Book Description

Hannah, while getting ready to dance her first starring role, fondly recollects how far she has come since her first ballet class. She "remembers" her progression through basic ballet positions and techniques, jumping, turning, dancing with a partner and advancing through the ranks of a professional ballet company.Through her eyes, we also get a "behind the curtain" view of what goes into ballet performances.Full of beautiful, colorful, technically correct illustrations and proper ballet terms, this story is every aspiring ballerina's dream, including Hannah's!A great book for all children who love theatre, shows and dancing. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Wonderful Book
My daughter just started taking ballet this year. She was'nt always clear about the positions and some basic terms. When I got her this book not only was she able to see the correct terms illustrated, she was captivated by the charming story about the young ballet student. The book really makes learning about ballet so enjoyable. My daughter has me read the book to her almost every night ... Read more

Amazon.com

Wolves and pigs have always been excellent fodder for suspenseful children's stories, and Swine Lake proves it once again, this time in the masterful hands of the late James Marshall and Maurice Sendak. Marshall wrote the book fully intending to illustrate it himself, but when he died in 1992, his good friend Sendak was charged with the challenging task of bringing this delightful work to life. And come to life it does! The rollicking tale opens with a mangy, hungry wolf on the prowl in an unfamiliar part of town. Soon the wolf's nose twitches uncontrollably. He smells pigs! Just across the street is a theater marquee bearing the words Swine Lake. Boarshoi Ballet. The wolf can scarcely conceal hisdelight, and "soon the aroma of pig, thinly disguised by French perfume, was making him swoon."

Snatching matinee tickets from a swanky ticket-scalping sow who arrives in a limousine, he enters the theater. "Had the ticket taker been more observant, he would have noticed the long claws and much that follows could have been avoided," Marshall adds parenthetically. The wolf is escorted by a distracted usher to his box seat, just a short pounce from the stage. When the show begins, the wolf ponders which might be the juiciest pig. But as he assesses the probable quality of the pork, he begins to get lost in the magical story, and decides to put off his attack until act 2... and in fact forgets to make his move altogether. That very night he breaks into his piggy bank and spends his last penny on a ticket for the evening performance of Swine Lake.

Anyone who is familiar with Swan Lake will be positively giddy to behold Marshall and Sendak's porcine take on this well-known ballet, but certainly no cultural context is necessary to appreciate the simple plot. With a winning story about the power of the theater to soothe the hungriest, toothiest of beasts, this fabulous team has made an absolutely historic contribution to children's literature. Fans will see a lighter, funnier side to Sendak than they've seen before, as Marshall's comic spirit gently guides his paintbrush and pens.(Click to see a sample spread. Text copyright 1999 by James Marshall. Illustrations copyright 1999 by Maurice Sendak. Reproduced with permission of HarperCollins Juvenile Books.) (Ages 4 and older) --Karin Snelson ... Read more

Reviews (7)

A STELLAR review
If wolves went to ballet, they wouldn't go to Swan Lake, they would go to Swine Lake! We think 4th and 5th graders would like this book because it is more challenging. You should read it a couple times to really understand it and have fun reading it. It's a very good book. It has action in it. We thought it would be rated 4.

Swine Lake - A ballet review
Swine Lake is a wonderfully creative story. It takes a twist that my daughter (age 7) nor I expected. The art of Maurice Sendak is as wonderful as ever. Great fun to read.

Swine Lake-simply magnificent
Swine lake, was absolutely wonderful, and it brought back memories of my childhood years. I reccomend it to those who are young at heart. I found it a very tasteful, and enjoyable piece of literature. So read it i say...thankyou

Swooning over SWINE LAKE
I bought this book for my three year old daughter for Christmas. Although she has nearly a hundred books, she has requested this one every night for three months. She knows most of it verbatim. I think the book's okay, but for her it is something truly special and charming. She enjoys the dilema of the wolf, the grumpy landlady and the diverse characters of the pigs. This is a great story for kids with budding imaginations.

