Dance of Resistance, Catherine Johnson
Dance of Resistance, Catherine Johnson
List: $14.99 | Sale: $10.50
Club: $7.49

Dance of Resistance

Author: Catherine Johnson

Narrator: Veronique Olin

Unabridged: 2 hr

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 09/11/2025

Categories: Children's Fiction


Synopsis

Catherine Johnson celebrates the incredible life of Josephine Baker in this true story chronicling her life from poor girl to beloved actress, dancer and wartime heroine. Dancer, singer, actress, movie star, civil-rights activist – Josephine Baker was a phenomenon! Overcoming the poverty and abuse of her childhood, Josephine grew up to become one of the biggest stars of the early twentieth century, particularly adored in her adopted country of France. She used her connections to help the Resistance in their fight against the Nazis during the Second World War and later became involved with Martin Luther King and the civil-rights movements in the US. Controversial and outspoken, she is an iconic historical figure and Catherine Johnson brings her story vividly to life for a young audience in this enthralling piece of narrative non-fiction.

About Catherine Johnson

CATHERINE JOHNSON, Ph.D., is a writer specializing in neuropsychiatry and the brain. She cowrote Animals in Translation and served as a trustee of the National Alliance for Autism Research for seven years. She lives with her husband and three sons—two of whom have autism—in New York.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Helen on July 12, 2025

What a great read this turned out to be, I couldn’t believe how much she crammed into her life. There was so much drama, so much bravery and emotion in this short book. After I had read this book I googled her as I wanted to learn more about her. Barrington Stokes should do more books like this.......more

Goodreads review by Tracy on September 22, 2025

Catherine Johnson excels at writing these stories which are biographical and explain the life of the subject. The subject of this story, Josephine Baker, is someone whose name I knew but I knew little else about her. Blimey she was a special kind of person! She was born in East St Louis on 3rd June 1......more

Goodreads review by Joey on August 08, 2025

Thank you so much to Barrington Stoke and Netgalley for the ebook to read and review. This was amazing, I knew about Josephine Baker, but I didn’t know much so reading this was wonderful. She lived such an incredibly full life and I really liked that this book shared everything about it. I liked the......more

Goodreads review by Theediscerning on September 23, 2025

A very interesting read that conveys the life and times of Josephine Baker – someone just as famous for dancing in a skirt made of bananas as for being a supporter of Jews, and the French Resistance, in the Second World War. This covers a lot of topics that could be thought of as touchy for a primar......more

Goodreads review by Emma on August 16, 2025

Catherine Johnson has created an engaging and wonderfully entertaining biographical narrative. This is a book that will appeal to lovers of both fact and fiction. Johnson draws on her exceptional storytelling skills to take the darker moments of Josephine Baker’s life and present them in a way that......more


Quotes

"In instantly involving first-person prose, Johnson tells the true story of Josephine Baker, from her poor childhood in segregated Missouri to her work for the French resistance, her civil rights activism and her meteoric rise as a performer. This superb 9+ “autobiography”, from dyslexia-friendly publishers Barrington Stoke, is super-readable in every sense." – "A dazzlingly readable biography of the inimitable Josephine Baker. Dancer, singer, actress, movie star, civil-rights activist – Baker really did defy all expectations and norms and Johnson’s wonderful book explores her extraordinary life in an accessible and enlightening way." – "What an astounding life Josephine Baker lived, how filled with adventure, drama, joy and sadness. And somehow Catherine Johnson manages to cram all of that glory into a hundred pages, showing why she is one of the finest writers for young people we have. The book (and the life) is elegant, graceful and truly inspiring." — Anthony McGowan "Fluent, vivid and immersive story telling. I read it in one take." — Hilary McKay "Delivered in a stirring first-person voice, Catherine Johnson's does dazzling justice to its subject … Johnson integrates shifting global socio-political landscapes brilliantly, with a clarity readers of 9+ will relate to. Indeed, is wonderfully accessible and infectiously inspirational as it evokes Josephine’s joie de vivre, determination and courage." — LoveReading4Kids "Who could ever condense all of the harshness, the glitter, the luxury, the complexity, controversy and courage of Josephine Baker’s life into one slim novella? You now have your answer … readers are going to come to the end of this novella feeling like they have experienced the breadth and the proportions and the wealth of an epic novel." — Letterbox Library