Ballet Bunnies #1

December 1, 2020

Gr 1-3-A new young reader series that is as saccharine as cotton candy. Millie, a little girl with brown skin and stylized facial features, has just turned six and her dream of ballet classes has finally come true. At Miss Luisa's School of Dance, Millie starts her first class, and realizes that regardless of her enthusiasm, first position is not easy. She also quickly meets the "mean" girl Amber. Amber fits the stereotype of pushy, in charge, and unwelcoming. Feeling a little overwhelmed after the first class, Millie sees shadows flitting across the studio and finds four tiny bunnies in tutus. These four bunnies can talk to Millie, and help her learn her first ballet steps. Dolly, Fifi, Pod, and Trixie befriend the girl, and Dolly travels home with Millie in her backpack. The story continues with protagonist preparing for a gala performance and rehearsing with her bunny friends. The second title has a tad more excitement when Amber hides Millie's watering can prop for the performance in the garbage. Of course, Millie finds her watering can, rescues Dolly (who was hiding in the can in order to support Millie during the performance) and it all ends happily. The illustrations of the bunnies are realistic, sweet, and adorable. This is a seemingly charming young reader that, unfortunately, has little plot or character development, and doesn't really bridge the magical and real-life connections. Most of the story is so predictable that six- and seven-year-old readers will quickly lose interest. VERDICT Bunnies and ballet go together like peanut butter and jelly, but this series never learns first position.-Susan Lissim, Dwight Sch., New York City

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2021
Ballet class becomes a little bit easier with the help of the Ballet Bunnies in this new early chapter-book series. Millie is delighted when her mother surprises her with ballet lessons for her sixth birthday. But after her first disastrous lesson Millie feels like a failure. That's when she meets the four tiny, talking Ballet Bunnies who secretly live in the ballet studio. With encouragement from the bunnies and a welcoming new human friend, Millie finds the courage to keep dancing. The linear narration uses a wide vocabulary, suiting this title to strong transitioning readers rather than those still honing their foundational decoding skills. The predictable plot frames Millie's struggle as a consequence of being a ballet newbie and having to deal with a mean classmate, completely avoiding the ballet teacher's incompetence as perhaps the main contributor to Millie's difficulties. The cheery pastel illustrations provide context as the story unfolds, although the characters, human and bunny alike, suffer from a shortage of expression and personality. The concluding glossary lacks a pronunciation guide for the French ballet terms, many of which are not actually used in the narrative text. Millie and her mother are depicted with black hair and light brown skin. The ballet teacher and most of Millie's classmates have pale skin and various hair colors with the exception of Millie's new friend, Samira, who has pink hair and light brown skin. A fluffy, cute early chapter-book series for strong readers. (Fantasy. 7-9)

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