James Marshall- a real person and one funny guy
If you like Swine Lake, then go buy all the Marshall books you can find!Thirteen years ago, my then-five-year-old son and I read Miss Nelson Is Missing by James Marshall. At bedtime, he decided it was the better part of valor to put this book in a safely-snapped plastic bag and out of the house entirely, into the garage before he was ready to go to sleep. (So.. OK, maybe I messed up a little and he was a trifle too young for this James Marshall delight at that time.) But as a family we grew to love ALL of the Marshall books, especially the George and Martha ones. Our favorite line quoted often in the family lo these many years after preschool time is, "let's not discuss it-- you'll weigh a ton" as did George and Martha in the short story about Martha being overweight ( mind you, they are both hippopotami!). My son David and I wrote to James Marshall and received a hand-written and illustrated (!) letter from him thirteen years ago which was just delightful. I think now it is time to frame it. We regret his untimely death greatly. Does anyone know what was the cause of death? He was Texan living in New England when we wrote to him from our home in Texas. ... Read more

Book Description

Today is Emily's first dance class! Children can come along as she leaps, spins, and hops her way through the lesson. Learning to dance is fun with Emily and her friends. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Work checking Out
The book by Claire Masurel is a book about a little girls first day of dancing school and the excitement and determiantion she has for the class. The story begins with Emily, the main character, and her mother taking her to ballet class. Emily is taking the class with other little girls who all seem to be enjoying themselves. At the end of an accomplished class, emily proudly shows her mother what she has learned and her mother expresses pure delight with Emily's performance. The book is intended for young girls between the ages of one and four and is written for pure entertainment. There are no morals or reasoning to the plot, just the adventure of the first day of dance class. The content of the book is very appropriate for young children. The book avoids stereotyping race by placing each of the characters as animated bunnies. However, the book is biased in the fact that it is intended for little girls, with no male presence prominent throughout the story. The illistration in the book is very eye catching for little children. the pictures are big and amimated with colorful objects. The font is very soothing for young readers with bold faced print. The illistrations take upon a reading of their own allowing the child to tell their own version of the story just by looking at the pictures. the language is told through the story without a presence of pattern of rhyme. The book is fast paced, taking the child to dance, teaching the lessons, and showing the accomplishments. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Ballet info good; attitude could be better
In my opinion the My Pretty Ballerina character is vapid and annoying: announces that she's *always* first to ballet class, fantasizes about great crowds applauding her, heck even her teacher calls her "My Pretty Ballerina". Teacher calls the new girl "Jordan". Poor Jordan (an African American girl) gets saddled with descriptions such as "cries Jordan", "she begs", "Jordan looks frightened". But hey, the author does write, "And when we do our jumps, no one flies higher than Jordan". hmmmm...what an interesting comment...

I think this book would have been much more interesting if written from the new girl's perspective.

Overall it's all right if you're looking for something that's not serious, just a bit of whimsy; the drawings and pronunciations of ballet positions in the back of the book are a nice touch. I wouldn't expect much more from it than to be a young girl's (age 5 and under) fantasy book about wearing pink toe shoes and pretending to be fabulous, but hopefully not annoying.

My Favorite reader for Dollie time
I just love this "series" I wish there were more.
Maybe some more will be written... they even teach you the proper pronounciation of the French termonology.
Great for little girls between 4 and 8...

