Dance (Intermediate)

(3) 4-6 In brief free-verse chapters, Izzy (Izzy Kline Has Butterflies) narrates particular moments from her first year of middle school. Changes and challenges, all handled lightly, abound: friendships shift, Izzy's ballroom dance partner is an arch-rival, her mother gets involved with a woman, and she develops a crush on a Spanish exchange student. Angsty but resilient, Izzy is an appealing character with relatable experiences.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Cathy Gendron. Barton's folksy text introduces three Utah brothers, all dancers, who eventually teamed up at the San Francisco Ballet to present the first U.S. production of The Nutcracker, on Christmas Eve 1944. Gendron's art effectively reproduces traditional ballet poses and makes the most of the large trim size. Good for sharing with children after seeing a performance of The Nutcracker.

Reviewer: Lolly Robinson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2015

(3) 4-6 In Alan Cole Is Not a Coward, Alan came out as gay to his classmates but not his parents. Now, he'll only be allowed to apply to an art academy if he takes Dad's boss's daughter to a middle-school dance; he also faces bullying and navigates a crush. This accessible, funny novel is honest about challenges queer kids may face while still giving them a hopeful ending.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(2) 4-6 The Penderwick series finale is a summertime reverie set at the Arundel estate where it all began fifteen years before. With soon-to-be-married eldest sibling Rosalind and middle sisters Skye, Jane, and Batty (mostly) grown-up, likable youngest half-sister Lydia, a dancer, takes center stage. Although fans will be sad to say goodbye, they'll be content to see the Penderwicks go "prancing, leaping, gamboling into the future."

Reviewer: Monica Edinger | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2018

(3) 1-3 Illustrated by Angela Dominguez. In this third book, Lola is skeptical of pink-clad new girl Bella; they obviously have nothing in common. But some parental-arranged play dates have Lola trying ballet, Bella joining Lola on the soccer field, and the girls bonding over their Latina heritage. Lola's fans will applaud her trying something new and making a friend in the process. Black-and-white illustrations, diary entries, and letters are sprinkled throughout.

Reviewer: Kari Allen

(2) YA Growing up in a low-income housing project, thirteen-year-old friends and dancers Mila and Tai have always trusted each other. After living with her aunt for a summer, Mila seems to care only about auditioning for a new gifted arts program. But Tai's not the only one who's been hurt, and eventually Mila reveals her secret. Readers will root for both young women as they tell their stories in memorable alternating voices.

Reviewer: Eboni Njoku | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2018

(2) 4-6 The crew from the Cove (So Done, rev. 7/18; Dough Boys, rev. 7/19) is back, and best friends Rasheeda "Sheeda" Tate and Monique "Mo" Jenkins are the featured duo this go-round. Having declared it "the Lonely Summer," Sheeda is sad to lose Mo to a prestigious three-week ballet camp; her only options for a social life are the church acquaintances her strict aunt keeps shoving her toward or bossy, opinionated neighborhood friend Tai. A third option suddenly becomes available when Mo's older brother makes it known he'd like to be more than friends. Meanwhile, Mo, although aware that her brother is trying to run some "weak game" with her best friend, has other concerns. Without having a "typical" ballet body, and as one of the only Black dancers at camp, she faces additional scrutiny in order to prove she's worthy of both the intensive summer training and an invitation to join the ballet school year-round. Empathetic to the ambiguities of Black girlhood, and to adolescence in general, Chase moves effortlessly between Sheeda and Mo's alternating chapters, as they go forward with a better understanding of themselves and each other. Readers will root for Sheeda and Mo's friendship from beginning to end. While the full dynamics of various characters and relationships are made clearer in the previous two books, this novel is a solid standalone.

Reviewer: Eboni Njoku | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2021

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Mark Siegel. This special edition of the graphic memoir about Cherson Siegel's youth as a School of American Ballet student effectively embodies ballet's paradox: every moment of seeming effortlessness on stage is the product of years of grueling work. Softened outlines and delicately hued watercolor washes depict young Siena's long-cherished dream and the ethereal-looking dancers; extended, well-paced panel sequences convey training's tedium and immense physical toll. A spacious redesigned layout heightens the emotional effect. Six new pages of photos and ephemera are appended.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2006; November, 2019

