Do It Your Way! Zuri Ray Tries Ballet by Tami Charles

 

ZURI RAY LOVED TRYING EXTRAORDINARY THINGS, ANYTHING BUT ORDINARY THINGS.

With Jessie, her BFFD (Best Friend from Diapers), she has taken on snorkeling, science experiments, ghost-hunting, and being detectives. They always take turns choosing what to do next. This time it's Jessie's turn and she chooses a week at Ballet Camp. She takes to the tutu, the pirouette, and the jete' right away.

But ballet is a bust for Zuri. The tight chignon hurts her head, the tutu is scratchy, and her slippered feet slide on the floor, and she finds herself, not en pointe, but en derriere!

It's an embarrassment for Zuri, who fancies herself a soccer star. When she arrives at home, she declares . . .

"I QUIT! IT'S TOO HARD FOR ME!"

But big sister Remi reminds Zuri what her family always says.

"WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE RAYS GET TOUGHER!"

Zuri realizes that she can't let her family down. But the next day finds her still doing a pas de deux with the floor even more. She tells the teacher that she just can't move like the other little would-be ballerinas.

And her teacher tells her something that gives her a new way to look at the chasse' and plie'!

"DANCING IS ALL ABOUT IMAGINATION."

And when Zuri shows up for class the next day in her soccer uniform, she performs the high kicks her way, in Tami Charles' Zuri Ray Tries Ballet (Quill/HarperCollins, 2021).

It's different strokes for different folks, in a sweet story of friendship honored while being true to self. Author Tami Charles shows adventurous little friends who are willing to remain open about trying out new things while seeking their own "thing." Illustrator Sharon Sordo handles this difficult transition for the two Best Friends Forever as they navigate their first major disagreement with warmth, understanding, and humor, and pictures the importance of support from a loving family.

Says School Library Journal, "Young elementary-age readers will adore the vividly animated characters and feel encouraged by Zuri Ray and her example of finding compassion for herself and practicing honesty in friendship. A wonderful addition to any collection."

What's Not to Love? Angelina Loves by Helen Craig

Angelina loves dancing with her friends.

But dancing isn't the only thing Angelina loves....

In fact, Angelina loves doing things with her friend Alice--riding the Ferris wheel and visiting the Haunted House at the fair, watching Alice do handstands, and riding their bikes together--even if some of the country roads get a little bit too bumpy....!

CRASH!

And Angelina loves it when her best friend Alice takes the time to teach Angelina's little cousin Henry how to try out ice skates with them. And when Sammy and Spike interfere with their day, Angelina learns to love skating with the boys when they show them how to do tricks and skate backwards.

It's all better together, and Angelina loves her family best of all--all of them--Henry, Mom and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, and even though she's sometimes a little jealous of her little sister, Angelina loves Polly, too. In Helen Craig's appropriately pink little Valentine's card to her Angelina fans, Angelina Loves (Angelina Ballerina) (Simon Spotlight, 2019), Craig's charming new Angelina story adds another entry to the Angelina series (read reviews here), sweetly illustrated in holiday colors by artist Katharine Holobird, perfect for a Valentine's a Day gifting.

Making Do: Lena's Slippers by Ioana Hobai

The school dance recital was almost here!

Lena swirled and twirled.

She did one last pirouette outside the classroom.

Taking a deep breath, she cracked the door open and tiptoed inside.

Mrs. Pascu did not tolerate tardiness.

Mrs. Pascu, the ballet teacher, doesn't tolerate much.

She tells the girls that they are to be dancing flowers in the spring recital. Their skirts must be daffodil yellow and their slippers must be white.

Lena knows that money is tight and that fabric is in short supply in her little town. Her mom waits in line for hours just to get milk, and the only yellow fabric she can find is more like the color of a winter squash than a spring daffodil.

"It's not the right yellow!" protested Lena. "Mrs. Pascu is so picky!"

"Oh, Lena," said her mom. "We're lucky to have found any yellow at all. I'll sew you a beautiful skirt."

And her skirt is beautiful. But when Lena and her mother wait in line to buy the white slippers, someone else gets the last pair and there are no more to be had.