Little ballerinas will love it!
This book is a good way to encourage children to help each other and to be kind to newcomers. Also has pictures of the basic ballet moves on the back. My daughter loves it! ... Read more

Book Description

Budding young prima ballerinas will relish this spirited collection of thirteen classic and modern favorites, including "Bravo, Tanya" by Patricia Lee Gauch, "Out of Step" by Jean Richardson, and "The Hookywalker Dancers" by Margaret Mahy. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Best For Beginners
When I bought this book, I thought that it was about dancers that were on pointe or were very good dancers. The story that told about the most advanced dancers was a story about a girl going on pointe. Most of the stories are about beginner ballet students, or stories that are more meant to be funny. I would reccomend this book for reading aloud. It would probably be good for predance ballet students. ... Read more

Book Description

In this hilarious follow-up to "Marsha Makes Me Sick," Lulu and Marsha are back fighting for the spotlight. This time Lulu has the solo in their dance recital and Marsha is "only a flower." Will Marsha manage to steal the show from her big sister? Mile 3 Road to Reading books contain longer sentences and more complex plotlines for the increasingly confident reader. ... Read more

Book Description

Any child dazzled by dance would love this lavishly illustrated collection of nine of the most popular ballet stories including such classics as Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, and Giselle, as well as the less familiar stories of The Firebird and The Boy and The Magic. Includes notes on the performances of these ballets. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Tales From The Ballet: Retellings ......
I bought this book for my 5 year old who is nuts about the stories from classical ballet. Although the book is beautifully written and illustrated, almost all the stories were extremely dark and scary for a child of that age. I based my purchase on the information claiming it's suitability for children aged 4-8 but found it to be completely inappropriate for almost all but those with an adult appreciation for death, darkness and tragedy. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Pretty Disappointing ...
The book is not geared to an 8 year old -- it's geared to a VERY beginning reader. Furthermore, it has a picture of dancers in hard shoes purportedly doing a "Reel" and dancers in hard shoes purportedly doing a "Light Jig" -- both of which are SOFT SHOE (Ghillie) dances. My 9 year old Irish Dancer and her class and instructors all got a tremendous laugh out of it though. My daughter's exact statement was: "you shouldn't write a book if you don't know what you're talking about." Words o'wisdom? It would be fine for a 4 or 5 year old, but no more.

Great primer for your young child beginning Irish dance.
This is a small staple-bound but full-color booklet with attractive pictures and simple text. Perfect for my preschooler beginning Irish dance!

While the pictures might interest older readers, the text is very simple: "Irish step dancing is danced to Irish music. I move my feet to the music. I keep my arms at my sides."

Half the pictures show girls in street/exercise clothes, the other half in dance costume. There are no boys pictured, unfortunately. There are two pictures of hardshoe, the rest is softshoe dancing.

Recommended for ages four to six or so.

Be Prepared!
This book is nothing at all like I was expecting. I read one review and thought it would be great but it is a typical "see Jane run" book. About three sentences on a page with very BIG letters. I thought it would be a great stocking stuffer for my 9 year old dancer who is competing but she would be very bored with it. It will , more likely, be given to my 5 year old as she is just learning to read. It does state ages 4-8 but be aware it is for VERY early readers.

get this book!!!!!!
When i bought this book at the book store, i really didn't think it was going to be that great, because i am an Irish Step dancer, and i can tell if what he was writing about was real or fake. But i understood every thing he was writing about. and i love this book, if your an irish step dancer..... get this book!!! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Pretty good
Eleven-year-old Jessi Ramsey loves to dance. She makes a new friend, Mary. But soon Jessi notices some strange things about Mary. She starts getting thinner and thinner, and she's not eating. When she talks about it with her friends in the baby-sitters club, she finds out that Mary is anorexic. Jessi knows Mary is in danger. But if she tells someone, it could mean losing a friend. Read this book and find out what happens!

