Ballet Books
Lila Bloom
by Alexander Stadler
Ages 3 to 7
Lila has a bad day at school, and does not want to go to ballet class EVER AGAIN. Her aunt tells her that this afternoon can be her last class if she wants, so she announces in the dressing room that she will be quitting ballet. She sulks her way through the class, dancing like a piece of limp spaghetti. But when the teacher starts ignoring her bad dancing, and even ignores her when she tries hard, Lila realizes that dancing well takes away her bad mood. At the end of class, she tells Madam that she would like to join the Saturday class, also. This book works really well as a storytime book, with not too many words per page and plenty of white space.
Brontorina
by James Howe
illustrated by Randy Cecil
ages 3 to 6
Brontorina is a dinosaur who really wishes she were a ballerina. But she is too big and certainly has the wrong shoes. However, the teacher lets her take classes, even though she is too big for the studio. The class comes to realize that Brontorina isn’t too big for ballet; the studio is simply too small, and the whole class moves to the out-of-doors, and many dinosaurs (and cows) join the class.
Dance
by Bill T. Jones
photography by Susan Kuklin
ages 3 to 8
This book mixes free-form poetry about the pleasure of dancing with gorgeous images of modern dancer and choreographer Bill T. Jones defying gravity. It is a quick, non-narrative read.
A Dictionary of Dance
by Liz Murphy
ages 3-8
This book works both as an ABC storytime book of dance terms for the preschool set, if you skip the definitions, and as a basic dictionary with great images for the grade school set. The art is done in oil, and is uniquely stylized.
Honk! The Story of a Prima Swanerina
by Pamela Duncan Edwards
illustrated by Henry Cole
ages 5-8
Mimi is a swan who wants to be a ballerina. She spied a ballet through the Paris Opera House window one night and realized that all the ballerinas were doing an impression of her, and makes it her mission to see a ballet from the audience. However, as many ways as she tries to sneak in, her honk gives her away, and the manager kicks her out. However, as she sadly walks down the alley, she follows a girl in a swan tutu into the backstage area and finds herself onstage, dancing! She is the star of the show, and the manager insists that she dance with them again the next night. This book is a little on the long side, and a bit slow to start for the younger kids, but once it gets their attention, it maintains it.
Little Ballet Star
by Adele Geras
illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas
ages 3-5
Told in the first person, Tilly explains how on her birthday, she got to go backstage to see her ballerina Aunt Gina before a ballet, and not only got to put on makeup in the dressing room before, but also got to get up onstage after the show to do a special birthday dance. This is a magical wish-fulfillment book for the preschool set.
Ballet Sisters: The Newest Dancer
by Jan Ormerod
ages 3 to 7
This easy reader about a little sister following her big sister to ballet class and proving that she’s ready to join her own class works as a short storytime book for the preschool age or as an easy reader for beginning readers. The little kids can relate to the little sister and the easy readers can relate to the big sister, so it works perfectly both ways. There are others in the series.
One Ballerina Two
by Vivian French
illustrated by Jan Ormerod
ages 2 to 5
This counting book about two sisters dancing together works as a simple counting ballet book for the younger kids, but it has a funny quality for the older kids that helps it age up. The big sister does real ballet moves. The little sister’s pages are scrawled in crayon writing, and she does other sorts of dance moves.
Belinda Begins Ballet
by Amy Young
ages 3 to 7
Ever since Belinda was a baby, she had huge feet. These huge feet get her cast as a clown in the talent show, but Belinda doesn’t want to be a clown. She hid in the auditorium to get away from everyone, and she finds a beautiful ballet dancer in there. She is so enthralled that she begins dancing everywhere that she can. When she gets up to do her clown routine, she dances ballet instead.
Belinda the Ballerina
by Amy Young
ages 3-7
Belinda has grown up, but at her first major audition for a ballet, her big feet are laughed off the stage before she even gets to start dancing. She gets a job as a waitress, and everyone thinks she is quite nimble on her feet. When a band starts playing at the restaurant, and she starts dancing, people start taking notice. Eventually, the restaurant is packed with people wanting to see Belinda dance, and she gets cast in a real ballet.
