Miss Lina's Ballerinas and the Prince

by Grace Maccarone, Christine Davenier (Illustrator)

Overview

Miss Lina's ballerinas have all learned how to dance as a group. But now Miss Lina has a new surprise for them – a boy will be joining their class and performing in their end-of-year show.

The girls have grand visions of dancing their first pas de deux with a prince. But when he finds himself surrounded by so much pink and so many girls, he turns quite shy, and dances his way out the door!

Customer Reviews

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781466800243
Publisher:	Feiwel & Friends
Publication date:	09/27/2011
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	40
File size:	10 MB
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Grace Maccarone is a children's book editor and the author of many books for young readers, including Miss Lina's Ballerinas, also illustrated by Christine Davenier, and the First Grade Friends series, illustrated by Betsy Lewin. She lives in Westchester, New York.

Christine Davenier has illustrated numerous children's books, and won a New York Times Best Illustrated Award for The First Thing My Mama Told Me. She lives in Paris, France.

Grace Maccarone is a children’s book editor and the author of many books for young readers, including Miss Lina’s Ballerinas, illustrated by Christine Davenier, and the First Grade Friends series, illustrated by Betsy Lewin. She lives in Westchester, New York.

As a young girl growing up in Tours, France, Christine Davenier loved listening to her older sister read fairy tales aloud. But she frequently found herself wondering, What does the princess’s beautiful dress look like? or How exquisite are her jewels? Christine was left to her own imagination, for the books had few illustrations. So it comes as little surprise that today, Christine embraces her career as an illustrator. “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to create the illustrations I dreamed about seeing as a child,” she says.

When Christine was fourteen, she received her first box of watercolor paints, a gift from her grandmother. That was the beginning of many afternoons spent painting together in her grandmother’s garden. “My grandmother was an extraordinary woman,” Christine says. “Even though she worked in an office all her life, she was an artist through and through. She shared everything she knew about color—in painting and in life. Her wisdom and talent still inspire me today.”

She has illustrated many picture books, including Sally Jean, the Bicycle Queen by Cari Best. She lives in Paris, France.

Editorial Reviews

“Miss Lina's Ballerinas and the Prince is an amusing tale of a classroom of little ballerinas who must welcome a new student, a boy. Quelle horreur!” —TheChildren'sBookReview.com

“Davenier's pencil and watercolor illustrations display continuous movement and a predominance of pink; each page will make readers smile as they pore over the characters' expressive faces and priceless body language.” —School Library Journal, starred review

“An appealing picture book, infused with the joy of dance.” —Booklist

“Welcome Tony Farina to Miss Lina's, and join the applause for a lovely and lively story.” —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

PreS-Gr 2—Miss Lina and her nine spirited ballerinas are back. This time a boy wants to join the troupe. The girls all relish the thought of doing arabesques, pirouettes, promenades, and other moves with a princelike fellow gracefully supporting, turning, and tipping them. When Tony arrives at the studio, though, he is shy and not sure how he feels about being the only guy. His reaction is to dance extravagantly across the floor and out the door. Miss Lina orders the girls to retrieve him, but they refuse after watching his dramatic display. However, they dance their way to the street and off to the zoo, where they meet Tony once again. Witnessing his dancing prowess as he moves among the animal cages, they decide to give the "non-princely boy" a second chance. With a setting in France and the use of rhyme and rhythm, one can't help but notice the similarities between Miss Lina's determined ballerinas and Ludwig Bemelmans's Madeline. Davenier's pencil and watercolor illustrations display continuous movement and a predominance of pink; each page will make readers smile as they pore over the characters' expressive faces and priceless body language. Terminology and pronunciation are included in the back matter. Miss Lina and her students are sure to become favorites of young balletomanes.—Diane Antezzo, Ridgefield Library, CT

School Library Journal