Food for Thought
"Jessi and the Awful Secret" takes a personal look at the dangers of eating disorders in young dancers. Author Anne M. Martin uses familiar, established characters that regular readers of the series will have already met, and adds a new element to their lives in this story. She is thus able to discuss eating disorders in a healthy, comfortable environment; she does not frighten readers who may not be familiar with the subject. The way in which Jessi, the narrator and main character, comes to understand anorexia and why her friend Mary has developed the disorder is realistic and honest. A scene in a fast-food restaurant depicts Jessi's initial naivete about Mary's reasons for not eating, but combines that reaction with sensitivity and concern. There are no accusations in this book. Girls who read this and who themselves may have experienced anorexia will not feel threatened nor judged. The regular subjects of baby-sitting and friendship surround the story of Mary's anorexia; the book is not solely a documentary on eating disorders. ... Read more

Book Description

For every young person who lives and breathes ballet, and imagines one day performing in front of an audience, this book is for them. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great For Beginers
This book is great for the beginer in balet.Those who are looking for a good,easy to follow format can stop your searching.Ages 8-12 ... Read more

Reviews (1)

A zany and entertaining picture book
Dancing Granny is a zany and entertaining picture book by Elizabeth Winthrop about a special bond between a grandmother and her grandchild. On a visit to the zoo, the Granny is asked "may I have this dance?" and celebrates with an eager bear, six silly monkeys, and others for a fun-filled time. Joyous and colorful illustrations by Salvatore Murdocca beautifully showcase the singsong rhyming verse which characterizes this delightful and original story of fun and nonsense. ... Read more

Book Description

Reviews (1)

Educators Recommend
From all across the holler,
from every nook and cranny,
all the piggies are arriving
for the yearly hootenanny.

So begins this rhythmic, rhyming read-aloud. On each double-page spread we see the pigs prancing, romping, dancing, stomping, singing, sighing (at the glorious voice of the "peachy-keen soprano") and having a rollicking good time.

Pham does an excellent job at capturing the pigs' merriment and high-spirited hoofing. Done in watercolor and colored pencil, the double-paged illustrations are filled with lots of action and humorous piggy poses and facial expressions. Smartly, Pham keeps the book from being overwhelmingly busy by limiting the inside scenes primarily to pinks, peaches, yellows, and oranges. The layout and judicious use of white space make the book a pleasure to read as well as look at.

When the book arrived here at Education Oasis all our teacher-reviewers loved it. The litmus test for us, however, is whether or not it works in the classroom. We took it into several classrooms to see how the prancing porkers faired. The students to whom we read it also loved it and demanded several re-readings. Thankfully, Appelt's text is great fun to read aloud. The rhymes roll off the tongue easily.

Don't miss this one!

Reviewed by the Education Oasis Staff ... Read more

Reviews (2)

This book IS a ballet class!
Great book! I don't know enough to teach my 4 year old ballet, so I narrate for her living room ballet class by reading the book aloud. I love the fact that it shows me how to pronounce the names of various ballet steps. Plus the descriptions of the steps are good enough that I can help her learn some. The flip book is a fun extra, but don't buy the book for that as it is hard for little hands to 'flip' the pages. Use ribbon to tie it together (with knot) so it's safe for younger kids too.

Very cute!
My four year old absolutely loves this book! She loves to try all the dance steps that Angelina and her friends are doing (and it's neat because it shows you how to do them.) There is also a tear-out section in the back from which my daughter was able to assemble a little book of her own. If you've got an Angelina fan, she'll enjoy this book! ... Read more

Book Description

An irrepressible dancing duck leaves his pond to find fame in the big city, but after receiving a Golden Duck Award he wants only to return to his family. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Duncan the Dancing Duck a Real Star!
A excellant childrens book! Duncan the duck lives on a farm untill his owners discover Duncans talent, dancing! Duncan begins to dance for audiences, TV camara's and more. He even win's the golden duck award. Thisbook has colorful pictues and big print. I recomend this book forkindergarden level. ... Read more

Book Description

Third in the acclaimed Tales of the People series, this tale of ayoung girl's first Butterfly Dance captures the spirit of Hopi culture.