On Your Toes: A Ballet ABC
by Rachel Isadora
ages 3 to 5
This beautifully illustrated ABC book shows different dance terms for each letter of the alphabet. The author/illustrator grew up as a professional child ballerina, and it really is reflected in book.
My Ballet Class
by Rachel Isadora
ages 3 to 5
This mostly pen and ink drawn book is the simple story of a girl going to ballet class, and what happens there. It isn’t terribly interesting to the adult reader, but it is a good primer for beginning students about what they should expect out of ballet class.
Miss Tutu’s Star
by Leslea Newman
illustrated by Carey Armstrong-Ellis
ages 3 to 6
This book in rhyme tells the story of Selena, a girl who loves to dance, but isn’t the most graceful when she first begins ballet. However, Miss Tutu tells her that she has guts for trying things that sometimes make her fall down, and eventually she stops falling so often, and becomes the star of the show! This is a great mid-length book that tells a narrative, but with only a couplet per page.
Ballerina!
by Peter Sis
ages 2 to 5
This short book shows mostly ink outlines of Terry, who loves to dance, and becomes grand dance characters whenever she puts on her different colored costume bits. The images of what Terry actually looks like and what she looks like in her head really bring this color concepts book to life.
Busy Toes
by CW Bowie
illustrated by Fred Willingham
ages 2-4
While not a dance book primarily, this book tells all the different ways toes can be, and dancing toes are one of them. (And the front cover image has dancing toes.) It’s a fun little book that kids really grab onto.
The Straight Line Wonder
by Mem Fox
illustrated by Marc Rosenthal
ages 3 to 10
While not about ballet, this book is creative movement done right. A straight line doesn’t want to be straight: he would rather jump in humps, twirl in whirls, point his joints, creep in heaps, and spring in rings. His friends reject him for this, but one day a Hollywood producer spots him and makes him famous. This works as a storytime book for the younger kids and as a read out loud while kids dance the movements through all of elementary school, if not into middle school.
Ballerino Nate
by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
illustrated by R.W. Alley
ages 4 to 8
First grader Nate sees a ballet with his school, and wants, more than anything, to dance. His older brother Ben who knows everything about everything, tells him that boys can’t be ballerinas: ballerinas wear pink dresses and are girls. Nate proves him wrong by going to ballet class, but still has his doubts until his mother takes him to a professional ballet, and he meets a male dancer who aspires to being a Ballerino one day.
James the Dancing Dog
by Linda Maybarduk
illustrated by Gillian Johnson
ages 4 to 8
James is the Beagle who lives at the National Ballet of Canada. He loves watching all the dancers practice and he loves the ballet, but more than anything, he wants to dance. When they are looking to cast a dog in their next ballet, he is disappointed that they choose a Irish Wolfhound instead. But when the wolfhound gets stage fright, James takes his chance.
I Am a Dancer
by Pat Lowery Collins
illustrated by Mark Graham
ages 3 to 5
This simple storytime book is full of abstract oil paintings of kids moving and dancing in their backyard. The simple descriptive poetry matches the images in a calm and graceful way.
I am a Ballerina
by Maria Espluga
ages 3 to 6
This book is a little small in format for storytime, but the images are bright and the text is simple and absorbing. A girl dreams of swallowing her shyness and becoming a dancer in every famous ballet she knows about, shown by images in a playroom ballet stage she has in her room.
The Barefoot Book of Ballet Stories
by Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple
illustrated by Rebecca Guay
ages 5 to 15
This beautifully illustrated storybook retells Coppelia, Swan Lake, Cinderella, The Nutcracker, Shim Chung, The Sleeping Beauty, and Daphnis and Chloe, all in good read out loud language, if a little flowery at times. The only drawbacks are that this book has a version of the Nutcracker that ascribes to the “It was all a dream” version of the story and its lack of Giselle. It also has a history of each ballet before the retelling of the story. Excellent to read to students or children before they watch each ballet.