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Salena Barnes. "Passing down history and knowledge from one generation to the next is a tradition deeply rooted in both the Black experience and ballet." Copeland shines a spotlight on twenty-seven Black ballerinas who have inspired her, mentored her, and paved the way for her professional ballet career. Accompanied by a full-page portrait of the dancer in motion (rendered in what looks like ink and watercolor), each one-page essay focuses on the realities of being Black in a "very white ballet world" while discussing the subject's career highlights, struggles, and legacy. Copeland's personal reflections give the collection an intimate perspective.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(3) 4-6 With Brandy Colbert. In this adaptation of her adult autobiography, Copeland chronicles her path to becoming a principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre--the first-ever African American ballerina to achieve that distinction. Engaging prose frankly details obstacles to her hard-won success: poverty, family strife, body shame, injury, and, most significantly, racism. An inspiring, approachable memoir of an extraordinary dancer committed to making ballet accessible to all.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher

(2) 4-6 "My ballet studio has always been my sanctuary." In October, twelve-year-old Maisie ­suffered a devastating knee injury and subsequent ACL surgery. Now it's February, and with hard work and physical therapy she has been cleared to go on a winter-break hiking trip to Washington's Olympic Peninsula with her parents and younger brother. Maisie's family is Native--her mom is Makah; her father, who has passed away, was Piscataway; her stepfather, Jack, is an enrolled citizen of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe and eager for their journey to the Elwha River. On vacation, Maisie, in a rush to prove her recovery and without dealing with the emotional fallout from her surgery, reinjures herself. The story takes place primarily over the course of four days, during which we get to know Maisie's family uncommonly well through quotidian details and worldview-encompassing conversations; secondary characters, too, are nuanced and vividly drawn. Maisie's pain is specific to her experience while being relatable to many readers going through big life changes. Her alienation, denial, and despair make her eventual opening up feel cathartic and narratively earned. The Pacific Northwest setting is atmospherically described and indicative of this Native blended family's formative experiences. An appended author's note provides more details about the Native history touched on in the story.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2021

(2) 4-6 Photographs by Mary Dowdle. This photo-essay follows young Boston Ballet student Fiona as she auditions for the role of Clara in The Nutcracker, wins the part, and prepares for her performance. Crisp color photographs document the ballet company onstage and behind the scenes. Young dancers will be entranced by the rehearsal, costuming, and staging details; Nutcracker fans will treasure this intimate view of a holiday tradition.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2012

(2) 4-6 The only thing standing between Lupe Wong and her chance to meet fellow Chinacan (or is it Mexinese?) Fu Li Hernandez, "the first Asian/Latino pitcher in the major leagues," is an A in PE class. But for seventh graders at Issaquah Middle School, that means square dancing. Lupe, always willing to fight for a cause, is determined to cancel what she sees as both an obstacle and an outdated tradition. Unfortunately, she ends up alienating her two best friends (not to mention the rest of the class) in the process. Now Lupe has to decide which causes are worth fighting for and what she's willing to sacrifice to do the right thing. Ultimately, her efforts both raise awareness of the racist history of the song "Turkey in the Straw" and make room for more than one kind of dancing at Issaquah's first annual Family Celebration of Cultures Night. As Lupe observes, "Some of us aren't even from here. And some of us were right here before this country existed. But none of us are any better than the other." Issues of identity, equity, and inclusion are explored with humor and heart in Higuera's debut, and readers will cheer right along with Lupe's family and friends when she, accompanied by Fu Li, promenades all the way to the pitcher's mound.

Reviewer: Anamaría Anderson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2020

(3) 4-6 Princess DisGrace series. Illustrated by Kimberley Scott. In her second term at Tall Towers Princess Academy, awkward and accident-prone Grace is reluctantly preparing for a class ballet performance. The discovery of a baby dragon leads kindhearted Grace--with the help of a young servant girl--to save both the dragon and the show. Grace's princess-school dramas, humorously depicted in the generous black-and-white illustrations, have sure appeal for princess-obsessed readers.

Reviewer: Nancy Sheridan

(1) 4-6 Merci navigates the troubles of home and seventh grade--and the gap between the two--with her irresistible combination of spirit and heart in this follow-up to the Newbery-winning Merci Suárez Changes Gears (rev. 9/18). Though she seems more self-assured these days, Merci resents the many changes taking place around her: her brother Roli away at college, Lolo's deteriorating condition, ­Hannah's growing friendship with Merci's archenemy, and the growing confusion surrounding new friend Wilson. At the annual "Heart Ball" school dance, Merci only wants to participate from the place she has the most confidence and control--behind the camera--but even that goes awry. Vibrant and insightful, the novel explores the complexities of friendship and family as well as first romance. All the while, Merci stays busy getting herself into trouble and finding her way out of it again. Her relationships at school strengthen, to mirror the bonds she has with her family at home, and when school and home lives merge, Merci discovers the best way to manage change is with a bit of bravery, a welcoming attitude, and people you trust. And by the end of this funny, heartwarming book, Merci does dance--with family and friends, on an intimidating stage at her exclusive private school in the first performance of the new Suárez School of Latin Dance.

