A Dance Like Starlight: One Ballerina's Dream
Kristy Dempsey, illustrated by Floyd Cooper (A Beach Tail)
ISBN: 9780399252846
Lyrical text and dreamlike sepia-textured scenes show the inspiration of Janet Collins in 1951.
This is a perfect pairing for Firebird, and I foresee an influx of beautiful black ballerinas in years to come, inspired by these two lovely books. (I'm already doing a storytime with these two and Amazing Grace - it's just too perfect not to.)
A young girl stands in the wings and imagines dancing along with the ballet corps, while her seamstress mother creates the fantastic ballet costumes for the dancers. A sympathetic dancing master, and a mother determined to inspire her child bring them to the Met for the debut of Janet Collins dancing - four years before Marian Anderson's debut.
Again, the storyline is beautiful, and the racial issues, while apparent and clear, aren't judgmental or vindictive. The entire work is hopeful and joyful, and I hope that it inspires others to reach for their dreams and to take courage from those who have gone before.
Showing posts with label ballet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ballet. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Tuesday Storytime: African American Dancing Dreams
Chalk another one down for my absurdly specific storytime themes!
It's not my fault, really. I ordered Firebird, and then A Dance Like Starlight came through as a new addition the same week, and I've loved Amazing Grace since forever (blame Reading Rainbow).
We started with Amazing Grace, because that one really is at the length-limit for my age-group, then I put Firebird in the middle, and A Dance Like Starlight at the end. The entire storytime was a little on the long side, but they all went together so well that I felt it was worth it. I did end up "abridging" Amazing Grace and Dance Like Starlight a little bit on the fly.
Amazing Grace
Mary Hoffman, illustrated by Caroline Binch
ISBN: 0803710402
Classic Reading Rainbow book about sexism, racism, and the power of acceptance.
Grace is an imaginative, dramatic girl who loves to act out stories. When her teachers decides to do a class performance of Peter Pan, Grace wants to be Peter - but her classmates disagree - she can't be Peter because she's a girl, and she can't be Peter because she's black. Her mother and grandmother disagree, and take her out to see a beautiful black ballerina performing in Romeo and Juliet. Grace learns her lines, auditions with her whole soul, and the whole class ends up agreeing that she will be a perfect Peter Pan. The final image of her in her costume is one of my favorite illustrations in a picture book.
Firebird
Misty Copeland, illustrated by Christopher Myers
ISBN: 9780399166150
Reviewed here,
I liked how it was so conceptually different from Amazing Grace, and the way the art and colors are so vivid and wild and surreal, but at the same time, very clear and understandable.
A Dance Like Starlight
Kristy Dempsey, illustrated by Floyd Cooper (A Beach Tail)
ISBN: 9780399252846
Reviewed here.
The sepia tones in this story felt much more drab compared to Firebird and Amazing Grace, but I don't think it detracted from the story. The text doesn't seem very long on the page, but when reading, it goes a lot more slowly, and it isn't very intuitive and flowing (at least it wasn't for me). I ended up eliding or abridging sections, especially because it was the last book and the wiggle-worms were out in full force.
It's not my fault, really. I ordered Firebird, and then A Dance Like Starlight came through as a new addition the same week, and I've loved Amazing Grace since forever (blame Reading Rainbow).
We started with Amazing Grace, because that one really is at the length-limit for my age-group, then I put Firebird in the middle, and A Dance Like Starlight at the end. The entire storytime was a little on the long side, but they all went together so well that I felt it was worth it. I did end up "abridging" Amazing Grace and Dance Like Starlight a little bit on the fly.
Amazing Grace
Mary Hoffman, illustrated by Caroline Binch
ISBN: 0803710402
Classic Reading Rainbow book about sexism, racism, and the power of acceptance.
Grace is an imaginative, dramatic girl who loves to act out stories. When her teachers decides to do a class performance of Peter Pan, Grace wants to be Peter - but her classmates disagree - she can't be Peter because she's a girl, and she can't be Peter because she's black. Her mother and grandmother disagree, and take her out to see a beautiful black ballerina performing in Romeo and Juliet. Grace learns her lines, auditions with her whole soul, and the whole class ends up agreeing that she will be a perfect Peter Pan. The final image of her in her costume is one of my favorite illustrations in a picture book.