Stories from the Classical Ballet
by Belinda Hollyer
This book contains retellings of La Bayadere, Coppelia, The Firebird, Giselle, The Nutcracker, Petroushka, The Sleeping Beauty, and Swan Lake. It lacks illustrations and the large format of the other version, as well as Jane Yolen’s words, but I prefer its take on The Nutcracker, and mostly it has totally different ballets.
by Alexander Stadler
Ages 3 to 7
Lila has a bad day at school, and does not want to go to ballet class EVER AGAIN. Her aunt tells her that this afternoon can be her last class if she wants, so she announces in the dressing room that she will be quitting ballet. She sulks her way through the class, dancing like a piece of limp spaghetti. But when the teacher starts ignoring her bad dancing, and even ignores her when she tries hard, Lila realizes that dancing well takes away her bad mood. At the end of class, she tells Madam that she would like to join the Saturday class, also. This book works really well as a storytime book, with not too many words per page and plenty of white space.
Brontorina
by James Howe
illustrated by Randy Cecil
ages 3 to 6
Brontorina is a dinosaur who really wishes she were a ballerina. But she is too big and certainly has the wrong shoes. However, the teacher lets her take classes, even though she is too big for the studio. The class comes to realize that Brontorina isn’t too big for ballet; the studio is simply too small, and the whole class moves to the out-of-doors, and many dinosaurs (and cows) join the class.
Dance
by Bill T. Jones
photography by Susan Kuklin
ages 3 to 8
This book mixes free-form poetry about the pleasure of dancing with gorgeous images of modern dancer and choreographer Bill T. Jones defying gravity. It is a quick, non-narrative read.
A Dictionary of Dance
by Liz Murphy
ages 3-8
This book works both as an ABC storytime book of dance terms for the preschool set, if you skip the definitions, and as a basic dictionary with great images for the grade school set. The art is done in oil, and is uniquely stylized.
Honk! The Story of a Prima Swanerina
by Pamela Duncan Edwards
illustrated by Henry Cole
ages 5-8
Mimi is a swan who wants to be a ballerina. She spied a ballet through the Paris Opera House window one night and realized that all the ballerinas were doing an impression of her, and makes it her mission to see a ballet from the audience. However, as many ways as she tries to sneak in, her honk gives her away, and the manager kicks her out. However, as she sadly walks down the alley, she follows a girl in a swan tutu into the backstage area and finds herself onstage, dancing! She is the star of the show, and the manager insists that she dance with them again the next night. This book is a little on the long side, and a bit slow to start for the younger kids, but once it gets their attention, it maintains it.
Little Ballet Star
by Adele Geras
illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas
ages 3-5
Told in the first person, Tilly explains how on her birthday, she got to go backstage to see her ballerina Aunt Gina before a ballet, and not only got to put on makeup in the dressing room before, but also got to get up onstage after the show to do a special birthday dance. This is a magical wish-fulfillment book for the preschool set.
Ballet Sisters: The Newest Dancer
by Jan Ormerod
ages 3 to 7
This easy reader about a little sister following her big sister to ballet class and proving that she’s ready to join her own class works as a short storytime book for the preschool age or as an easy reader for beginning readers. The little kids can relate to the little sister and the easy readers can relate to the big sister, so it works perfectly both ways. There are others in the series.
One Ballerina Two
by Vivian French
illustrated by Jan Ormerod
ages 2 to 5
This counting book about two sisters dancing together works as a simple counting ballet book for the younger kids, but it has a funny quality for the older kids that helps it age up. The big sister does real ballet moves. The little sister’s pages are scrawled in crayon writing, and she does other sorts of dance moves.
Belinda Begins Ballet
by Amy Young
ages 3 to 7
Ever since Belinda was a baby, she had huge feet. These huge feet get her cast as a clown in the talent show, but Belinda doesn’t want to be a clown. She hid in the auditorium to get away from everyone, and she finds a beautiful ballet dancer in there. She is so enthralled that she begins dancing everywhere that she can. When she gets up to do her clown routine, she dances ballet instead.
Belinda the Ballerina
by Amy Young
ages 3-7
Belinda has grown up, but at her first major audition for a ballet, her big feet are laughed off the stage before she even gets to start dancing. She gets a job as a waitress, and everyone thinks she is quite nimble on her feet. When a band starts playing at the restaurant, and she starts dancing, people start taking notice. Eventually, the restaurant is packed with people wanting to see Belinda dance, and she gets cast in a real ballet.
