Rabbit en Pointe! A Bunny in the Ballet by Robert Beck

OF THE GREAT MANY THINGS IN THIS WORLD THAT WE RABBITS LOVE DOING, BALLET DANCING TOPS THE LIST.

AT LEAST IT DOES FOR ME, DESIREE RABBIT.

BUT THERE WERE NO BUNNIES IN THE BALLET....

But that does not deter Desiree Bunny, who just knows that her particular pings, jumps, and whooshes are just what the Parisienne ballet needs. Hoping for an audition for the Ecoles de Danse, Desi encounters Mdme. Molotov, the dragon at the door administrative assistant, who definitively declares...

"THERE ARE NO BUNNIES IN THE BALLET."

Still, Desiree manages to slip into the practice room and impresses the dancing mistress with her whirls and whooshes, and she finds a place in the class.

Attired in pink leotard and tights, pink tutu and slippers, Desi shows up and works hard, even when she finds the class dressed all in blue and high skeptical that a bunny belongs in the ballet.  And when it is time for Mr. Cloud to assign roles for the holiday performance of The Nutcracker,  Desiree earns the part of....Marie's pet bunny. Irked at the type casting, Desiree goes along with the assignment and plays it perfectly. But when the second act is almost ready to begin, Mr. Cloud discovers that his prima ballerina for the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy is unable to go on.

"I CAN DO IT!" SAID DESIREE.

Pigs (Olivia) do it, mice (Angelina) do it, very fairy princesses (Geraldine) do it, even little leg-losing zombies (Zombelina) do it, so why not a bunny ballerina? At least, that's the premise of Robert Beck's new A Bunny in the Ballet (Orchard Books, 2014). Beck doesn't skip a cliche as he recycles the plot of the eager young member of the corps de ballet who secretly understudies the star and steps in when the grand jete' must go on. Where Beck's story is most improvisational is in his distinctive highly expressive illustrations, with characters and the Parisienne backdrop stylishly portrayed in a few swooping lines and soft watercolor wash. Overcoming the odds is the premise into which Beck works ballet terms and routine, in a story that will appeal to young ballerinas who plan to beat the odds of becoming prima ballerinas themselves.

For a whole corps de ballet of stories, see some of the competition here!

En Pointe? Tallulah's Toe Shoes by Marilyn Singer

TALLULAH COULD STAND LIKE A BALLERINA.

TALLULAH COULD MOVE LIKE A BALLERINA, TOO.

BUT TALLULAH KNEW THAT SHE WOULD NEVER BE A BALLERINA UNTIL SHE GOT A PAIR OF TOE SHOES.

Tallulah earned her tutu. She worked for her chance to solo in the spotlight. But Tallulah is a girl who wants it all--now.

And now her heart is set on soloing in those splendid pink toe shoes. She suffers pangs of envy as, dressed as a village girl in a plain brown dress, swaying in the chorus, she watches an older girl take the role of the Lilac Fairy in a glittery tutu, dancing en pointe in those elegant shoes.

ONE DAY HER TEACHER SAID, "TALLULAH, WHAT EXCELLENT FEET!  YOU'RE GOING TO BE WONDERFUL EN POINTE SOMEDAY!"

"WHEN IS SOMEDAY," TALLULAH ASKED.

"WHEN YOUR FEET ARE READY, WHEN THEY HAVE STOPPED GROWING."

But my feet ARE ready, Tallulah thought. And so am I.

Soon Tallulah sees her chance. In the dressing room she watches the Lilac Fairy girl toss her worn-out toe shoes into the trash can. Tallulah lingers until everyone leaves and then fishes the discarded shoes out and stuffs them into deep into the bottom of her ballet bag,

Back home, Tallulah closes her bedroom door, stuffs some tissue into the toes of the shoes, and laces them up in criss-cross style just as she's seen the older dancers do. They look perfect on her feet.

But her feet don't cooperate. Tallulah finds it impossible to stand on her toes. She even asks her little brother Becket to be her princely partner stand-in. Climbing up onto a chair, Becket extends his arm and Tallulah struggles to come up on her toes.

But her eleve' is far from elegante.

Tallulah persists, trying for a demi-pointe and a pirouette, but by then her toes are beginning to hurt! Really hurt!

OW! OW! OW! OW!

The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak! Sadly, Tallulah limps through the next few days, silent about her disappointment, and after her next class, she dejectedly tosses the shoes back in the dressing room trash, just as the Lilac Fairy girl comes through the door. Instantly the older dancer intuits the whole story, and reassures her that she, too, once despaired of ever going en pointe and tells Tallulah that if she works really hard, maybe she, too, will get to dance the Lilac Fairy role.

"NOT SOME DAY, MAYBE," SAID TALLULAH. "SOMEDAY DEFINITELY."

In Marilyn Singer's latest in her series, Tallulah's Toe Shoes (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013), Tallulah continues to dream big dreams, but runs, not only into the discipline of ballet, but into the limits of her own anatomy. There's a good reason why little ballet dancers do not begin en pointe, and Tallulah luckily hits that wall early on, while the damage to her young feet is only skin deep. While Tallulah's yearnings for the trappings of ballet--tutus, spotlight solos, toe shoes--may seem superficial, this story touches on the deeper elements of developing a complex skill. The Lilac Fairy Girl is right: there are no guarantees that even hard work will make Tallulah the prima ballerina she longs to be--inborn talent and physiology play a part, but desire is important, too. Our girl Tallulah has plenty of that, and Singer's story captures that passion in plenty in this third book in her series.