As expected, Mrs. Pascu scolds Lena about her skirt, but when she sees Lena is wearing white socks, she is truly angry. Picky Mrs. Pascu snaps that she absolutely will not be allowed to dance in the recital without white shoes.

When a friend gives Lena's father a pair of his daughter's old ballet slippers, Lena's is happy... until she sees that they are black. She is sure Mrs. Pascu will never let her dance in black shoes.

But where there's a will, there's a way. With a coat of white paint, perhaps Lena's slippers will pass muster, in Ioana Hobai's true story of her childhood in Romania, Lena's Slippers (Page Street Kids, 2018). And in the spirit of making the best of what you have, Hobai's endearing illustrations, filled with light and the joy of dance, demonstrate that what you do with what you have is what is important in art and life. It is the spirit of the dance that shines through in this different ballet story with an inspiring theme for young balletomanes.

Together Forever? Ella Bella Ballerina and the Magic Toyshop by James Mayhew

Ella Bella danced along the street to her ballet lesson. Her teacher, Madame Rosa, was waiting by the door of the old theater.

The other little dancers are already on the stage, whispering excitedly at the sight of Madam Rosa's magical musical box, surrounded by a number of beautiful dolls.

"May we play with them?" asked Ella Bella.

"Why not dance with them?" said Madame Rosa as she opened the music box.

Madame Rosa tells her little ballerinas the story of La Boutique Fantastique, The Magical Toyshop, presided over by a kindly toymaker, and Ella is enchanted by the dancing dolls.

When the lesson ends, Madame Rosa invites Ella Bella to stay and help her tidy up, and as they do, she tells Ella the story of each dancing doll. Ella is especially drawn to two beautiful dolls who dance to the music box as if they were made to be together.

But just then customers come in and begin to look among the music box dolls. One family picks one of the dolls, and another snatches up the other doll. Both families get very angry. No one can buy them both!

But Ella notices that the two dancing dolls look very sad.

"They are very much in love!" she cried. "It would break their hearts to be parted!"

Can Ella Bella Ballerina save the dancing dolls from being separated forever? In James Mayhew's latest in series, Ella Bella Ballerina and The Magic Toyshop (Ella Bella Ballerina Series) (Barrons, 2017), Ella Bella gets some help from toyshop magic in a fanciful story that will please both young doll lovers and balletomaines, illustrated with the author's delicate frou-frou scenes that fit this charming story right down to the dancing French poodles. Appended is an English retelling of the original story of La Boutique Fantastique.

This story pairs well with James Mayhew's popular Ella Bella Ballerina and The Nutcracker (Ella Bella Ballerina Series). (see review here.)

Too, Too Mistaken! Pinkalicious Tutu-rrific! by Victoria Kann

Alison and I giggled as we tried to stand on our toes.

Tomorrow we were going to ballet class together.

Pinkilicious and Alison trade notes on their ballet attire. Alison says she's wearing purple, and Pinkilicious reports that her tutu, ballet slippers and hairbow are all, of course, pink! They make plans to meet before class.

When Pinki is dropped off, she spies a purple-clad girl just going through the door. She dashes after her. In the mix of pastel tutus milling in the hall, finding their classes, she spots a girl in purple disappearing into one studio. That must be Alison!

Pinkilicious dashes down the hall and into the room. Girls are everywhere, putting on their dance shoes, stretching, and chatting nervously. As the teacher calls the class to the barre, Pinkie follows them, finding a place far behind the girl in the purple tutu. She finds the work at the barre easy enough, and performs the positions and her plie' perfectly. But Pinkilicious can't find her friend anywhere among the students. But then the teacher claps and beckons them to form rows and has them do some spins. Those are Pinkie's best move. She twirls with the best of them!

I looked around. This was easy! Piece of cake!

But then the teacher asks the students to run through the steps they learned the week before. Pinkie tries to do what everyone else is doing, but they move too fast.

I couldn't keep up!

Pinkie's cover is blown. The teacher suddenly realizes that she is new to the group, and after class she calls her up on the carpet.