On Your Toes: A Ballet ABC
by Rachel Isadora
ages 3 to 5
This beautifully illustrated ABC book shows different dance terms for each letter of the alphabet. The author/illustrator grew up as a professional child ballerina, and it really is reflected in book.
My Ballet Class
by Rachel Isadora
ages 3 to 5
This mostly pen and ink drawn book is the simple story of a girl going to ballet class, and what happens there. It isn’t terribly interesting to the adult reader, but it is a good primer for beginning students about what they should expect out of ballet class.
Miss Tutu’s Star
by Leslea Newman
illustrated by Carey Armstrong-Ellis
ages 3 to 6
This book in rhyme tells the story of Selena, a girl who loves to dance, but isn’t the most graceful when she first begins ballet. However, Miss Tutu tells her that she has guts for trying things that sometimes make her fall down, and eventually she stops falling so often, and becomes the star of the show! This is a great mid-length book that tells a narrative, but with only a couplet per page.
Ballerina!
by Peter Sis
ages 2 to 5
This short book shows mostly ink outlines of Terry, who loves to dance, and becomes grand dance characters whenever she puts on her different colored costume bits. The images of what Terry actually looks like and what she looks like in her head really bring this color concepts book to life.
Busy Toes
by CW Bowie
illustrated by Fred Willingham
ages 2-4
While not a dance book primarily, this book tells all the different ways toes can be, and dancing toes are one of them. (And the front cover image has dancing toes.) It’s a fun little book that kids really grab onto.
The Straight Line Wonder
by Mem Fox
illustrated by Marc Rosenthal
ages 3 to 10
While not about ballet, this book is creative movement done right. A straight line doesn’t want to be straight: he would rather jump in humps, twirl in whirls, point his joints, creep in heaps, and spring in rings. His friends reject him for this, but one day a Hollywood producer spots him and makes him famous. This works as a storytime book for the younger kids and as a read out loud while kids dance the movements through all of elementary school, if not into middle school.
Ballerino Nate
by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley
illustrated by R.W. Alley
ages 4 to 8
First grader Nate sees a ballet with his school, and wants, more than anything, to dance. His older brother Ben who knows everything about everything, tells him that boys can’t be ballerinas: ballerinas wear pink dresses and are girls. Nate proves him wrong by going to ballet class, but still has his doubts until his mother takes him to a professional ballet, and he meets a male dancer who aspires to being a Ballerino one day.
James the Dancing Dog
by Linda Maybarduk
illustrated by Gillian Johnson
ages 4 to 8
James is the Beagle who lives at the National Ballet of Canada. He loves watching all the dancers practice and he loves the ballet, but more than anything, he wants to dance. When they are looking to cast a dog in their next ballet, he is disappointed that they choose a Irish Wolfhound instead. But when the wolfhound gets stage fright, James takes his chance.
I Am a Dancer
by Pat Lowery Collins
illustrated by Mark Graham
ages 3 to 5
This simple storytime book is full of abstract oil paintings of kids moving and dancing in their backyard. The simple descriptive poetry matches the images in a calm and graceful way.
I am a Ballerina
by Maria Espluga
ages 3 to 6
This book is a little small in format for storytime, but the images are bright and the text is simple and absorbing. A girl dreams of swallowing her shyness and becoming a dancer in every famous ballet she knows about, shown by images in a playroom ballet stage she has in her room.
The Barefoot Book of Ballet Stories
by Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple
illustrated by Rebecca Guay
ages 5 to 15
This beautifully illustrated storybook retells Coppelia, Swan Lake, Cinderella, The Nutcracker, Shim Chung, The Sleeping Beauty, and Daphnis and Chloe, all in good read out loud language, if a little flowery at times. The only drawbacks are that this book has a version of the Nutcracker that ascribes to the “It was all a dream” version of the story and its lack of Giselle. It also has a history of each ballet before the retelling of the story. Excellent to read to students or children before they watch each ballet.
Stories from the Classical Ballet
by Belinda Hollyer
This book contains retellings of La Bayadere, Coppelia, The Firebird, Giselle, The Nutcracker, Petroushka, The Sleeping Beauty, and Swan Lake. It lacks illustrations and the large format of the other version, as well as Jane Yolen’s words, but I prefer its take on The Nutcracker, and mostly it has totally different ballets.