Firebird
Misty Copeland, illustrated by Christopher Myers
ISBN: 9780399166150
Reviewed here,
I liked how it was so conceptually different from Amazing Grace, and the way the art and colors are so vivid and wild and surreal, but at the same time, very clear and understandable.
A Dance Like Starlight
Kristy Dempsey, illustrated by Floyd Cooper (A Beach Tail)
ISBN: 9780399252846
Reviewed here.
The sepia tones in this story felt much more drab compared to Firebird and Amazing Grace, but I don't think it detracted from the story. The text doesn't seem very long on the page, but when reading, it goes a lot more slowly, and it isn't very intuitive and flowing (at least it wasn't for me). I ended up eliding or abridging sections, especially because it was the last book and the wiggle-worms were out in full force.
Monday, December 29, 2014
New Picture Book: Firebird, Misty Copeland & Christopher Myers
Firebird
Misty Copeland, illustrated by Christopher Myers
ISBN: 9780399166150
Chunky, vivid, textural collage highlights an aspirational story of dance and dreams.
Misty Copeland is a ballerina, an African-American ballerina, a GREAT ballerina. She came late to dance, and had many moments of doubt and hardship along the way (A Life in Motion). In this picture book, she contrasts the vulnerability and fear of a young dancer with the pride and accomplishment of a career ballerina. Misty dances through the pages as a professional, most notably in her role as the Firebird, but the focus is on a younger dancer, who is discouraged by the lack of role-models who look like her, who know her background, who feel her isolation. By focusing on the student, Misty can offer herself as an example, a role-model, and a potential mentor without coming across as preachy or holier-than-thou.
Lots of celebrities and activists try to create picture books, but they often go horribly wrong. While this isn't a masterpiece, it's a solid and inspiring read, and I'm glad to add it to our collection. I look forward to using it in a storytime about mentors, dancing, or inspiration.
Misty Copeland, illustrated by Christopher Myers
ISBN: 9780399166150
Chunky, vivid, textural collage highlights an aspirational story of dance and dreams.
Misty Copeland is a ballerina, an African-American ballerina, a GREAT ballerina. She came late to dance, and had many moments of doubt and hardship along the way (A Life in Motion). In this picture book, she contrasts the vulnerability and fear of a young dancer with the pride and accomplishment of a career ballerina. Misty dances through the pages as a professional, most notably in her role as the Firebird, but the focus is on a younger dancer, who is discouraged by the lack of role-models who look like her, who know her background, who feel her isolation. By focusing on the student, Misty can offer herself as an example, a role-model, and a potential mentor without coming across as preachy or holier-than-thou.
Lots of celebrities and activists try to create picture books, but they often go horribly wrong. While this isn't a masterpiece, it's a solid and inspiring read, and I'm glad to add it to our collection. I look forward to using it in a storytime about mentors, dancing, or inspiration.
Monday, September 29, 2014
New Picture Books! Deer Dancer, by Mary Lyn Ray & Lauren Stringer
Oh what a pretty book.
Deer Dancer
Mary Lyn Ray, illustrated by Lauren Stringer (this duo also did my favorite Red Rubber Boot Day)
ISBN: 9781442434219
This is such a sweet book. A girl practices her dancing in a woodland glade, and is delighted when a deer stops by. After a ballet class doesn't go as well as she would like, she's back to the glade to practice, and an impromptu pas-de-deux blossoms between the two dancers in this magical space they share.
I'm not quite as thrilled with this one as with Red Rubber Boot Day, but it is beautiful and lyrical and expressive and filled with green growing life and joy. Should be lovely for storytime with Miss Lina's Ballerinas (Grace MacCarone & Christine Davenier, ISBN: 9780312382438) and either Amazing Grace (Mary Hoffman & Caroline Binch, ISBN: 9780803710405) or Dancing in the Wings.
Deer Dancer
Mary Lyn Ray, illustrated by Lauren Stringer (this duo also did my favorite Red Rubber Boot Day)
ISBN: 9781442434219
This is such a sweet book. A girl practices her dancing in a woodland glade, and is delighted when a deer stops by. After a ballet class doesn't go as well as she would like, she's back to the glade to practice, and an impromptu pas-de-deux blossoms between the two dancers in this magical space they share.
I'm not quite as thrilled with this one as with Red Rubber Boot Day, but it is beautiful and lyrical and expressive and filled with green growing life and joy. Should be lovely for storytime with Miss Lina's Ballerinas (Grace MacCarone & Christine Davenier, ISBN: 9780312382438) and either Amazing Grace (Mary Hoffman & Caroline Binch, ISBN: 9780803710405) or Dancing in the Wings.
