The Last Dance

Bessie and Ninny are the best of friends. Sometimes on milk-moon nights, Ninny throws buttons at Bessie's window. When Bessie peeps outside, Ninny sings: Bessie, oh Bessie! Come dance with me! For I hate to dance alone, Where the old men sleep, And the women weep, And the wild, fey children roam. Down the drainpipe Bessie slides to visit Ninny, and off they go. Most nights, they visit the grave of Ninny's grandfather, Oppa. It was Oppa who taught them three things that they will never forget: To dance To sing, and To tell stories. Oppa's wisdom ultimately inspires a pact between the two young friends--a pact that binds them together through love and marriage, war and separation, birth and death.In the simple but extraordinary story, award-winning author Carmen Agra Deedy speaks to each of us about the value of promises and the limitless power of love. Share The Last Dance with someone you love.

Carmen Agra Deedy is a New York Times best-selling author and renowned storyteller. Her books have received numerous awards and honors. Carmen has performed in many prestigious venues, but children are her favorite audience. Born in Havana, Cuba, she came to the United States as a refugee and like most immigrants sees the world from multiple perspectives. She lives in Georgia.

Debrah Santini holds an MFA from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and is a faculty member of the art department at West Georgia College. The illustrator of several children's books, she lives in Georgia.