Injured Pride! Tallulah's Ice Skates by Marilyn Singer

Tallulah loved ballet class.

But today her mind is far away from her plie and jete'.

Tallulah's eyes are on the skies, where snow is falling, along with the temperature. The town pond is frozen over at last, and she and her friend Kacie have a skate date after class.

Kacie was better at tap. But Tallulah was better at ballet.

"I'm sure we're both great at skating. After all, skating's a lot like dancing," she thought.

As she walks to the pond with her mom and little brother Beckett, Tallulah can't help imagining herself spinning on the ice like an Olympic star, her full red skirt standing out almost like her tutu does when she twirls. She can't wait to try it. But Kacie just wants to goof around, doing bunny hops. Tallulah demonstrates that she can already do a sliding lunge. She shows off her slide as Kacie tries it and takes a fall. Tallulah skates off toward fresh ice to try her spin. She poses, one toe of her skate pressed into the ice.

"Now presenting that graceful Super Skater--the one, the only, Tallulah!"

Tallulah starts her twirl and finds herself wobbling. Seriously. What's wrong?

An older boy skates by and points out that ice skating is different from ballet. You have to keep the whole blade on the ice, he says loftily, as he executes a perfect twirl with one foot above his head.

"All you ballet girls make the same mistake!" he remarks.

HMMPH! Incensed, Tallulah decides to show off the perfect arabesque she does in ballet.

Thunk! Tallulah lands on her backside. She's not hurt, but her pride is definitely injured. Suddenly, skating is not so much fun. Will Tallulah sit out the entire ice skating season?

Not this spunky dancer, in Marilyn Singer's latest tale of everyone's favorite little balletomane, Tallulah's Ice Skates (Clarion Books, 2018). Fun and friendship top skating fame, as Tallulah swaps spins for bunny hops and lunges and lunches with Beckett and Kacie and their moms. Ice is nice and will suffice!

In this latest Tallulah tale, author Marilyn Singer is again partnered with artist Alexandria Boiger, whose charming illustration of young danseuses have portrayed Tallulah's ballet adventures in all the books in this popular series, Tallulah's Tutu, Tallulah's Tap Shoes, Tallulah's Solo, Tallulah's Nutcracker, and Tallulah's Toe Shoes (See reviews here.)