Belinda, the Ballerina

The first Belinda book. Belinda has enormous feet and is rejected from her dream of dancing with the ballet company solely on that basis. Belinda becomes a waitress, but her feet can't resist the music of the local band and she's soon drawing in crowds of fans--including the very critics who refused to allow her audition.

This is a very satisfying story for children, with excellent messages about living well in spite of doubters and following your dreams the best way you can. I'd recommend it for three year olds and up.

Genre: Even though this is a long exaggerated story, it is actually possible that in real life there has been a ballerina that did not like the size of her feet. I would categorize this book as somewhat realistic fiction because even though it IS far off, in reality there are dancers that give up dancing because of the size of their bodies, and then may discover or be discovered elsewhere in an unsuspecting place like a grocery store, somewhat like Belinda. Even though it is unlikely, it is still possible.

The media used in this book is gouache on watercolor paper. It says this in the very beginning of the book and I notice that the illustrations are very bright, vibrant, and detailed. They are fun enough to look at if there is an older show more reader, and detailed enough and large enough for young audiences to love them. It is a good book to read to a large class, like for carpet time. show less

This book is a good example of Realistic Fiction because the reader can imagine themselves or someone else going through the same situation that Belinda did. The plot of the story keeps the reader engaged because it introduces Belinda as a dancer, how hard she practices. Then it shows how she was not allowed to audition for the ballet because her feet were too big. She got another job and tried to forget about her dream, but then was able to dance at her job at a restaurant. Her popularity grew and her dream of dancing on stage was finally accomplished.
The media used: gouache
The age appropriateness: Primary

In this book Belinda has large feet and loves ballet. She gets ridiculed for having such large feet so she quits dancing. She ends up getting a job at a restaurant where she starts to dance and people love it. A man from a famous theatre asks her to dance there and she does.

Great!

Belinda's feet are to big to be a dancer, or so the judges say.

This book is about a little girl who loves to dance.