"You! You're not in this class," she says.

But first, could you spin again?

Pinkilicious confesses to her mistake, but the teacher is kind and compliments her on her spinning technique, and Pinkie's ballet slippers are walking on air as she reunites with Alison, in author-illustrator Victoria Kann's Level 1 I-Can-Read book, Pinkalicious: Tutu-rrific (I Can Read Level 1) (Harper I-Can-Read). Young beginning reader balletomaines and fans of Kann's pink-fancying protagonist will find this Pinkilicious title en pointe

One Christmas Eve... The Nutcracker based on George Blanchine's Ballet, illustrated by Valeria Docampo

It was Christmas Eve at the Stahlbaum's House, and like children everywhere, Marie and Fritz were so excited that they could feel their toes tingling.

For kids everywhere, Christmas Eve is a magical time, a time when the real and the fantastical seem to overlap, to blend together, as they have for many years in performances of the ballet of The Nutcracker.

The main character, a young girl named Marie, receives a beautiful nutcracker in military uniform as a gift, and she loves it, even when her mischievous brother Fritz manages to break its jaw right away. A kind family friend bandages the nutcracker and promise to return and repair it later.

When the wonderful party ends with dancing around the tree, Marie takes the nutcracker to her bedroom and falls into a deep, dreaming sleep, which takes her into a glorious fantasy. In her dream the Nutcracker becomes a handsome prince who defeats the Mouse King and takes his crown, inviting Marie to fly with him to his Kingdom of Sweets, where she is entertained by glorious dancers--The Sugar Plum Fairy and a gala troup of waltzing flowers.

In this season's newest version of E.T.A. Hoffman's classic tale, The Nutcracker (Little Simon, 2016), the old story is illustrated in art nouveau-styled elongated figures, swirling costumes of silvery white and gold, and scenes illuminated by stagy lighting. Valerie Docampo's artwork is flowing and theatrical, with the illusion of movement that the recreation of a ballet requires. Moreover, this version of the classic recreates the sense of the New York City Ballet's re-creation of George Balanchine's famous ballet, perfect for sharing with a child who will be privileged to see The Nutcracker Ballet during the pre-Christmas season. As a bonus for young balletomanes, Little Simon offers an appendix, "George Balanchine's Fun Facts" about the production.

There are many versions of The Nutcracker, some with simplified story and jolly illustrations with a non-scary Mouse King, and some in lovely paintings or faithfully realistic photographs from performances, including the inimitable Maurice Sendak's Nutcracker, Susan Jeffer's beautiful Caldecott Honor version, The Nutcracker, and the whimsically rosy-cheeked Mary Engelbreit's Nutcracker.

Bearly Dancing! Ballet Cat: Dance, Dance, Underpants by Bob Shea

"LEAP, BUTTER BEAR, LEAP!

JETE'! HERE I COME."

Cat and her ballet buddy Butter Bear have stretched at the barre. They have rehearsed the positions, the steps: the eleve' and the releve'. Now Ballet Cat is ready for that money move of the balletomane!

But Butter Bear won't lunge. She won't leap! Butter Bear just will not jete'.

Ballet Cat cajoles.

"LEAPS ARE GREAT! THEY ARE SHOWY!

THEY ARE DANGEROUS!" SAYS BUTTER BEAR.

She gestures pointedly at the chandelier dangling above their heads. It's clearly hazardous to the heads of those who leap high!

Ballet Cat hauls out her ladder and tools and raises the fixture.

"NO PROBLEM!"

But Butter Bear is not ready to jete'! She needs a bowl of cereal. She needs a drink. She needs to go to the bathroom. No, not to the powder room. . . ! Bear must go in the woods!

"I AM A BEAR. I GO IN THE WOODS."

Ballet Cat tries to wait patiently. She frets as she fiddles with finishing a a puzzle. She scowls as she builds a ship in a bottle. Finally, much later, Butter Bear re-appears, yawning prodigiously.

"MY GOODNESS! IT'S VERY LATE."

