): https://freekidsbooks.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Three_Billy_Goats_Gruff-Landscape-Book-CKF-FKB.odt Sample Page from Three Billy Goats Gruff: Spread the love
5 Enriching Ways Your Toddler Can Learn Outside the Classroom - During the critical developmental stage from zero to five years old, toddlers are like sponges—eagerly soaking up knowledge from the world around them. As parents, it’s crucial to recognise the immense importance of reinforcing learning beyond the classroom during these formative years. Indeed, the toddler stage is the perfect time to expose your child to ...
Snowy Owl – Haiku for older children - Gabriel Rosenstock is back with a great collection of inspiring bilingual Haiku set to thought provoking artwork and photographs, including some issues on child labour in the US. Sample Page from Snowy Owl Gabriel Rosenstock See more from Gabriel Rosenstock on FKB For more about Haiku, see here: https://vcbf.ca/event/about-haiku/. It is noted that while Japanese ...
Building English Vocabulary with Classic Children’s Stories - In the pursuit of language mastery, the pathway to learning English is adorned with a myriad of educational tools and methodologies. Among these, classic children’s stories emerge as a beacon of light, offering not just a treasure trove of vocabulary but also a gentle introduction to the complexities of grammar within the tapestry of engaging ...
Monster’s Day Out - A sequel to the popular There’s a Monster this book explores, in rhyme, a day at the playground with Monster. Sample Page from Monster’s Day Out See also: There’s a Monster eBook More by the Author – Danielle Bruckert And, more books about Monster’s on FKB Spread the love
Top 10 Insightful Psychology Parenting Books for Nurturing Child Development - Seeking answers on how to nurture your child’s mental well-being in the modern world? The answer lies in trusted psychology parenting books. A staggering 85% of surveyed parents reported feeling more equipped to handle the complexities of modern parenting after consulting such literature. Our handpicked selection offers parents like you practical advice and scientific insights ...
Exploring the Boundless Universe of Your Child’s Favorite Book - A child’s favorite book is more than just a story; it’s a gateway to endless possibilities and imagination. Beyond the pages lies a universe waiting to be explored. From fostering creativity to educational activities, there’s so much more you can do with your child’s cherished book. Acting Out Adventures Encourage your child to bring the ...
Happy Train - A train travels through the country side, first she is very happy, but then getting farther and farther from home and seeing strange people and animals she becomes worried and scared. Fortunately someone comes to help. A great story about exploring emotions. Author: Humayan Rashid Illustrator: Mehedi Haque Sample Page from The Happy Train: Another ...See more books by BookDash below
Unathi and the Dirty, Smelly Beast – fun early reader - Unathi and the Dirty, Smelly Beast – A mysterious dirty smelly beast is following Unathi home, or is it really a dirty smelly beast? Find out in this fun creative commons picture book from BookDash. This picture book is perfect for young children who want to start reading and understand common words with help. The ...
The Memory Tree – Dealing with a Death in the Family - Thembi and Thulani’s Grandpa is very sick. They are sad. Then Mommy and Daddy tell them Grandpa won’t be coming home anymore. They miss Grandpa Nathi. Daddy and Mommy find a special way to remember Grandpa Nathi. Illustrated by Agrippa Mncedisi Hlophe Written by Savnola Goldridge Designed by Jason Gien Edited by Mariam Mahomed Brought ...
Catch that Cat! - The Cat has stolen a sock and then ran off, but is there a reason why she stole the sock? Find out more in Catch that Cat from BookDash. Sample Text from Catch that Cat! Hurry. Hurry! Help me, catch that cat! She stole my sock and ran off … snatch her. Grab her. Catch ...
Brave Bora – A trip to the Doctor - Follow Bora with her toy Monkey Jojo and her Baba on a trip to the Doctor to get a scary injection. Find out if she can overcome her fears and how. This book was brought to us by BookDash, see more from BookDash here on FKB below: Spread the love
An Unexpected Adventure – Wordless Fun - In An Unexpected Adventure, a boy finds some exciting scenarios on a trip to the Library. In this book you can make your own words, teachers can use it as a word prompt for students, or it can be a fun exercise for parents and children to make their own words, it’s also very suitable ...
I Can Dress Myself – Wordless Book - I Can Dress Myself is an amusing short wordless book about a child getting herself dressed while Mum is sleeping. This story was brought to us by BookDash, if you enjoyed this story, see more stories from BookDash below. Spread the love
Egg – A simple mystery - In Egg Crocodile, tortoise, penguin, and chicken find an egg, is it theirs? If not whose is it? Find out in this simple book for very young children. Text from Egg Egg My Egg? Not My Egg. My Egg? Not My Egg. My Egg? Not My Egg. My Egg? Not My Egg. My egg. Our ...
Tig’s World – An important question - In Tig’s World Tig asks her mom who is a scientist and her dad who is a writer what happens to the people on the bottom side of the earth and why they don’t fall off. Whose answer is right? Author: Sam Wilson, Illustrator: Dorian Dutrieux Sample Text from Tig’s World Tig’s mom is a ...
The Biscuit Jar Must Fall – Adventure in team work - The children are offered a reward of biscuits if they clean up, but when it’s time to get the biscuits their minder is nowhere to be found. An adventure in teamwork results as they endeavor to get the biscuit jar down from the shelf. Will they get it down in the end? Find out in ...
The Sea – Playing with Waves - The Sea is a story about a girl and her family who go to the beach to escape the heat. She soon realizes how much fun it is playing with waves. This book has a lot of repetitive words with illustrations perfect for young children learning to read to learn new words. This book is ...Sponsored Links:
Note – if you sign up through these links, it doesn’t cost you any extra, but FKB receives a small donation, which helps us with our project to buy more FREE Hardcopies for kids who need them
All our posts are checked by Grammarly, the FREE online grammar checker (We still receive a donation even if you only sign up for the free account :-):
I liked it because it was heartwarming and awesome 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👍👍👍👍
I like inspiring stories
it is an interesting biography of a ballerina’s travels around the world.
I like it because i also love to dance.
I like this book because its about dance
I like this book because it was a interesting and happy
giselle writes:
Beautiful story.
Marianne Jackson writes:
Very cute!
lee writes:
what a nice book..
Nadine writes:
beautiful book! my daughter and I enjoyed it!
Kamalini Hastak writes:
A beautifully written book with lovely illustrations. Children would love to read this biography and want to know more about Phyllis and ballet.
Wan Tong writes:
I like this book because its teaching you try hard,never give up.
ella writes:
enjoyed very much
swastika writes:
it is a very nice book
Isabella writes:
i like the book because i also love to dance and i traveled to France and Mexico I’m almost like but it was worth the try i have 10 times and then I’m visiting Puerto Rico Yay!
Mansur writes:
i like this book