(3) K-3 Illustrated by Gloria Félix. Dancer Alicia Alonso (1920-2019) grew up in Cuba, where she attended the island's sole, poorly funded ballet school. In 1937 she moved to New York to study at the American Ballet Theatre and was well on her way to becoming a prima ballerina when she began to lose her eyesight. In a well-paced narrative, Viña emphasizes Alonso's resilience and determination--as she contends with a new country and language and later as she recovers from eye surgeries, reenters the dance world, learns to dance with impaired vision, and eventually returns to Cuba to teach. Félix's cartoon-style illustrations focus on movement and emotion. An author's note and bibliography are appended.

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Raúl Colón. Short poems detail the life of the famous Cuban ballerina Alicia Alonso. The text describes her early years, her courage in dancing after becoming partially blind, creation of the Ballet de Cuba, flight when Batista took power, and her return under Castro; detailed notes are appended. Colón's textured illustrations are full of movement and life. Timeline, websites. Bib., glos.

Reviewer: Amy Kellman