Reviewer: Julie Roach | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2021

(3) 1-3 Stepping Stone: Isadora Moon series. While on a field trip to the ballet, Isadora loses her magical stuffed bunny. Her search brings Isadora face-to-face with her idol, Tatiana Tutu--who happens to need an understudy for the show. Pink-accented grayscale illustrations play up the humorous contrast between half-fairy, half-vampire Isadora's wacky family and her human school friends, and they communicate Isadora's total comfort in being her one-of-a-kind self.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher

(2) 4-6 Fifth grader Sofía is proud of her Cuban American heritage and of her family's reputation in the ballet world: her parents danced with the Ballet Nacional de Cuba; her sister, Regina, is on a path to the American Ballet Theatre; and her little brother, Manuel, plays Fritz every year in The Nutcracker. Sofía dances, too, but her passions are more in visual arts and costume design. The Acostas are famous for their openness and generosity; their home is known as the Acosta Accordion "because sometimes it's just my family, like an accordion smooshed to the smallest setting. Sometimes the accordion expands and we have my parents' friends or relatives or a million of Manuel's and Regina's friends over. That's the biggest setting." When friends from Cuba come to visit--the ballet-dancer son is guest-performing a tribute to Alicia Alonso--Sofía learns more about her background while complicating what she already knows about her family, her closest friendships, geo-politics, the arts, and what makes a home. Sofía's voice is authentically tweenlike, as are the conclusions she draws and the realizations she makes; Spanish is naturally incorporated into the dialogue. In the Acostas, Otheguy has created a close-knit family whose warmth, kindness, and openhearted honesty will both educate readers (about the ballet world and Cuban history) and welcome them in.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2022

(3) YA Destitute, orphaned Danny and Kathleen O'Carolan emigrate from Ireland to New York City during the Civil War. To stay together, older sibling Kathleen forces twelve-year-old Danny to pose as a girl so he can avoid being conscripted into the army and the two can get jobs as housemaids. A strong sense of time and place carries this novel through to its optimistic denouement.

Reviewer: Betty Carter

(3) 4-6 Edgar Degas's ballet-inspired sketches, paintings, and sculptures fill Rubin's handsome book about the artist's fascination with ballet. Brief but detailed text about Degas's life and artistry accompany each artwork, giving readers a closer look into his process. The book also contains compelling glimpses into the Paris Opéra, and what the ballet students thought of the artist who was often in their studio. Extensive back matter adds value. Bib., glos.

Reviewer: Mariko Turk

(2) 4-6 Through this linked anthology by seventeen contributors, readers experience "What Is a Powwow?" (the title of Kim Rogers's opening poem), as characters converge in Ann Arbor, Michigan, for the Dance for Mother Earth Powwow. Rory begins to heal from his father's abusive words and embrace his Indigenous heritage ("Fancy Dancer" by Monique Gray Smith). Aiden travels with his foster parents to meet his brother and dance in his first powwow (David A. Robertson's "Brothers"). Amber, whose sister battled cancer, receives a new dress for the Jingle Dance ("Secret and Surprises" by Traci Sorell). Some of the attendees live locally, while others travel from places including Oklahoma and Missouri; some live in the city, while others live on the reservation. This anthology offers readers a variety of images of Native children while also introducing them to vocabulary from several different Indigenous languages, compiled in an appended glossary. According to Rogers's poem: "A powwow is / friends and family / ...a way to remember those / who've passed on / ...a place for belly-laughing / ...healing / and soul-soothing," and this volume reflects all of those elements and more. Notes and acknowledgments, contributor bios, and an editor's note are appended.

Reviewer: Nicholl Denice Montgomery | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2021

(3) 4-6 Be What You Want series. Van der Linde begins with an overview of Western dance styles (emphasizing ballet) and their requirements for professional dancers. The accessible text thoroughly covers backstage logistics, the pros and cons of a dance degree, non-performing careers in the industry (such as dance critic and costumer), and second careers. Interspersed interviews and sidebars add valuable information. Extensive resources appended. Websites. Bib., glos.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Jeff Kulak. This DIY guide gives a brief introduction to dance as a hobby or career. Topics range from choreography and performance to self-promotion and landing gigs. Sophisticated concepts and accurate terminology are presented clearly and accessibly. Quotes from established dancers/choreographers, recommended videos, and an appended overview of nine dance styles encourage further exploration. Angular spot art illustrates the text. Ind.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher