Miss Lina's Ballerinas and the Prince

August 15, 2011

The nine lovely little girls are back and what a joy—for there's a new student joining their ranks, and he's a boy!

It's in Messina where Miss Lina makes that announcement to Christina, Edwina, Sabrina, Justina, Katrina, Bettina, Marina, Nina and Regina. The girls happily dream of dancing a pas de deux, but the young boy is "feeling quite shy / to see so much pink and be only one guy." He dances off to the zoo, and at their teacher's command—"Chassé!"—they pursue! When they find him, he is happily imitating lions and donkeys and dolphins and monkeys. He's clearly not the danseur noble they envisioned, but the girls are accepting, and all prance back to the studio to practice and perform a very lively season finale. As in Miss Lina's Ballerinas (2010), Maccarone has fashioned another charming story in rhyme for young readers that integrates ballet terminology into the narrative and provides a very positive reinforcement for boys interested in the arts. The pastel drawings with swirls of crayon lines provide just the right touch of ambiance and energy.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

Starred review from November 1, 2011

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

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2011
Preschool-G In this sequel to Miss Lina's Ballerinas (2010), the nine little girls in Miss Lina's ballet school learn that a boy will be joining their class. Initially delighted by the news and dreaming of dancing pas de deux, they are astonished when shy Tony enters the room and, after a bit of jumping and spinning, leaps out the door and runs away. Warmed with color washes, Davenier's expressive line drawings illustrate the satisfying rhymed-verse text with spirit. The book concludes with a glossary of ballet terms, complete with pronunciations. An appealing picture book, infused with the joy of dance.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)