Butter Bear declares that she is ready to head off to hibernate. But Ballet Cat stops her and demands to know why she is working so hard to avoid a few leaps. Sheepishly, Bear whispers something in Cat's ear that makes her procrastination perfectly clear.

Yes, it involves that item of undergarment that leaps will reveal, those unmentionables the very mention of which sends youngsters into gales of giggles, in Bob Shea's newest in series, Ballet Cat Dance! Dance! Underpants! (Hyperion Books, 2016). But Ballet Cat knows her specialty, and so does Bob Shea, who provides the reluctant Butter Bear with the proper underpinnings, a pair of rainbow underpants that wow their audience during the duet. It's a Brava! for the dueting ballerinas and a Bravo! for Bob Shea, whose illustrations, done in wide black line in pastels on pastel pages, tell the tale with just the right touch of squiggly silliness And with a text that is just right for primary grade readers, author Bob can take a bow for a fitting addition to this series.

Taking the Next Step: Tallulah's Tap Shoes by Marilyn Singer

TALLULAH WAS EXCITED ABOUT GOING TO DANCE CAMP. SHE WOULD GET TO TAKE BALLET EVERY DAY.

"I CAN'T WAIT TO TAKE TAP!" SAID HER LITTLE BROTHER BECKETT. "I WANT TO DANCE CLICKETY-CLACK-CLICKETY-CLACK!"

TALLULAH SNIFFED. "I'M A BALLET GIRL. I DON'T CLICKETY-CLACK."

As she expects, Tallulah is a stand-out student in her camp ballet class. Her teacher commends her rond de jambe. She can't stop dancing even in the changing room.

"WASN'T THAT GREAT?" SHE SAYS TO A BLACK-HAIRED GIRL.

"I DON'T THINK SO," THE GIRL REPLIED. "I DON'T KNOW WHY WE HAVE TO TAKE BALLET. IT'S SO... STIFF! TAP DANCING IS MUCH COOLER."

"COOL? THAT'S NOT DANCING--IT'S JUST MAKING NOISE!"

"IT'S MAKING MUSIC WITH YOUR FEET!" KACIE TOLD HER.

But in that mandatory tap class, neophyte Tallulah can't even produce a decent FLAP! The teacher constantly corrects her. And to rub it in, that black-haired girl, Kacie, turns out to be a tap-dancing diva who is chosen to demonstrate the tap ronde de jambe. It's a new experience for Tallulah to be what she feels is surely the worst student in the class. She can't help feeling a bit superior when she notices Kacie skipping ballet class, and decides that maybe she'll just skip tap, too. She can't take having that Kacie show her up as she clickety clacks like a pro through all the steps.

But when Kacie and her parents turn out to surprise dinner guests at Tallulah's house, Beckett goes on and on about how much he loves both tap AND ballet.

"I HATE TAP!" TALLULAH SHOUTED.

"I HATE BALLET!" KACIE CRIED.

Suddenly the girls realize they have something in common. What they really hate is being the worst, being a beginner, in the class. But everyone is a beginner when beginning a new skill. And it is the teacher's job to correct everyone.

Our ballet girl gets it and finds a new friend in Marilyn Singer's forthcoming Tallulah's Tap Shoes (Houghton Mifflin Clarion Books, 2015). Singer's popular ballet stories show Tallulah learning more than just the steps in the dance, and this one is no exception. Tallulah gains some humility and empathy, as does Kacie, as they look forward to learning together.

Artist Alexandra Boiger's spot-art illustrations are spot on in portraying the girls' emotions as they each take on a complex new skill. Young dance fans will relish the rivalry and appreciate the new experiences, not to mention Boiger's dance scenes and the glittery cover portrait of Tallulah in a sparkling tutu. The premise of this latest Tallulah ballet tale makes a perfect pas de deaux with Katharine Holobird's recent Angelina's Big City Ballet (Angelina Ballerina). (Read review here.)

Ballet lovers shouldn't miss the earlier top-selling Tallulah tales by Singer and Boiger, Tallulah's Tutu, Tallulah's Solo, Tallulah's Toe Shoes, and Tallulah's Nutcracker.  (See all reviews here.)