With its bright, stylized illustrations and distinctive Native voice, this appealing book gives a vivid sense of stepping into another culture. It chronicles one important day seen through the eyes of a young Hopi girl named Sihumana, or "Flower Maiden," who is a member of the Rabbit Clan and winningly portrayed as a rabbit. After going with her grandfather to greet the sun and bless the day, Sihumana travels with her family to another village to take part in the traditional Butterfly Dance, performed late each summer in order to bring rain to the dry lands of the Southwest. The tale ends happily with the sound of rain on the roof and the promise of butterflies in the days to come.

28 illustrations, 18 in full color ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The Trickster Goes to Manhattan
Marty Kreipe de Montano has modernized one of the classic characters found in the oral tradition of many Native American cultures.

In this story, Coyote leaves the Potawatomi reservation and heads for the Big Apple, where he gets a job as Rodent Control Officer in the World Trade Center. But he never really gets used to living in Manhattan, with its noise and crowded streets. Homesick, he finds comfort in looking at the stars. One is so beautiful, he falls in love with her. They dance together in the sky. But he gets cold and lonely and begs the star to let him go. And so she does: for four days and nights, he tumbles to earth, where he lands in the middle of Central Park, creating what is now the reservoir. Now, when you hear the coyotes howling at night, know that they are hollering at the star which dropped their ancestor.

The charming illustrations are done by Tom Coffin. The author has also included several pages of information about the Potawatomi people (both she and Coffin are members of the Prairie Band Potawatomi). She also includes information on Coyote as trickster-hero. The story line of this book was adapted from the Klamath traditional tale of the origin of Crater Lake.

I recommend this book for young children. ... Read more

Book Description

It's fun to tell time as you dance around the clock!

Put on your dancing shoes and get ready to boogie! It's American Batstand - a twelve-hour rock and roll extravaganza with Click Dark as your host. Decked in go-go boots and bobby sox, the buoyant bats bebop their way around the clock. And there's a special guest appearance at the end!

With their swinging text and groovy illustrations, the creators of Bat Jamboree and Bats on Parade don't miss a beat when it comes to the basics. Telling time has never been so much fun!

Reviews (1)

Boogie oogie oogie
All night long the bats get down on American Batstand and at each hour the bats take up a different dance as Click Dark, their host, introduces a new tune. Children will love the sotry and feel absolutely brilliant once they've discovered that they can use this story to learn to tell time or help reinforce what they already know all on their own. ... Read more

Book Description

Bea always thought ballet was boring. But when she sees a performance of Cinderella, she really catches the ballet bug. Classes are hard at first, but she makes a good friend, Margaret, who helps her through-and soon it's time to try out for The Nutcracker. From auditions to rehearsals to the cranky costume ladies to the first performance, Bea and Margaret are having a ball . . . except for the horrible twin sisters who are jealous of Margaret's success. When Margaret gets a chance to dance the starring role, will the twins be able to stop her? Chock full of the authentic detail that ballet fans will love, and written with Christine McDonnell's keen ear for the problems and feelings of her readership, Ballet Bug is perfect for anyone who loves ballet . . . or simply loves a good story. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

WONDERFUL ARTWORK
I have just purchased a copy of ballet bug, mostly becuase of viewing the cover. THE SECOND GIRL ON THE COVER, THE TAN ONE, IS ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!! Not only is the writing good but the arwork is fantastiC!!!!!!! =) =) =D =D!!!!!!!!! That second girl on the cover was outstandingly gorgeous and i wish to see more of that character in other books. in fact, she should star in every single book out there! AH SHE IS BEAUTIOUS I CANT STAND IT!!!!!

Sincerely
sTelli fAdeKudis

About learning the real challenges of dance
Christine McDonnell's Ballet Bug tells of Bea, who thinks ballet is boring until a slumber party movie awakens her passion for dance. She enters a ballet class and learns the real challenges of dance as she struggles to catch up with her peers and faces a pair of vengeful twin competitors.

Ballet Bug
My 9 year old daughter never reads.I bought this book last week after "judging a book by its cover,"the illustrations were fabulous.She has not put it down since! Great book for young readers. ... Read more