Features
- Reading level: Baby-Preschool
- Cover Type: Hard Cover with 40 pages
- Published by: Greenwillow
- Edition: 1st Edition April 15, 2003
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 006050238X
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-0060502386
-
Book Dimensions:
11.3 x 10.4 x 0.6 inches
- Weighs: 1 pounds
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 2-This lovely book provides a dreamy look at the world of ballet. A multiculturally diverse group of boys and girls prance and pose through the alphabet, demonstrating grace, drama, and dedication. Specific terms are used, such as "Deeveloppee" "En pointe," and "Pas de chat" but other word choices, such as "Kiss," "Sleep," and "Zipper," are much more generic. A glossary explains the significance of the chosen words and/or the ballet to which they refer (for example, the image for K shows Titania, Queen of the Fairies, kissing the donkey in A Midsummer Night's Dream). The charming, full-page illustrations done in colored pastels capture the luminescence of this art form. Young children studying ballet will appreciate the art and may know the Firebird or who Odette is, but others will need adult assistance to make the connections between the featured items and illustrations.
Carol Schene, Taunton Public Schools, MACopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
PreS-Gr. 1. A dancer with the Boston Ballet before she turned to writing and illustration, Isadora offers a captivating alphabet book full of big, gorgeous pictures of young dancers in the studio and onstage. From
arabesque to
zipper, the alphabet rolls along with a variety of terms closely or loosely related to ballet. Each word or phrase is illustrated with a large pastel picture.
Backstage shows four girls waiting in the wings, peering at the dancers onstage;
jump features three boys bouncing into the air;
makeup shows a costumed girl as she stares into a mirror at her heavily made-up face. The book ends with a helpful two-page glossary including pronunciations of unfamiliar words and commentary on the terms and their visual interpretations. Ballet fans may pick up some information here, but they will return to the book mainly to look again at the richly colored, dynamic illustrations of the dancers.
Carolyn PhelanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Reader ReviewsI think that I first fell in love with artist/illustrator Rachel Isadora when I read her 1970 masterpiece, "Ben's Trumpet". That was the book, above all others, that will forever be associated with Ms. Isadora's great name. That isn't to say that she isn't capable of other good books as well. Fast forward some thirty years later and she's still cranking them out. Of these some are more memorable than others. One of the best, however, is a ballet-centric little alphabetical entitled, "On Your Toes". A niggling little voice on my right shoulder wonders if there wasn't a more alphabetical way of naming the book, but that's splitting hairs to say the least. What we have here is a fine fine title for those boys and girls for whom the glory of ballet is at its peak. Alphabet books all follow the same structure. The words must conform to the theme, be it dinos, racecars, found objects, or secret agents (I kid you not). In this case, Isadora has given everything a balletic nature. She alternates French terms (like A - Arabesque and P - Pas de Chat) with clothing (M - Makeup, Z - Zipper) and characters from different shows (O - Odette, F - Firebird). In doing this, the author makes it clear that she is well aware of the ins and outs of the child/ballet world. Y stands for Yarn and shows a girl still in tights knitting something, legs splayed out before her. It's a sight you'll see in every ballet company around the globe, but an image that few authors would have been canny enough to include. It lends a bit of legitimacy to the entire book. Likewise X is said to stand for "X marks the spot". You see a girl playing Clara in "The Nutcracker" stepping delicately on an X that has been placed on the stage floor. Again, if you know your theater then you know that such Xs are there to give actors and dancers an understanding of where to go in a scene. What I liked best about the book was that it seems genuinely like something kids would like. Those kids already into ballet, that is. The French terms (I well remember the flashcards of them I had to memorize when I was a wee ballerina tyke) may help some kids to remember what a grand jete or a developpe looks like. Some might quibble that for some of the kids that need this book, the fact that it's an alphabet title disqualifies it from being desired by older kids. I disagree, partly because it's a beautiful book and partly because I've rarely seen a kid turn down an alphabetic title when it was something that truly interested them. In the end, "On Your Toes" is smarter than the average ballet picture book and better looking than your average alphabet book. It's multicultural, multi-gendered, and clever. There's a beautiful glossary in the back that kids will benefit from and parents and adults will appreciate. It's hard to find anything wrong with this book. The best of its kind.
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