The Horn Book Guide

PICTURE BOOKS

Kent, Allegra

Ballerina Swan

32 pp. | Holiday | April, 2012 | Trade ISBN 978-0-8234-2373-6 $16.95

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully. Sophie the swan tries to join a class of young ballet dancers but is shooed away. Later, a more open-minded teacher welcomes her to class; eventually Sophie earns a part in Swan Lake. McCully captures Sophie's yearning to dance in ballerina Kent's satisfying success story. Readers will appreciate the tale's acknowledgment that while some things come easily to Sophie, others do not.

Reviewer: Jennifer M. Brabander | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2012