Belinda Begins Ballet: Don't let obstacles get in your way

Title: Belinda Begins Ballet
Author: Amy Young
Illustrator: Amy Young
Age Range: 3-8
Genre: Picture book

When I was growing up, my parents decided at some point that my duck walk would no longer do and decided ballet lesson would be the thing to cure my walk.  (Little did they understand that my duck walk feet also worked very well in ballet.)  When they told me I was going to do ballet, I pouted, cried and screamed because I didn't want to dance.  I was worried about the clothes, what I would look like and what I would be doing in the class that could potentially humiliate or embarrass my already then fragile ego.  (I was a bit of a sensitive child.)

However, I ended up loving ballet enough to take it for about five years.  I loved the dancing, the discipline, the French words, and the whole movement and grace of the dance form.  When dancing, I felt so different and out of my body and a part of the music in a way that I've never experienced since then.  I love ballet.

In the book, Belinda Begins Ballet, Belinda also loves ballet, only she isn't aware of it initially.  She starts life having these rather enormous feet, and they are her most distinguishing characteristic.  As she grows up and goes to school, a teacher notices these feet and decides that Belinda is the perfect person to play the clown for the school talent show; Belinda will be clumsy, uncoordinated, and fall and crash into things as only a clown should.  Only, Belinda does not like the role, and is entranced one day, when she inadvertently catches one of the students dancing a ballet solo for the talent show.  From that day on, Belinda watches and then goes home and practices ballet movements.

In the end, when it is her turn to dance onstage, Belinda chooses to dance gracefully and beautifully, and not like a clown at all. She is true to herself and what she wants to do.  She does not let her big feet stop her from being the dancer she wants to be.

I love Belinda because she tries hard to overcome the obstacles that are in front of her, and in the end her hard work pays off.  My daughters have both loved the book for it is funny as well as having a powerful message.

The first book in the series


The next in the series...also really super cute


A funny one where Belinda is supposed to dance in Paris, but her shoes are lost so she has to figure out how to make them...to the rescue - Baguettes!


The last in the series...there is a bit of a catty girl in this one, so I'm less keen on this than the others, but still a good read

Cobble Street Cousins - In Aunt Lucy's Kitchen: A time when life was simpler

Title: In Aunt Lucy's Kitchen
Author: Cynthia Rylant
Illustrator: Wendy Anderson Halperin
Age Range: 5-10
Genre: Early chapter books

My oldest child is just 6 years old.   I teacha wide range of students (4th grade through high school) so although I know many titles for kids to read, not everything I feel is appropriate for her.  She is a fast reader and a very good one, and I've really struggled to find the kind of book that I want her to read. Unfortunately, I'm not so into the Rainbow Fairy series, Judy Moody, or Junie B. Jones which often seems to represent the bulk of what is available to an early chapter reader.

I like books that reflect a simpler time, simpler lifestyle and no sassy kids saying obnoxious things to their parents.  I know that this may be unreasonable, but I like my daughter to read things to which she can aspire.  Having her read the stuff that she may hear from day to day does not appeal, nor do I wish her learning particular obnoxious or sassy language from a book.  She is easily influenced at this age, so my preference is to influence her in an uplifting manner.

Cynthia Rylant (Henry and Mudge series) is an author I like, for she writes a book of quality.  Her characters are lovable, the themes and ideas in the book are simple and wholesome, and generally her characters do not say the words "stupid" or "dumb" to one another.  In the Cobble Street Cousins series, three cousins, ages 9, come to live together at their Aunt Lucy's home, because their parents are off touring the world as ballet dancers.  They make Aunt Lucy's their home, and together come up with different adventures and ideas as to how they would like to spend their time.

The three cousins decide to start baking in their kitchen, and through delivery of their home baked goods make friends in the neighborhood.  Through wholesome activities and thoughtful planning the girls live out their days in activity, love, and laughter.  Great series, especially for girls.

First in the series


#2


#3


#4


#5


#6


Henry and Mudge