Baseball Ballerina

I was so happy when I saw this book! The cover and the title were perfect for me, as my 4 year old girl does ballet and t-ball. And the way I read it to her was great! But the way the author wrote is was disappointing. Sentences like, "Mom thinks baseball is for boys.", "She wants me to do more girl things." , and "She says, 'Pink is for girls.'", just made me too sad to read. I still love the cover!

The book Baseball Ballerina by Kathryn Cristaldi was a great read. I really enjoyed it and I think it is a great book for young girls who are both athletic and girly to show them that they absolutely can be both. In this book, the main character is the shortstop for her baseball team the Sharks when her mother signs her up for ballet. Her and her best friend Mary Ann, who is the catcher for her baseball team, are both in ballet together and promise to each other to not let any of their teammates know they are in ballet so they don’t think they are “wimps.” Mary Ann slowly starts enjoying ballet and even gets the lead role in their ballet recital that the entire Sharks team shows up to. The main character ends up enjoying ballet show more when she saves the recital by catching Mary Ann’s crown before it flies off the stage. I loved the pictures throughout this book. Every page the characters had different emotions and the illustrations in the book did a great job portraying every one. I loved the message behind the book that girls can play sports and be tough or do ballet or other girly things and not be considered wimpy. Just because you do different things, doesn’t mean you are a different person or should lose any of your friends or teammates. show less

Sports. A shortstop in a tutu? Not if she can help it! Forced by her mother into taking ballet lessons, a die-hard tomboy discovers that there's team spirit at the barre as well as on the baseball diamond.

This is the story of a young girl who likes to play baseball. Her mother thinks that baseball is for boys so she puts the young girl in ballet. The young girl at first is upset until she realizes that some of her teammates are in the ballet. They promise to keep each other's secret about ballet. At the end, the girls have a recital and their whole baseball team shows up to watch. The team loved the performance and everyone comes together to high five.

I like that this story again shows how boys and girls can do things the other likes. I was not crazy about how the mom was quick to stereotype. I would use this book for 1-3 graders.

A little girl plays shortstop for her baseball team but her mom believes she should do more girly things so she also takes ballet lessons. Her and her friend Mary Ann are in the same dance class. Their dance teacher tells them they are going to have a recital and get to dance on a big stage. The little girl becomes very nervous that her baseball team will see her and make fun of her at the recital. Mary Ann gets the lead part in the dance and gets to wear a crown. During the dance, Mary Ann's crown falls off of her head and the little girl dives on the stage and catches the crown. At the end of the recital, her baseball team congratulates her for a job well done.

The main character loves baseball, but her mother wants her to be more feminine, so she has to take ballet lessons. She and her best friend want to keep ballet a secret- until her best friend gets the lead. When her friend’s crown flies off, she proves that she can do ballet and still be a great catcher!

Baseball Ballerina is a great book for students to read. This book would be a good book for young boys or girls. The book is about a young girls who loves to play baseball for her team, "The Sharks." Her mother thinks that baseball is for boys so she puts her in ballet lessons. The young girls is very upset but is glad to see that one of the girls from her team is also in ballet lessons. They promise to keep ballet a secret from their team because they do not want to get made fun of. At the end of the book the girls have a big rehearsal and their whole team shows up to watch them. They have a great show and their team ends up loving it! At the end they greet the girls and give them high fives and tell them how good they did. In the end show more the girls realize that ballet is not so bad, but they still like baseball better.

This book is a good book for young children because it gives them a real life situation and also teaches them that wether you are a boy or a girl you should do what you love. In the classroom you could have the students tell the class what their favorite extra circular activity or hobby is. Then they could bring to class the next day something that they love that has to do with their hobby. show less