Other books in this notable and top-selling series are Tallulah's Tutu and Tallulah's Solo, all elegantly illustrated by Alexander Boiger's delicate water-color and gouache art.

Gotta Dance! Ballerina Rosie by Sarah Ferguson

ROSIE WORE HER TUTU EVERYWHERE.

HER TUTU WAS GREAT FOR TREE CLIMBING.

But clothes don't make the man, and the tutu doesn't make the dancer. Rosie may point her toes perfectly when she slides down a banister, and score when she slides her tutu over her school's team shorts, but when she finally begins the long-awaited ballet lessons, Rosie finds that her athletic skills don't quite transfer to match the profile of a prima ballerina:

CRASH! ROSIE TRIPPED INTO FRANCESCA.

TRY AS SHE MIGHT, ROSIE SEEMED TO HAVE LOST HER TALENT FOR DANCING!

But after a short depressive slump, with her mom's support and Madame Natalie's tutelage, Rosie perfects her plie and pirouette with plenty of practice. And the red ballet slippers Mdme. Natalie presents her with seem to give her the psychological boost she needs to polish that awesome arabesque, and at last Rosie earns what she has long hoped to hear:

BRAVA, ROSIE!

If Sarah Ferguson intended to invoke the ghost of Hans Christian Andersen's ever-dancing "Red Shoes," it is clearly a case of misfit imagery in her latest, Ballerina Rosie (Simon & Schuster, 2012). While Caldecott-award winner Diane Goode's illustrations of the would-be prima ballerina are vivacious and charming (if a bit inaccurate for the novice dancer), Ferguson's too wordy storytelling makes this predictable pinkanista tale drag a bit, despite its worthy if well-worn premise that practice makes perfect. Still, young ballet fans who have blown through Marilyn Singer's better-written Tallulah's Tutu and sequel or Grace Maccarone's endearing Miss Lina's Ballerinas and its sequel (see my reviews here and here) (not to mention the venerable Angelina Ballerina 25th Anniversary Edition and Ballet Kitty: Ballet Class,) and still want more will likely go for Duchess Sarah's little tribute to balletomania.

Tiara Trade: The VERY Fairy Princess Takes the Stage by Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton

HI! I'M GERALDINE. I'M A VERY FAIRY PRINCESS.

I KNOW I'M A FAIRY PRINCESS BECAUSE I FEEL IT INSIDE.

A SPARKLY FEELING OF JUST KNOWING IN MY HEART.

Gerry makes sure that she lives up to the standard of being regal--wearing full, twirly skirts, wings, and a crown whenever she can--and (noblesse oblige)! helping others solve problems whenever and wherever they occur.

But Gerry's sparkly feeling is threatened when her ballet teacher Madame Danielle overlooks her obvious qualifications (and fairy princess accessories) and chooses her classmate Tiffany to play the title role in The Crystal Princess. And to add insult to injury, Gerry is assigned the totally embarrassing role as Court Jester, complete with baggy, jingly costume, silly shoes with curled-up toes, and an outrageous three-pointed hat with bells. And there are no sparkles anywhere!

Gerry' parents point out that everyone has an important role to play and that she looks adorable in her costume, but Gerry's mirror is no magic mirror, and she knows she looks ridiculous. And worst of all, she looks like a BOY!

Summoning all her princessy dignity, though, Gerry drags through rehearsals, learning her part and doing her best to be a good Jester while suffering as she sees Tiffany trying out her shimmery princess gown and glittering tiara. Gerry consoles herself as she dresses for the big performance by concealing her own sparkly crown under her silly cap of bells.

At least she's still a princess inside.

Then comes the big night. Gerry has to admit that Tiffany looks the part, gorgeous in her glamorous costume, a ballet princess who deserves the hand of the prince in the final wedding scene. But then, disaster strikes:

THE PRINCE IS WAITING FOR HER.

HE LIFTS HER VEIL, AND TIFFANY'S SHINY CRYSTAL TIARA TOPPLES RIGHT OFF HER HEAD. THEN PRINCE RAMONE ACCIDENTALLY STEPS ON IT.

EVERYONE GASPS.

MADAME DANIELLE IS HORRIFIED. THEN SHE LOOKS RIGHT AT ME.

TIFFANY LOOKS SO SAD.... AND A CRYSTAL PRINCESS REALLY NEEDS TO SPARKLE!

And, of course, Geraldine knows just where to find a replacement tiara, and graciously, as a true princess would, she takes her own from under her silly cap and places it on Tiffany's head, saving the show and bringing down the house.

In this second book in the series, Julie Andrews' and Emma Hamilton's just published The Very Fairy Princess Takes the Stage(Little, Brown, 2011) has everything for fans of ballet and princess stories--appropriately pastel pictures by noted illustrator Christine Davenier and a modern princess heroine who knows just how to be as gracious as a real royal.

For a dramatic pair, read this one with Ian Falconer's hilarious Olivia Acts Out, in which Olivia hams it up and steals the show as Cow #3.