Friday, June 27, 2014
American Girl: Isabelle, Designs by Isabelle, To the Stars Isabelle, by Laurence Yep
American Girl's 2014 Doll of the Year is Isabelle, and while I've never owned an American Girl doll (I wish I had that kind of money) I am always very impressed with the books that go along with them.
Isabelle is a ballet dancer living in Washington DC with her older sister (also a ballerina) and her museum-curator/fabric-artist mother and hospital administrator/jazz-musician father. Despite her skills in costume and fashion design, Isabelle feels like she's shadowed by the dancing talent of her older sister Jade, and also struggles with a classmate who is prickly and meanspirited.
All read June 25, 2014
Isabelle
ISBN: 9781609583712
Introduces the character as she practices for a school recital, performing choreography that is proving difficult to master.
Designs by Isabelle
ISBN: 9781609583729
Chosen as part of the cast of a modern-day Nutcracker, Isabelle helps her older sister adjust to a growth spurt, and uses her design talents to help improve the costumes, but her own part in the show is causing her trouble.
To the Stars, Isabelle
ISBN: 9781609583736
After mastering her role in the Nutcracker, Isabelle is thrilled when her dance idol chooses her as part of a small outreach program to perform in nursing homes and hospitals, but performing in impromptu locations proves to be a challenge, and Isabelle needs her sister Jade's support to feel inspired.
These three are written by the award-winning (and very good) author Laurence Yep, and he does a very good job within the obvious strictures of the extremely socially-conscious American Girl framework. With him at the helm, obviously-included mentions and characters almost seem like grace-notes, and less like a rigid requirement. Doubtful that younger readers will even notice, making these nearly-seamless inclusions even more important.
Isabelle is a ballet dancer living in Washington DC with her older sister (also a ballerina) and her museum-curator/fabric-artist mother and hospital administrator/jazz-musician father. Despite her skills in costume and fashion design, Isabelle feels like she's shadowed by the dancing talent of her older sister Jade, and also struggles with a classmate who is prickly and meanspirited.
All read June 25, 2014
Isabelle
ISBN: 9781609583712
Introduces the character as she practices for a school recital, performing choreography that is proving difficult to master.
Designs by Isabelle
ISBN: 9781609583729
Chosen as part of the cast of a modern-day Nutcracker, Isabelle helps her older sister adjust to a growth spurt, and uses her design talents to help improve the costumes, but her own part in the show is causing her trouble.
To the Stars, Isabelle
ISBN: 9781609583736
After mastering her role in the Nutcracker, Isabelle is thrilled when her dance idol chooses her as part of a small outreach program to perform in nursing homes and hospitals, but performing in impromptu locations proves to be a challenge, and Isabelle needs her sister Jade's support to feel inspired.
These three are written by the award-winning (and very good) author Laurence Yep, and he does a very good job within the obvious strictures of the extremely socially-conscious American Girl framework. With him at the helm, obviously-included mentions and characters almost seem like grace-notes, and less like a rigid requirement. Doubtful that younger readers will even notice, making these nearly-seamless inclusions even more important.
Monday, June 23, 2014
Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina, Misty Copeland (with Charisse Jones)
Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina, My Story of Adversity and Grace
Misty Copeland (ghostwriter/assist Charisse Jones)
ISBN: 9781476737980
Read June 22, 2014
Nonfiction: memoir of a modern African American ballerina with the American Ballet Theatre.
Either Misty or Charisse has a very personable "voice" for this memoir of a young girl who discovered her true calling in ballet. The story flows well, her love of dance and movement is clear, as is her love of her family and friends. The latter is especially evident in the care taken in describing flawed or abusive relatives.
Not much insight into the world of ballet, but lots of insight into this one woman's life as she grows and matures.
Misty Copeland (ghostwriter/assist Charisse Jones)
ISBN: 9781476737980
Read June 22, 2014
Nonfiction: memoir of a modern African American ballerina with the American Ballet Theatre.
Either Misty or Charisse has a very personable "voice" for this memoir of a young girl who discovered her true calling in ballet. The story flows well, her love of dance and movement is clear, as is her love of her family and friends. The latter is especially evident in the care taken in describing flawed or abusive relatives.
Not much insight into the world of ballet, but lots of insight into this one woman's life as she grows and matures.
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